You must win your dogs mind. Your dog will then always listens to you, does as you ask, and looks to you for all the decisions. 5 Golden rules to establishing yourself as the pack leader.
Motivate your dog using food, affection (pats, cuddles, verbal praises), and toys. Find out what it is that your dog enjoys both in terms of exercise and play but also in terms of a reward and help your dog develop this. Vary your reward and never use the same reward every time.
Learn how to encourage desirable behavior in your dog.
One of the best sites that shows you all of this and more is The Online Dog Trainer, put together by top Dog Trainer, Doggy Dan. CLICK HERE.
Fearful dogs are nearly always lacking strong pack leaders, and their owners are often the kindest and gentlest people, but they fail to recognize is that their dog is actually scared because the owner is giving them the message that they are the pack leader. Their dog like many is not able to handle the pressure, nor should they be expected to.
If you are 4 years old and find yourself in a dark wood with your younger sister and there is a strange noise or a person coming towards you then you may very well be afraid. However if one of your parents were there with you though, then everything would be fine. That is because you would not be in charge! This is how it is for your dog when you make them the pack leader. They are terrified and just want to get home safe and alive.
At the point your dog starts to become aggressive he is taking no notice at all of you. He is making his own decisions and will not listen to you if you try to show him a different way to behave. What he is doing is simply too important to him and is the right thing to do. Dog aggression is nearly always done in order to protect, their pack and their own lives.
Firstly there is of course a whole range of different types of aggression from dominant to fearful and everything in between. Then there is aggression that occurs the whole time and other aggression, which is very erratic, and random depending on a number of differing factors. We could also look at what your dog is aggressive towards; it could be people, animals, other dogs or objects.
The way to stop dog aggression however is very much the same, or at least the cause of the problem is the same. Your dog thinks that it is the pack leader, becomes fearful and attacks to protect, you and himself. Dominant dogs will be more proactive, often attacking when they still have the option of running away, fearful dogs will only attack if they have no place to run. All the other factors pale into insignificance compared to this.
The most important concept to grasp if you want to understand how to stop dog aggression is that your dog must first look to you as the pack leader in the home. Only then can you convince him that you are the pack leader on the walk.
Once you have convinced your dog that you are the pack leader outside then upon reaching the point where he usually is aggressive you will find that he will actually start to take notice of how you are behaving! If you aren’t then your dog will probably continue to ignore what you are doing at this point forever.
Just remember, dogs are pack animals and they follow the pack leader.
Separation anxiety is a very stressful behavioral issue that effects a huge percentage of the dog population, possibly as high as 14%. It is one of the most misunderstood issues with people trying to treat it by approaching it from a human point of view and failing to see the cause. The answer to how to stop separation is simple. Show your dog that you are the pack leader. Let me explain.
The following behaviors could be a symptom that your dog is distressed when you are away, especially if these behaviors stop when you return:
Chewing –releases an endorphin in an attempt to stay calm.
Barking, whining – this is a call for the owners to return to the pack.
Escaping when you are not there – often very destructive, extreme and sometimes dangerous.
Digging, destruction – this is all connected to stressful and anxious behavior.
Self-mutilation – excessive, licking and chewing oneself. Excessive drooling is also a sign of stress.
Toileting – If it is only occurring when your dog is away from you then it is very likely connected to your dog having separation anxiety.
If you are serious about how to stop separation anxiety then you must become the pack leader.
Many dog behavioral problems stem from the fact that the dog is dragging you along the street. To put it simply your dog thinks it is in charge of the walk or in dog terms it sees itself as the pack leader!
Your dog understands that on the walk, somebody has to be the leader, and your dog is simply taking the lead! It is more of a psychological battle than a physical one. This first stage of the walk is actually ensuring that you are the pack leader inside the house before you look to venture out as no dog will let you simply take control over the walk, if you are not in control inside.
Here are some key tips to try before you venture out:
After bringing out your dogs lead wait until your dog calms down even if this takes a while and only attach it when your dog is calm. Never rush this stage.
You need to first learn how to stop your dog from pulling inside your house or property before going outside – there are some fantastic videos that show all of this.
Walk first around the house going around the tables and furniture in your house with your dog following you.
If your dog pulls out in front of you then simply change direction, leaving your dog behind you.
If your dog drags backwards then gently hold the lead firm for 10 seconds then call your dog to follow. They have no other options and so will follow you if you are patient.
Control the doorways – you should always walk through the doorways first when your dog is on the lead
Practice walking in and out of the front doorway with you going first – keep doing this until your dog relaxes and gives up waiting for you to make the next move
Check your posture – make sure that you are relaxed and calm and that your shoulder is down and arm is straight at the elbow
The best way to show your puppy where you want them to toilet is to show them the correct place. The best way to do this is to take them out when they need to go and then praise them and give them an amazing treat when they go in the right place.
After a meal, puppies will often need to go within 60 seconds so always take them straight outside. You should also take them outside as soon as they wake up, as their bowls will start to move and also last thing at night.
The basic formula to any good recall training is:
CALL your dog to you, then
REWARD your dog within 2 seconds and then immediately
RELEASE your dog.
In order to make your dog enjoy the experience you should learn the power of using affection and attention by withholding it and only giving it as a reward. This is one of the most powerful tools available to us and yet we get it all so wrong by giving the dog attention whenever they want and wondering why they don’t come when we call them!
Puppies jumping up are a very natural thing that they do when they are little – to get attention – and in the wild to get fed by licking the Mother’s face to encourage food to be regurgitated. Showing your puppy that it does not get attention when it jumps is something that you should encourage from a very early age. Often it can seem like fun when a puppy is very small but when your dog grows to 35kg and can jump 5 foot high it is not so funny.
If you do not stop the jumping when your puppy is little then when your puppy turns into a larger dog it soon turns into a more dominant display of demanding your attention!
If your puppy is jumping up, simply turn and walk away. Ignore your puppy, no eye contact, no speaking and no touching. Continue to ignore and then after your puppy has calmed down, wait for 5 minutes and then call your puppy to you.
If your puppy does not stop then isolate your puppy by either leaving the room or by putting the puppy in another room.
Puppy jumping up on visitors:
If your puppy is jumping on your visitors then ask them to do the same as described above. It may also help if you hold the puppy by its collar or on a lead until they relax – then release. If your puppy decides to mouth you then you should immediately isolate them in another room or a crate.
Puppy jumping up at you when you are getting ready for the walk:
Put the leash down and wait for 10 minutes or until your puppy is calm, then try again. This is important and although you are keen to go for a walk you should not rush it!
Important concepts:
It is really important not to speak – to stay calm and not say a word when your puppy jumps up. Remember your puppy is an attention-seeking machine!
Your puppy's jumping up and space invading is not its way of saying I love you!!
Space is very important to a dog and if she can invade yours whenever she wants then she will lose respect for you.
Start as you mean to go on. When your puppy is calm then you can call her and pick her up for a cuddle
When you are ignoring your puppy keep your arms folded and walk past the puppy confidently and assertively.
The two most common mistakes:
Inconsistency - sometimes puppy jumping up is given attention!
People make eye contact...This invites your puppy over, so do not make eye contact, focus on something else.
Another trick that will help is to train your puppy to sit for everything! If you can get your puppy to practice lots of "sits" then her default behavior will simply be to sit when you call her, and not jump!
For more information on puppy training then check The Online Dog Trainer it is a great source of fascinating information that covers off everything you need to know about raising a happy puppy using videos. CLICK HERE.