all about dogs

What’s the biggest question we get asked when trying to train their dog or puppy? It’s “How do I become the pack leader?”. The most important process in training your dog is to convince them that you are in charge. As the person in charge – the pack leader – you are the decision maker: where and when to go for a walk, how to behave and respond to all the various situations, people and events that occur in everyday life.

Dogs naturally work in packs and it is the leader who makes all the decisions. The last thing you – or your dog – wants is for the decisions to be left up to them. That will inevitably lead to things going wrong.

So how do you do this? Well firstly you must realise what NOT to do. One of the worst things is to try to dominate your dog. You will simply be telling it that it is all about physical strength and while you may force it to become submissive it will believe that you have bullied your way into the pack leader role.

Fortunately there is a much easier and more effective way. No matter the breed, all dogs speak the same language and so will respond to the right method pretty well all the time. By far the best way to learn to be the pack leader is to watch it being done on video (there are some very good video-based websites).

When your dog barks he is probably alerting you to what he perceives as danger (this is the actual cause of so-called dog barking problems). When your dog does this stay in total control and be calm.

If your dog pulls on its leash you again must assert yourself firmly and clearly that the behavior is not acceptable.

Observe your dog at home. If it is able to relax and ‘switch off’ you know that it feels it is not ‘on duty’ as the pack leader and is trusting you with that role. This is related directly so how you greet your dog when you return home (this can be very subtle so again I suggest you watch it on a dog training video so you can see the difference).

Perhaps the most important step in establishing control of your dog and being the pack leader is feeding your dog correctly. This is a lot more than just getting him or her to sit for its food!

The benefits to understanding how to become the pack leader are enormous and I would go so far as to say that until you do you will continue to have dog-related issues of one sort or another. A video from a reputable dog trainer will be of enormous help.