Dogs: How Do You Take Control of Your Pack

Teaching your dog to come, sit, stay and lay down are basic commands most dogs can quickly learn. Learning to obey commands go hand-in-hand with you having control of your dog/s. It's not difficult to take control of your pack as long as you are consistent, fair minded, patient and calm when dealing with them. A pack is one or more dogs and you need to hold the alpha position in order to maintain stability in the pack.

Dogs are pack animals who live in a social hierarchy with one pack member as the alpha. It can be a male or female who assumes the role as leader. The next link in the chain is you who should have total control over the entire pack. A leaderless pack of dogs is just like a leaderless group of people. If you don't take control, you end up with a chaotic mob with every member going in different directions with no clear leader. No one is happy and because there's no stability, fights break out, they may refuse to obey commands and there's a break down of their social structure. In other words, a leaderless pack of dogs is more apt to have behavioral problems, discipline problems and more likely to be more aggressive and harder to control.

Raising dogs is just like raising kids. They need to know and understand who's in charge. Of course the best time to establish yourself with your dog is when he's a pup, but with so many dogs adopted from shelters as adults, it's not always possible. Whether adopting or buying a dog, it's up to us to teach them by leading how we expect them to act.

Take control of your pack with a basic understanding of the body language of dogs along with knowing your dog's personality. A more aggressive dog or one who is more dominate will be harder to teach for one simple reason; he doesn't want to relinquish his control to you. So it's up to you to earn his respect before he will fully accept your leadership. Dogs want to know who's in charge. I have multiple dogs and because I do have control of my pack and their respect I can control possible problems by stepping in before things get out of hand. Neutered males will still jockey for the top position amongst themselves even with an owner who's in control and that's why multiple dog owners need to understand and pay attention to their dog's body language to stop fights before they begin.

Being the leader of a pack means you provide your dog/s with all of their basic needs including their protection whether you are on a walk, at a dog park or at home. Make time to play with them and teach basic commands. You can easily take control of your pack when you consistently show them what you expect by repeating a command calmly and firmly until your dog understands what you are asking him to do. A heavy handed approach will not work for most dogs and isn't necessary. Hitting, kicking or yelling at your pet will not work. Most dogs respond well to a gentle and repetitive approach. Like us, dogs want and need to feel accepted in their surroundings and they are willing to work with us as long as we work with them in a respectful and consistent way.

Basic needs for dogs are the same as ours. Food, shelter, companionship, medical care and mating. You control mating by making sure dogs not used for breeding purposes by responsible breeders are spayed or neutered. When it comes to food, in the dog hierarchy, the leader of the pack eats first every time. You take the best sitting and sleeping spots and you are the one always in front leading the way. If you feed your dog/s before you eat, grab a snack and eat it in front of him/them and then feed him/them. If your dog has gotten comfy in your easy chair or on the couch, make him move before you sit down. It's fine if he comes back up after you've settled in. That's a great time to provide him with companionship.

Take control of your pack by teaching your dog to follow behind you. Anytime you get up to take him outside, go for a walk, walk up and down steps or when you go to answer the door, your dog should be walking behind you or slightly behind you by your side. It's not difficult to teach him to follow, as long as you stay consistent and calm. Walk around your home or outside in the yard and when your dog moves ahead of you, simply turn around and walk the other way. Keep doing this until your dog stays behind you as you walk. It may take some time, but this is an easy and simple way to take control of your pack and earn your dog's respect. It also gives both of you some exercise.

A happy, stable dog is confident and many aggression problems can be avoided when you take control of your pack. Don't mistake a dominate dog for an aggressive dog. They are two different things. Stay calm, consistent, patient and fair whenever you interact with your dog. Respect your pet by earning theirs and you will have the right to call yourself the leader of the pack.

A Dog Fight-Understanding Your Pack, Dog Breed Info Center

Robin Kovary, Taming the Dominant Dog, American Dog Training Network

Becoming Leader of the Pack, paw-rescue.org