by We know that dogs are pack animals – they’ve always been and always will be, regardless of whether they’re domestic or in the wild. That being said, when you bring a puppy or dog into your family, they’re joining your pack. As tough as it may sound, it’s important that you establish very quickly their pecking order in the pack. Your new puppy or dog needs to understand that they’re at the bottom of the pack, and they need to respect the order of the pack.
The question so many people ask and you’re probably wondering yourself is – how do you do that? They key is to be consistent in all your actions while you’re establishing your seniority in the ‘pack’ so that it’s very clear what is expected of them and what they can and cannot do. Dogs see things in black and white and when you throw some gray into the equation, it just confuses them, making it hard for them to understand what they’re allowed to do or how they’re allowed to act.
For example, they can’t be allowed to get on the couch sometimes and not other times, in their mind, you’ve let them on before so they think they might be able to other times – they’re confused. The same goes with chewing shoes, you may have given them an old shoe to chew, yet when they see a new pair of shoes you left near the door they don’t know the difference nor whether or not they’re allowed to chew it. In these cases, you might come home from the store or work and your shoes are chewed sometimes and other times there not.
Establishing pecking order in the pack is also done when it comes time to feed your dog. Whether you feed your dog once, twice or three times a day, depending on their feeding schedule and whether they’re a puppy or full-grown dog, it’s important not to free feed your dog. When it’s time to feed your dog, put the food down for 5-minutes and if they don’t eat it, pick it up and put it down again at their next mealtime.
Also, in a pack, the leader of the pack always eats first, and you should always feed your dog after you eat to strengthen your position as the pack leader. If your dog’s feeding time does not fit with your mealtime, it a small snack and let the dog see that you are eating before it, and then feed your dog. And if you have more than one dog, make sure to put the newest dog’s food down last.
Remember, be consistent with all your actions to establish the pack order and with any training you are doing with your dog. Everyone in the family should also be treating the dog the same way and with the same actions, which is important to reinforce to the dog their order in the pack.
This can be difficult when you have children, particularly younger ones, but it’s up to any adults in the family to make sure that the dog understands that they are beneath the children in the pack order. It can be potentially dangerous when a dog feels they are senior to a child, not to mention the dog will think they can do whatever they want when they are only with the children when the dog believes they are higher ranked in the pack.
When reinforcing the behavior expectations you have of your dog, only ask for behaviors you’re willing to back up and enforce in a consistent manner. A simple example is when you ask your dog to sit using a normal voice tone and he doesn’t, don’t command him in stronger more firm voice. This tells your dog that he doesn’t need to listen to your command until after you use a more commanding tone.
Instead, when your dog doesn’t listen the first time, use the same tone of voice while gently pressing on their backend to put the dog into a sitting position – then praise the dog. This method can be used with various other training exercises while helping you to remain as the leader of the pack.
Something else to keep in mind when training your dog as the pack leader is that emotions do not belong in training. Once you, or anyone doing the training, becomes angry at the dog, everything will begin to fall apart. Never correct a dog while you’re angry, instead use a lot of food and praise while remaining positive during training. You are setting the expectations of how the leader and the members of the pack should act.
If you act with anger, the message to the dog and others in the pack is that anger, which for a dog might be barking or biting, is the expected way. Remain calm and positive, and training will go much smoother and stick for much longer.When a new puppy or dog joins the family, be consistent with these actions and behaviors and work with you dog multiple times through the day.
A happy pack is a happy family!
