Did you know that your dog thinks that all the human members in your family are members of the same pack as they are? 

For this reason alone, it is essential that your dog quickly understands who is the real boss - the pack leader (ie. you and other members of your family) and that he ranks bottom of the hierarchy !!  For instance, if your dog jumps on the chair before you get a chance to sit down, then he thinks that he is the leader of the pack and has first choice. Wrong !!  You get the chair and he gets his own dog bed or his own dog kennel.  A bit like the old days when dad had his own chair and one of the kids jumped in it - not a good idea !!

This isn’t being mean to your dog, it just helps him to realise that you are the pack leader and being consistent in this type of behaviour towards your dog ensures that he’ll answer your commands and therefore be better behaved because he knows the ground rules.  Once this has been established, you will happily want to include your dog in most family activities.

Every pack needs a leader to help enforce the ranking hierarchy which is prevalent in every pack as this ensures that each member of your pack operates in harmony. As mentioned earlier, this is not being mean to your dog nor does it mean bullying your dog into submission.  Being the pack leader means taking responsibility for pack decisions.  Just like being head of the family, it involves protecting your pack and making sure that stressful situations are avoided or quickly resolved.

To establish yourself as the pack leader you need to start looking at how you play with your dog when he is a puppy.  For instance, if you play “Tug-O-War” with his toys then make sure you win more times than he does.  This makes him aware that you are stronger than he is.  If you play ball with him and have him chasing the ball around the garden or in his dog run, then make sure you remove the ball when YOU have had enough.  This shows you dog that you are of higher ranking as you have taken possession of the ball.  Also, make sure that your dog learns at an early age that he has to release the ball when you ask for it, as this reinforces that you are of higher rank than him within the pack. If your dog tries to snap at you to get the ball back or he growls at you or even gets over-excited, then stop playing straight away and put the toy away as this is your dog’s way of trying to gain control over you and showing dominance in an effort to usurp your position in the pack.

A doorway or gateway represents new territory to your dog so make sure that you claim that territory first by not allowing your dog to go through first.  This is true both within the house and also if he has an outdoor dog kennel with adjoining dog run.  If your dog has a dog kennel with adjoining dog run,  you may want to get into the run area but don’t  want him to escape through the doorway so you need to make sure he knows that he can only go through that doorway if you permit it.  Also, make some areas in your house “no go” areas unless you give him permission.  Your dog has to learn that he has to earn the right to go into these areas rather than taking it for granted.

If your dog is lying on the carpet and is in your way, ask him nicely to move to his dog bed rather than walk around him as again, this reinforces that you are in charge and he has to move to let you pass.

At meal times, always eat your food first as higher ranking members of dog packs always have the first feed.  ideas-4-pets would advise you not to feed your dog titbits whilst you are eating as this not only encourages scrounging but again reinforces his position in the pack - not to mention him getting overweight !!

Dogs will almost always vie for attention when ideally it should be the pack leader who should initiate the attention.  However, we all love to pet our dogs so don’t necessarily always discourage this, just make sure that every now and again you are not at his beck and call and ignore his attention seeking behaviour by looking away and not speaking to him.

Large dogs often jump up and put their paws on your shoulders and this should be discourages as it means that your dog is aiming to take a superior position and usurp your position as head of the pack.  If your dog tries this just walk away and ignore the behaviour.

There will always be times when your dog challenges your authority but you should never resort to physically punishing your dog when he does.  Your body language and your facial expressions will be enough for him to know that this will not be tolerated.

Finally, you and your family should always be consistent in your approaches to your dog whether you are indoors or outdoors.  It’s no good one member of family refusing to feed your dog titbits during mealtimes and another one dropping scraps under the table for him!!  Without consistency, your dog will be totally confused as he will not have any guidelines to learn by and this will create tension for him and for the family