Category : Pack Leader

I am preparing myself for hate mail as I write this…some might say I am contradicting years of dog training theory, but I propose that not all dogs should be treated the same and not all owners need to adhere to the same dog training rules and I know some will comment with kudos for finally being able to admit to a behavior we are hard wired NEVER to do with our dogs.

I spoon with my dog!  That’s right, and I am not ashamed of it!  For 9 years he was the only thing that spooned with me.  I use to call him my soul mate and was certain I had been cursed.  I told people, sure my soul mate is big and hairy and he sniffs the butts of other people and animals, but everyone has their down falls!

Read more »

I have a cat in my lap while I write this…no…wait, it looks like a dog, it smells like a dog and it is definitely poking me in the face like a dog!  It seems as though I have a demanding attention hound on my hands.

I have never had a dog that felt like it needed to compete with my time while I was on the computer or reading a book, but this one sure does!  I noticed it mostly when I recently took a college class. Suffice it to say, it has been a while since I was in college and spending my time studying, so all of a sudden my days and evenings were spent with my nose in a book.

Often I had a flying super dog dive bomb head first into my book, trust me I have the crinkled, snotted on pages to prove my story.  I tried desperately to accommodate puppy time and stroking WHILE I kept my eyes focused on the information.  For the most part I don’t mind her in my lap…that was until I noticed how DEMANDING she was getting about it.

It was as if contemplating studying would wake her up and bring her running!

She is a very dominant breed of dog, known for making decisions and being difficult to train and I see that streak in her occasionally, so I realized it was time to nip this behavior in the bud!  I don’t want to live with a dictator or a difficult dog and demanding my immediate attention and affection is bordering on turning into a controlling relationship!

Read more »

One of the most stressful things about dog ownership can be adding a new member to your family.  You may be ready to add another dog but not all dogs like the company of other dogs, and this is the most important thing to contemplate when considering adding a new family member.  If your dog doesn’t like other dogs while walking, at friends houses, or at the dog park chances are good that he will not enjoy the company of a dog in his territory or sharing his space and his family.

The next thing to consider is size compatibility.  I would not encourage the owner of an adult Greyhound to get a Chihuahua!  A Chihuahua to a Greyhound might just resemble a bunny or the prey he has been bred to hunt and kill.  Most often dogs do better with dogs of like size, or extreme caution must be taken to make sure smaller dogs are not injured by larger dogs.

Sex is also an important aspect of adding a new furry child.  Two intact males often grow up to have problems getting along especially when they reach sexual maturity, although neutered males can flourish together.  Female dogs often prefer to live with members of the opposite sex.  Some of the worst dog fights I have ever seen were between 2 adult female dogs.  Intact male dogs often fight till one dog is seriously injured or there is a clear winner, however females often fight to the death.

Read more »

There are a lot of myths that surround dogs and dog training.  Some of the basic ideas that lead to the myths are true, but there are still a lot of ancient concepts that abound in the world of working with and training animals.

Dominance is a very emotionally charged subject, especially in dog training.  Although I know it exists and can in some cases lead to extreme aggression, I do not believe it is a problem for all or even most dogs.

To understand dogs, we must understand the hierarchy they live by in the wild.  In a dog’s world, there is always a leader or an alpha and the other members are ranked after that, no one in a wolf pack or a dog pack is ever equal.  Even in our dog’s domesticated lives, this remains true, and can therefore cause problems if the dog does not recognize the human as a strong leader.  These are facts, but how people deal with dogs and the problems of dominance as they arise have created a number of myths.

Myth #1

• All dogs are dominant and should therefore be treated as such.

Truth:

• Not all dogs are dominant or show dominant traits to their humans and not all dogs should be treated equally, even within the same family.
• Some dogs easily recognize their human as alpha leader.
• Some dogs have no desire to be the alpha.

