Hold that Dog

I grew up in an animal friendly household. We had iguanas, birds, ferrets and dogs cats, and even geese and chickens. I even worked with my dog Evie, at Junior Showmanship. My favorite part of dogs showing was obedience, and my Great Pyrenees almost got a obedience title. Not quite, but if any of you know about Great Pyrenees, you'll know that these aren't easy dogs to train.

Now I rent where about all I can have is a goldfish. But let me tell you about a technique I've developed to help even the busiest person develop a good relationship with their Pooch. You see about a year ago, my aunt bought an independent alpha male, yellow lab. I could tell by the way she described his puppy hood about sleeping independently that she would have trouble with him if she didn't do some basic work with him.

While I believe in basic obedience and think good canine manners makes a happy home, some people like being embarrassed by their dog pulling them down the street and jumping on people just laughing and excusing their wayward pets.

So I decided at the very least, to keep the peace, my Aunt needed some basic training in the most basic sense. It was simple, I told her to have Buck lay on his side for a couple of minutes day. Maybe a minute or two, just to develop a pecking order in the family.

I didn't even bother telling her about regular obedience training, although I did suggest she didn't repeat her commands, such as come and sit. All of this helps establish dominance. Now this may sound weird, but all dogs are happier when they have their owner be the pack leader. As all dogs are pack dogs, and they will seek leadership.

After a year of owning Buck, and listening to my advice, she reported she is very happy with her dog and has thanked me for this bit of training advice. While he may be an exuberant one year old yellow lab, he is happy because he knows whose boss.

Anyone who starts young enough can develop a happy relationship with their dog, even their dog is a alpha male like Buck. I have learned that the important thing is that the owner is happy, and that there is a sense of order in the house, even if the dog doesn't come on command and sit and heel perfectly.

Most people are clueless about "traditional" obedience training, where you train your dog through positive reinforcement to coax proper behavior from their pooch. They aren't interested in perfect heeling, or competing in obedience trials. They say "down " when they want a dog off the couch and don't understand that dogs can't understand the difference between "Down" meaning off and laying down.

Most people don't know that letting their dog pull them down the street isn't good for the dog and don't know that putting the collar on right and using consistent training can cut down on this and by combining this with the "hold down" technique I described earlier can help prevent aggressive behavior and create harmony.

While the "Hold Down" method isn't new, and I learned it from an obedience trainer, using it as the only real obedience training, is pretty new and I am happy that it worked for my busy Aunt who has had some pretty unhappy experiences with previous dogs.

I find that it may be beneficial to try this technique, even if your dog is older and a little out of control. It can be helpful to remember that dogs may be a relative of the wolf and wolves are known for having a pecking order. And if you don't lead, you follow, so it really does effect your relationship with your dog. Once you understand this simple rule. It is simple to use and can increase peace and harmony in your relationship with your dog.