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Dogs are
pack animals, living in a group. You and your family are now considered
to be the dog’s “pack”. Every pack needs a Leader. But unless they are
told or shown otherwise, the dog will consider HIMSELF to be the Leader,
and THE ONE IN CHARGE. Therefore it is very important to show the dog
that the adults in the family are the Leaders. This is done by body
language and tone of voice. The high squeaky voice is the “happy voice”,
sounding like puppies at play. This is why some women have difficulty
establishing themselves as Leaders to the dog, and why dogs do not
respect children’s authority over them. So a deep growly voice sounds
more like authority to the dog, and should be used in training and
correcting behaviors that you want extinguished.
Start by placing your head and neck over the dog’s body, pushing the
nose down with your hand in a submissive pose, and physically “loom”
over them, and hold them down, physically dominating them until they
submit with a sigh and relax their body posture. They will inevitably
squirm, squeal, and wriggle, complaining all the while until they
realize that they must submit. Do this enough times so that the dog will
immediately submit when you say “NO” and place yourself in the dominance
pose over them. Now when you have to correct their behavior they will
more inclined to listen to you. If the puppy still resists, ask your
trainer for a more severe correction to teach him submission .Do NOT let
the puppy win in this situation.
You can also teach your dog to “Watch Me”- have a treat in your hand,
get the puppy to track it with his eyes, then draw a line to your eyes,
saying “Watch Me”. Once the puppy starts watching you, they will start
listening.
DO NOT let the puppy mouth you and bite you. This is disrespectful to
you, the Leader. Say “NO BITE!” firmly in a growly voice and hold the
muzzle closed. Once they stop biting, say “Good Bite” and pat their
head. The same principle applies to the puppy grabbing onto pants’ legs,
seeking a tug of war game. ABSOLUTELY NO WRESTLING, ROUGHHOUSING OR TUG
OF WAR GAMES. These activities, although great fun for the puppy, only
teach him to bite you. This is a game that they can win. They are not
allowed to win any games. If the puppy will not give the toy back, the
game is over. Do not throw the ball and then wrestle it away from him,
in an attempt to teach him “fetch”. Only throw the ball for him after he
“gives” it to you. Hold the puppy by the lower jaw and squeeze the
cheeks in-( this will make him open his mouth ) and say “GIVE”- “GOOD
GIVE” when he releases the ball. Puppy will quickly realize that the
only way for him to chase the ball is to give it to you first to throw
it for him. |