I am not a dog trainer that subscribes to the idea that all dogs should be treated as if they are vying for my top spot in the family.  I live with 3 dogs and only one of them (the youngest and the only female) has any dominant traits, therefore they are treated differently.  Having NEVER had a problem with either of my neutered males, they are allowed on the furniture and in my lap and enjoy more privileges.

Myth #2

• Dog owners create dominance in their dogs.  If the dog is “raised right” the owners won’t have any problems.

Truth:

• You can see marked dominant and sometimes aggressive traits in puppies that are 6 weeks old.
• Sometimes unknowing and uninformed owners can make a dominant dog worse by catering to all of its desires, putting it on a pedestal and requiring little to no obedience, but they don’t usually create dominance in their dogs.

This myth is the most distressing to me as a dog trainer.  It simply blames all problems on the owners of a dominant or aggressive dog.  Whereas it is true; some people abuse and neglect their dogs and create problems, I have also seen owners who have done all the right things and still suffer from the problems and heartache a dominant, and/or aggressive dog can cause.

I believe in nature first and nurture second.  I believe you can see personality traits in pups at a very young age and how we treat and nurture those puppies is important, but cannot change an inherent personality.

Myth #3

• Dominant dogs must be treated with physical dominance and aggression and should be forced or compelled to complete commands.  Prong collars, shock collars, and alpha rolls are all ways to keep a dominant dog under control.

Truth:

• You should not even have to touch your dog physically to train him.
• Compulsion and physical force often exacerbates aggression and challenges dominant dogs to bite.

It seems the tide of dog training is shifting again to physical force, prong collars (although now made of plastic and seemingly less intimidating) are again making rise through the field.  Some well known dog trainers are seen on TV forcing biting and snarling dogs to the ground and holding them there waiting for the dog to comply.  They are professionals (or so they call themselves) and they are not only doing these moves for television suspense and ratings, they are risking their viewers safety by expecting them to do the same.

You should NEVER physically force a dominant or aggressive dog to comply or aggravate an already aggressive situation.  Intensifying circumstances can lead to severe aggression and biting.

Dominant and even aggressive dogs often effortlessly comprehend and even enjoy positive reinforcement training.  Instead of using physical force, use your mind and your intelligence to convince your dog to comply.  You may be the stronger animal but you should prove you are the smarter animal.

I would like to see some of these bully type trainers work with large cats or marine mammals that cannot be forced to comply with commands they don’t want to do.

Not all dogs are dominant, some are submissive and most are somewhere in-between, there is no reason to treat every dog the same even within the same family.  Hopefully you are lucky and you live with a dog that does not have any dominance issues, but recognize that good people sometimes get difficult dogs.   All dogs, but especially dominant dogs take to positive reinforcement training.  Use your brain to reward good behaviors you want to continue to see and get your dog to behave the way you want!

I was on the phone with a client just the other day who was having somewhat of a familiar problem with her puppy.  She is becoming the entertainment and chew toy in their relationship.  She called because she has scratches, bite marks and lesions and was fed up with her puppy’s bad behavior.

Puppies play with each other with their teeth.  Dogs don’t have hands and opposable thumbs to hold, throw objects or play with things.   They aren’t able to use their hands to explore their environments.

Puppies are born deaf and blind, they do not begin to hear or see until they are about 2 weeks old.  They learn use their mouths, shortly after they are born, to explore their environment.  As they grow they are constantly learning about their environment by biting and mouthing.  They bite their littermates, they mouth on things in their environment, and they even bite their mother.

It is essential that puppies stay with their mother until at least 8 weeks of age so that she can begin to teach them about bite inhibition.  When a pup bites mom too hard, mom is swift to bite back and teach the pup about the inappropriateness of rough play.  Without mom’s help during this crucial period in a puppy’s life, they often don’t learn about bite inhibition and frequently develop into hard biters and bullies.

It is normal for dogs to bare their teeth, nip, bite, and growl at their littermates and playmates.  Often puppies play hard or soft depending on their playmate.  I have seen dogs throw each other around by their necks, growling and body slamming each other but doing so in play and never breaking skin.

