Getting to Know Your Dog

Perhaps you should get to know your dog a little better. What the majority of humans don't understand is that dogs do not understand English. They didn't go to school and they can't follow a good joke to its punchline. Dogs learn to recognize tone of voice, key words, and phrases like their name, commands, and household members' names. How dogs communicate -- and how to best communicate with them -- is unspoken commands. We may think it's gross when a dog rams its nose up another's hind end, but that's how they say hi, howya doin'.

Try this experiment -- sit on the floor with your dog and call him the most worthless thing on the face of the earth, tell him how horrible and rotten he is, but use the sweetest tone of voice you can. He'll wag his tail the entire time and think he's the best dog in the world. This isn't because he's stupid -- it's because he's reading your non-verbal cues and tone of voice. If you were to do the reverse -- tell him how wonderful he was in a sharp, harsh tone while standing hovering over him, he'd be scared to death. (Please don't try that though.)

Eye contact is key to dogs. It's how they establish and challenge dominance, and can be a sign of agression in some cases. There is no "family" to a dog, only a pack. You have to establish yourself as "alpha" dog, your two-footed family as dominant, with the dog at the bottom. This isn't cruel or mean, it's nature. If you don't, you're sure to have behavior problems later on. Do it in both obvious and subtle ways, such as making the dog move when you walk through, not stepping around him. Go through doors first, make the dog wait until last to eat (or at least pick when he eats, not when he wants to), control when and under what rules you play with the dog, and not letting the dog sleep in bed with you.

If you're finding your dog doesn't even look at you when you call and it can hear a can opener five miles away, you can probably rest assured it doesn't view you as alpha dog. Start with calling your dog and rewarding with a piece of kibble. Anytime he looks at you, whether or not you've called him, reward him. Pretty soon you'll find your dog can't take his eyes off you, and he'll blaze a trail to your side when you call. You're reestablishing dominance.

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