Establish Your Dominance Over Your Dog

At the age of ten our family adopted our first dog. A tiny cockapoo that we named Sammy. This first little puppy ignited my passion for dog training. Over the last twenty plus years I have helped many families train their dogs. Many of these families were on the verge of giving away the family dog due to behavior problems. We've all heard the saying, "A well trained dog makes for a happy dog and a happy home. " A well trained dog starts with the basic commands and a few lifestyle changes.

Before training your dog you need to be sure that your dog understands that you are the pack leader, the alpha dog. Your dog will be difficult to train, if not impossible, if the dog believes he is the pack leader. Establishing your dominance is easy. However, it is important to understand that dominance does not equal fear. Your dog should trust and respect you, not fear you.

There are a few quick and easy ways to establish your dominance as pack leader. The longer you have had your dog the more resistence you will receive from the dog when you try to establish dominance. The trick to over coming resistance is consistency. Once you make the necessary lifestyle changes that will establish your dominance you must remain consistent. If you are not consistent the bond between you and your dog will be weak and your dog will not trust you as the pack leader.

Establish Feeding Times
Whether you feed your dog dry food, wet food, or a combination you will need to choose two times a day that your dog will be fed. If your dog has always been free fed this will cause quite a stir with your dog. No matter how long your dog whines or how desperate your dog acts he or she is not starving to death and you are not being cruel.

Part two of the scheduled feeding is limiting how long the food is available. From the moment you put the bowl of food out the clock starts running. After thirty minutes, whether your dog has eaten or not, remove the bowl of food. Unless you have an unusually stubborn dog after two or three times of scheduled feeding your dog will get the idea and will anxiously await feeding time.

Last Out, Last In
Anytime you and your dog go through a door you can establish your dominance. Approach the door with your dog and command your dog to sit. If your dog does not already know the sit command you will need to have the dog on a leash. Open the door and go through the door, if the dog tries to run out the door before you shut the door or block the dogs path with your body. Once the dog is behind you you can either command the dog to come or gently tug on the leash to let the dog know to follow you. Anytime you enter or exit a door you should walk through the door before your dog.

Designate a sleeping spot
You need to chose where your dog will sleep or nap, not the dog. The dog that thinks he is the alpha dog will not move when you approach a chair or bed where he or she is laying. This is completely unacceptable. It is ok for the dog to sleep on the bed with you but only if you invite the dog onto the bed. You can establish your dominance by claiming your dogs regular napping spots.

While you are establishing your dominance it will be necessary to limit where your dog can relax. Once you have established your dominance the dog will understand that when you approach he or she has to move.