Dogs can only learn to play with other dogs by playing with other appropriate non-aggressive dogs.   I think dog play is a crucial behavior for puppies to learn when they are young!  Older dogs will teach them the appropriateness of how hard to bite, and young dogs can teach them how fun it is to play rough sometimes.

Although it is normal for a puppy to explore its environment using its teeth and mouth, it is inappropriate for them to put their teeth on humans and they must be taught not to do this under any circumstances.

What Makes the Problem Worse?

• Getting a puppy before 8 weeks of age or a puppy that was separated from its mother and or litter mates prior to 8 weeks.
• Many people think that a nipping puppy is cute, they don’t mind when an 8 week old puppy nips but no one wants to be bitten by a 6 month or older puppy, especially a large breed puppy.
• Regularly people play with their hands with their new puppies, pushing, pulling, tugging incite puppies and encourage biting.
• Treating the puppy like a human by spoiling him/her and treating him/her like royalty encourages a blur in the dynamics and respect in the family structure.
• And, in my opinion the #1 reason for inappropriate biting, not enough exercise and obedience.

How to Curb Even a Chronic Biter?

• I cannot be adamant enough about waiting until a pup is at least 8 weeks old before separating it from its mom and littermates.  There is so much learning that goes on during those last few weeks that simply cannot be repeated by us humans, no matter how diligent we are.  However sometimes it is impossible to keep this situation from happening.  If you and your pup are in this minority, you must be even more diligent, because the early imprinting from mom was not available.
• Nipping and biting is not cute at any age.  Unless you are training a professional police dog (which very few people are) biting in any situation is simply unacceptable.  Develop a no tolerance rule!  If teeth come out any time during play, get up and walk away!  It does not matter where you are or what you are doing, you must deal with this immediately by pausing the DVR or getting up from the couch or stopping whatever you are doing to vacate the area

1. Puppies must learn: Teeth=A stop in all fun and interactive activities
2. You can cry out like another puppy would and then leave to see if your pup is sensitive and realizes by your cries that teeth and biting hurts.  However, in some situations and for some puppies crying out can excite the pup and make the behavior worse, if your puppy becomes worse when you cry discontinue this training.
3. When the pup is young you can exchange the idea of biting with giving your pup a toy to chew and play on, by redirecting your pup you are teaching him what can be chewed and played with instead.  Remember mouthing is normal bite inhibition must be taught.
4. DO NOT play tug with your puppy, unless you want to make the problem worse!  Tug teaches them to control their environment with their mouths!

• I often suggest spraying a little bitter apple on your skin or you or your children’s clothes in order to teach your pup that “you taste awful”.  Puppies regularly get spunky during a certain time of day; first thing in the morning or after supper and they are more likely to nip.  Simply spray your hands and arms with a bitter deterrent, my favorite Bitter Apple ™ and your pup will think biting you is an awful idea!  Just remember to wash your hands before you handle food!
• Do not spoil and cater to your canine companion!  This blurs the lines of who is in charge, in your puppy’s mind.  If your puppy gets everything he/she wants without ever having to learn a new skill or do anything in return your pup begins to feel entitled to everything in his world, which can make him into a bully.  When he feels you are robbing him of something he is entitled to, he will use his teeth to cajole you to obey!  This is especially true of small breed dogs because they are carried everywhere and given everything they want.  Put your dog down and set up some boundaries and rules, you will both be happier!
• Add obedience into your dog’s regimen, no matter what age your dog is he can begin to learn the basics and more!  Obedience provides mental stimulation and is fun for your dog, no matter his age or breed.  Entertain his mind and you will see less naughty behaviors.
• Many dogs and puppies have an extreme lack of exercise.  They have ten times the energy for the small amount of exercise they are getting.  Lack of exercise and mental stimulation causes all kinds of naughty behaviors to arise and often cause them to use their teeth in inappropriate ways to persuade you to interact with them.  Exercise creates tired dogs and tired puppies, sleeping dogs and puppies are good dogs!  Give him the stimulation he needs by engaging his mind and body in an exercise and obedience program!

