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| Gentle Ways to Assert Dominance With Your Dog
Some dog owners feel reluctant to assert their authority over their beloved pets, preferring to be nurturing. Dominance training, however, is not only necessary if dogs are to exist peaceably alongside humans but is also expected by them, to a large extent. Dogs are pack animals by nature, which means that they instinctively look for an alpha figure to give them a sense of direction. If you establish yourself as the “leader of the pack”, you will have not only a more peaceful and orderly home environment but also a happier pet.
The methods you use need not be abusive; in fact, dominance training goes more smoothly if you’re not overly strict. It simply involves sending certain signals to your dog to indicate that you are the pack leader and he or she has the subservient role. This conditioning should begin as soon as you take him home for the first time. Hold your dog still, make eye contact, and talk to him in an even tone so that he can get used to the sound of your voice. Your voice will actually become one of the key signals that your dog tunes into to orientate himself in this new “pack arrangement”.
Touching can also send a powerful signal. Frequent handling – especially of more vulnerable areas like paws and belly – will remind your dog that you are the boss. A good method is to turn your dog on his back, rub his tummy, and then stretch out his legs one at a time. This puts him into a position that he’ll instinctively understand as meaning subservience.
To reinforce your dominant position, you should have areas of your home – such as your bed, couch, and favorite chairs – that are off-limits to your dog. He can come to these places only when specifically invited. Occasionally pick your dog up and remove him from the area where he’s sitting and take his place. This will serve as a further reminder that you are the leader. Pecking order is another arrangement that pack animals understand, so feeding your dog only after you’ve eaten – and not tolerating begging at the table – will also help to set good boundaries.
Aside from the satisfaction of their primary physical needs, what dogs crave most from their owners is attention. Giving or withholding your attention, then, can be another useful method of reminding your dog of your eminent position. Give gentle praise when he does something that you approve of – like coming when you call – but don’t place too much stress on his misbehavior. Your dog may form the idea that this, also, is a way of getting your attention when you’re aloof. Again, you are the pack master who knows best. Provide proof of this by doling out attention when it’s appropriate and not in response to something that your dog has done to try and get it. At times you may even ignore your dog for brief periods of time – for example, when first coming home after being gone – to remind him that his role is to wait and follow your lead.
None of these methods are as insensitive as they might sound. To assert dominance over your dog in these ways is to mimic instinctive rituals that nature has been playing out for ages. Your dog will understand the meaning behind them; and, far from being threatened, will actually feel more secure after being shown his place – just as he would have been shown out in the wild.
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