How to Stop Your Dog's Bad Behavior

The relationships with our dogs have become closer and closer over the years, until it's sometimes difficult to separate the species when naming family members. Down through the ages dogs and their human counterparts have evolved a great deal towards forging an ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship. But how far have we really come? When we ask Fido if he's missed us after coming home from a long day at the office, do we really believe he knows what we've asked him? When Fido gives us a great big grin, do we really know what he's trying to say?

According to the famous "dog whisperer" Cesar Millan, the universal language we can use to communicate with our dogs and that our dogs can use to communicate with us is "energy" (Millan & Peltier, 2006, p. 62). Through our emotions and the scents we as humans inadvertently give off, our pets (and strange animals alike!) know exactly what's going on in our heads, according to Millan.

Most people realize that a dog can sense fear in someone instantly, which instantly puts the dog at an advantage. Animals are so in tune with the energy of the world that some call it a "6th sense," and show as examples animals that fled the area prior to the horrible tsunami in Asia, and prior to tornados and hurricanes hitting their area (Millan & Peltier, 2006, p. 67).

This powerful ability of dogs to sense the energy around them makes them very sensitive to their owners' energy in particular. In the same way, if we want to learn to effectively communicate with our furry friends, we need to harness this energy and make sure what we're portraying to Fido is indeed what needs to be portrayed.

According to Millan, this means making sure to always be consistent with your pet. If you let him get away with it once, he'll want to continue to get away with it. Also, make sure your dog knows who is "top dog" in the family (that's YOU in case you thought it was your dog!). A dog likes to know where he stands, and he feels more comfortable if he knows his place in the pack.

Additionally, Millan is a firm believer in daily exercise. Taking your dog for a walk every single day can reduce a lot of the "bad" behavior. Daily exercise helps to tire him out and use up all that pent-up energy. If daily walks don't help enough, Millan says to give your dog a job. You can put a doggy backpack on him with a couple of bottles of water to give him this additional duty during your daily walk.

You will be amazed at how easily your "bad" dog can be turned into a good one!