Imagine having a 2 year old child and never teaching them manners or allowing him to get any exercise, but giving him everything he wants!  I can’t imagine such a situation for a child, but we often create this situation for our dogs.  Our dogs need just as much interaction, teaching, rules, and exercise as our children!

The woman I was talking with on the phone was physically disabled and confined to a wheel chair.  Her pup had been biting and mouthing since she brought her home at 6 weeks and now the pup was 5 months old.  Because the problem had not been dealt with sooner, it has become a behavioral habit and will be harder to break.  This is the only relationship the dog knows.  I believe that, unfortunately, all of the afore mentioned, problems are factors for her.

1. She got the dog when it was 6 weeks old,
2. She didn’t see the biting as a problem at first and even played and used her hands as prey encouraging biting in the beginning
3. This is a small breed dog, and the dog gets everything she wants and spends most of her time on mom’s lap and has become a bully
4. The dog had little to no leash experience, obedience, exercise, or mental stimulation.

Although her intentions were admirable, she has set their relationship up for failure.  Many dogs end up in the local shelter at this stage.

She needs to change the dynamics of their relationship and become more of a parent/owner and less of a littermate/servant.  Although it is a small breed dog, she can still be taught basic and advanced obedience.  And, although her owner is in a wheelchair, she can still provide exercise!  She can exercise the dog next to her chair and can even take the dog to a day care or play group during the day to help wear her out.

Play groups can be great because you can drop your dog off, get some errands done or some much needed rest and you can pick up a tired dog at the end of the day or a few hours.  Your dog can learn how to use his/her teeth while playing with other dogs.  It is normal for dogs to bare their teeth and bite and shake one another with their mouths, just be sure that the staff is educated and responsible and ask to watch a few play groups so that you can see the staff and dog/dog interaction.

It is never too late to teach your dog appropriate behavior when it comes to using his/her teeth.  Develop a no tolerance rule with humans and provide ample training and exercise and if you can allow your dog to play with other dogs as a way to use their teeth in an appropriate environment with other playful well behaved dogs.

If you have ever taken an obedience class with your dog, and actually done your homework, you will remember and notice that for that period of time (usually 6 to 8 weeks) your dog begins to listen to you faster and his obedience improved.  But weeks after the class is over, his skills begin to wan and the dynamics of life before class take over and it seems as if he never completed an obedience class.

WHY?

It’s simple if you think about it; if you practice something together you are better at it, the more practice and time you devote to something the better you get at it.  However, once you stop practicing and working on something, often, the more things go back to the way things were and you forget what you had once learned.

Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?

Most of us have either watched this show on TV or at least know the concept; adults (sometimes even doctors, lawyers and Yale graduates) are asked simple questions along the lines of the curriculum that we learned in and up to the 5^th grade.  Most of us learned these things a number of years ago, but how much do we truly remember?  To have a child in school and needing help with homework is sometimes humbling!

Without practice or applying our knowledge, we often forget what we have learned.  The same is true of your dog!  If you don’t make obedience and training a part of your daily lives together, you and your dog will slip back into the same patterns of life that lead you to frustration and into obedience class.

But, often instead of understanding that dogs, too, forget and slip back into previous habits, we often blame them, think they didn’t learn or that they are being obstinate and refusing to comply, when really they are probably reverting back to what they knew and know best which is the dynamics of your household “before” obedience class.

What to Do?

Set a goal

• Sit down as a family and come up with a plan.  What is going wrong in your current relationship with your dog?  Come up with a plan to address your issues and stick with it!  Consistency is the key to good dog obedience so everyone must be on board.

