Any Dog, Any Trick? (Part 2)
Last time we discussed a few basics about teaching your dog new tricks. Today we're going to revisit a topic I mentioned in my first article ("Getting to Know Your Dog," Nov. 18, 2000) - dominance issues.
Being dominant is your dog seeing you as the true "alpha" leader of your pack. Dogs have lived with humans for thousands of years, but they're still little wolves when it comes to social order. If your dog doesn't see you as dominant, good luck trying to train him.
What is dominance? It's your dog looking to you for food, security, leadership - all the social cues an alpha wolf would give its pack. True dominance is not your dog fearing you and trembling when you come around. That's terror, and it's a form of mental abuse. You cannot beat or scare your dog into submission (and if you try you should be shot).
Dominance plays an integral part in training. If your dog doesn't see you as alpha what little he learns will be on his terms, not yours. Signs that you aren't dominant are your dog not coming when you call, your dog not looking at you when you speak to him (even though he can hear a can opener at twenty miles), and even possible signs of aggression, such as refusing to let you take a bowl of food away from him or growling when you try to move him. (These last two are more severe examples and need immediate attention before someone gets bit.)
If you feel your dog walks all over you then your first step is appointing one person in the household to handle the dog's primary care and training. If three different people try to train the dog three different ways it's going to cause more problems. Then you need to go back to basics, which is you decide when he eats, when he plays; you make him get out of your way instead of walking around him, you make him sit and wait at doors and follow you out, he doesn't sleep in bed with you - all things to make him remember his place in the pack order.
Next, sit in your living room and watch TV or whatever. Put your dog on a leash and "tether" him (tie him to your belt) to you. Where you go, your dog goes. Don't ask, just get up and walk around. Your dog will learn to follow. Have a small bag of kibble handy, and as you're watching TV, any time he looks at you, say, "Good," and treat. Don't ask for his attention - make him guess. Pretty soon he won't take his eyes off you because he'll associate looking at you with treats. Move to the next step: say his name ONLY. Only treat when you say his name and his attention immediately focuses on you. If he doesn't look at you immediately, stay silent and look at the TV. Do NOT say his name a second time. The point is to teach him that the second he hears his name he looks at you.
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