Wednesday, November 30, 2011

My Puppy Doesn't Accept Me as the Pack Leader - Help!

By Dirk Gruenberg


As pack animals dogs are genetically designed to look up to their pack leader. The pack leader is the lead dog. He will often make important decisions that involve the whole pack such as where to go. The rest of the pack will then follow the leader. He is in charge and that is accepted.

Of course, these days, most dogs live in homes and not in the wild. This means that they will be looking to their owners for guidance. And if you do not claim the position of pack leader, your dog is likely to misbehave.

So learning how to make your puppy accept you as the pack leader will help create a harmonious living environment for both of you. So how can you go about doing this?

One thing to remember is that you always need to be firm, when your puppy misbehaves. You have to establish that you control the environment that they live in.

They must learn that there are rules in your home. Let's say they start chewing on your couch, you have to immediately correct this behavior.

You have to come up to your dog, as he is chewing away and surprise him with a big "no". Then take him away from the couch. Make sure that your voice communicates the severity of the misbehavior.

Another thing to consider is the following: always be first. Whenever you enter your home or a place with your pet, make sure that you are always first. This will give your puppy the initial instinct that you are the one to be followed. You are leading him or her to whenever you go out for walks.

And last but not least, it is important that you always stay calm. In the wild, you would find that the pack leader is calm even in times of crisis.

Staying calm is especially important when training your dog. Nothing could be worse than you acting hectic at such a time. Don't do that. Simply stay calm and firmly correct mistakes.




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