Take a Class

• You may need to take a class or re-take a basic class if things have deteriorated severely.  A class leads to accountability and homework.  A class often coerces people to make time to work with their dogs.
• I have been training dog professionally for almost 17 years and I still take obedience classes (I just don’t admit I am a trainer).

Compete

• I HATE competition!  I hated competition as a child and I continue to hate it to this day.  I also hate getting up in front of people.  Ironically, I can lecture to a convention center full of people about dog obedience and behavior, but I hate that competitive feeling and being put on display.  However, I often make myself face my fears and compete anyway.
• Competition takes a high level of practice and work, and the more time I spend with my dog the more he learns to listen to me in all facets of life.   Although I hate the feeling of the final competition (I am getting better ha ha) I LOVE the time we spend together preparing for our moment, and I also love our numerous blue ribbons!

Find a hobby you can both enjoy

• You can take classes for advanced obedience, tracking (nose work), clicker training, games, agility, or weight puling, sledding and skijoring.
• You can even play control games together.
• Invite your friends and family to get together and play doggie games and have your own competition.   You can also find dog board games online like Funagle and Do You Mind by Darfinc©.
• Buy a book and teach your dog as many tricks and commands as you can then have a party to show off your new skills!

To my clients I am known as the “fun” trainer.  I have been training dogs for almost 17 years and have seen all kinds of methods and I have taken my years of experience and knowledge and I have sculpted them into a program where I focus on games and fun ways to achieve my obedience goals.  I do this so that my dog enjoys his training but most of all I do it so that “I” enjoy training and working with my dog.  Fun does not mean there is a lack of skill or that my dogs are sloppy, it just means that my goal is to have a high level of performance and we both enjoy ourselves. The more things I can teach my dog, the happier we both are!  Even if I am just teaching him tricks, he is listening and learning and enjoying himself, and I am ending up with another skill to show off to my friends.

I try and make a point to spend time with my dog and invite him to join me as often as possible.  If I go hiking, biking or to the beach, I want to include him in my plans.  I enjoy teaching him new things and watching him enjoy life and excel at obedience.  It is a joy to have a well trained companion.

Every time you work with your dog in a fun and positive manner and you work together towards a common goal, you are solidifying your place in your furry pack and your dog is learning to have fun listening to you.  The more fun you have together, the more time you will find to spend together and you build a bond of respect that will last a lifetime.  So get out there and spend some fun time together as you reestablish your bond and your dog learns to listen to your every command!

There is so much confusing and contradictory information out there these days on training animals.  Some well known dog trainers would have you believe that you need to dominate a dog to get any lasting results.  They suggest you really need to understand your dogs need for you to be a pack leader and the alpha.  While I believe there are certain truths to that some take it to far.  You can see my complete thoughts on that here in a webinar I did entitled Alpha Myths Revealed.

Then you have others who suggest that you use dog friendly training methods.  These utilize positive reinforcement and do not stress dominating your dog.  The belief is that those techniques may work short term but the results will not be lasting.  With so much confusion information out there Eric Goebelbecker decided to write a blog post on the subject. It’s worth the read and you should check it out!

Read more »

Have you ever wished you had more control of your dog?

Do you wish he didn’t get overly excited for visitors, constantly barking when they come to the door, or jumping on them when they come inside your home?

Do you wish he would always listen to you… even when he’s heavily distracted or excited?

What if I told you if you changed just one thing in your dog’s life, you’d have a more manageable dog who behaves himself ALL the time.

Would you want to know what to change?

Let me explain…

You see, every animal in this world comes from a long genetic background that heavily influences how the animal thinks.  Some animals have evolved to be self sufficient and can survive on their own; where an animal like a dog isn’t genetically coded to do well on it’s own.

Dog’s live in packs.

And centuries of breeding and evolving have given dogs the tools they need to stay alive in a pack situation.  They’ve learned skills like:

How to tell what dog in the pack calls the shots

Who’s going to lead the hunting party for food tonight

Social skills at reading their pack members moods

When to leave certain dogs alone.

So thousands of years of breeding has taught your dog a thing or two about the best ways to stay alive in this world and maintain order in a pack situation.  In a VERY real sense this skill set is a “Pack Language” and…

… all dog’s know THIS “Pack Language”

And one of the most IMPORTANT principals of the “Pack Language” that your dog is genetically programmed to follow, is the concept of following, obeying & respecting the leader of the pack.

So here’s the deal… all dogs get confused when their humans, (YOU) don’t ALSO know and understand at least a little bit of this Pack language.

And if you don’t make an attempt to learn a few words and concepts of this “Pack Language” you’re probably going to run into some problems controlling your dog.

Because you’ll be sending him mixed signals!

You’ll try to use HUMAN words to get him to do things, instead of using “Pack Language” words, behaviors and mannerisms to get obedience.

Here’s a few examples of what I mean…

Example #1) The leaders of a dog pack all sleep together, while the puppies and other dog’s do NOT.  So just the act of letting your dog crawl in bed with you every night to you means that you’re being nice to your dog…

… but in “Pack Language” it means he’s a pack leader too

Example #2) In the wild, a hunting party of Wolves (where all dog’s originally came from) will let the leader of the pack lead the hunting party.

He runs at the front of the pack.

So if you’re letting your dog walk through a door, or always pull on the leash, in “Pack Language” you’re sending a VERY clear message to your dog that he’s the one running the show… NOT you.

Example #3) One of the roles of a leader of the pack is to protect the pack from danger.  He protects the packs territory, and scares off or attacks intruders.

So when your dog is barking, snarling, or growling at intruders, in Pack language you’re letting him take on the role of the leader of the pack by LETTING him PROTECT your home.

And the REAL problem is…

That by letting your dog be the LEADER of your home, he automatically behaves more defiantly.  Leaders lead, they don’t follow orders from others.

So what can you do with your dog to start regaining the leadership role in your home, get your dog to let go of his leadership roles and finally let you take the reigns?

What I recommend to most of my clients, and the strategy that seems to help transfer leadership of your home BACK to you and away from your dog is teaching your dog “there is no such thing as a free lunch”.

And I call this the “No Free Lunch Plan”

What is a No Free Lunch Plan?

It means that VERY literally, for your dog to get ANYTHING it wants it has to earn it.

If it wants to go outside it has to learn that it CAN go play outside, and even get extra rewards and play time outside… but only if he waits at the door UNTIL you give him permission to go outside.

It means that in order to go to the bathroom he has to ask you if he can go outside by rining a bell.

If he wants to be pet, he has to sit or lay down first.

It means that you shouldn’t let your dog have access to a full food bowl all day long… instead he should have feeding times, and he should have to sit, or hold a stay or perform some other type of behavior to earn the right to eat.

I realize this may sound a bit more disciplinarian that you might like, or be comfortable with.

You might not want your dog to be handled this way.

You may like being able to greet an excited dog by giving him a hug, or kissing his face or wrestling with him.  You may think it’s mean to leave him hungry and not have food all day.

But you NEED to remember that your dog does NOT speak ENGLISH as a 2nd language.  He speaks “Pack Language”… and he’s not really good at learning new languages, especially ours.

So we need to get better at learning their languages.

We need to start realizing that dogs will either treat you as a pack leader or they’ll BECOME the pack leader.  And you can either leave this to chance, or you can take active steps to determine which kind of dog yours will be.

You’ll find that some dogs will let you take charge easily, while others will be more defiant.

But just be observant.

Watch for your dog taking the leadership role.

And do your BEST to learn how to stop these behaviors before they start. And of course, you could start learning how to do this in my Hands Off Dog Training Program:

Hands Off Dog Training Program

Hope You Found This Helpful!

Happy Training,

Chet Womach

My #1 Dog Training Tip

• 

Other Resources We Suggest

• 
• 
• 

More Dog Training Topics