According to Wikipedia, ‘alpha’, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, denotes the first of a series of items or categories and in the case of a group of animals it means ‘the socially dominant individual’ or leader.
In other words ‘Alpha Dog’ and ‘Leader of the Pack’ are the same thing really aren’t they? In fewer words we could say ‘Boss’ but the important thing to remember here is that this exalted position is earned through respect; unlike many so-called ‘bosses’ at work who are often there for no understandable reason. But I digress.
As you know dogs are pack animals, and there always must be a leader of the pack…
... And that has to be you!
So you need to ensure that your dog understands that you are his or her leader, doing this will earn you the respect and confidence of your dog.
Once you’ve gained your dogs respect and confidence this will make any dog training a whole lot easier for you as well as a far more pleasurable experience.
Failure to gain the respect of your dog results in a disobedient animal, as they will think THEY are the lead dog and not you.
Start While Your Dog is Young
Most new puppy owners love to give their animal tons of love and affection and don’t think of chastising it when young. This often results in their puppy not understanding it’s place and can allow it to grow up not knowing who the leader is. Instinctively it then tries to assume the leadership role which can lead to conflict in the family and disobedience problems.
It’s necessary to give your puppy lots of love but you also need to be aware that instilling your leadership and gaining the respect from your dog at the outset are equally important.
In fact, I would go as far as to say that leadership and respect are more important, because it is only when you are the leader and have earned the respect from your dog that you can truly enjoy the benefits of having a dog in the family.
For this reason you should start instilling your alpha status as early as possible, but…
How do you do that?
There are many ways to reinforce this position, too many to list all here but here are a few of the most important:
- * Meal times – Always feed your dog after you and your family have been fed. In the wild the Alpha dog gets the first pickings of the meal then the other dogs have their turn in order of importance.
* Going for a walk – Always make your dog wait until you are ready to go for a walk. Don’t let her come to you and demand you drop everything just because she wants to go for a walk. This may seem a little difficult at first but you are the leader and as such YOU decide when to go anywhere.
* Going out the door – When you take your dog for a walk and leave the house make sure you leave first, the same applies when returning,. The alpha dog always has precedence over the other dogs so chooses which direction to go and leads the field.
* Doorways and sleeping dogs – In the wild the alpha dog wouldn’t move around another dog that was in his path. You need to apply this rule in your household. For instance if your dog is sleeping in the doorway you want to go through, gently but firmly make her move out of your way. DON’T just step over her as this will confuse her in her ranking. Soon she will beome aware of your movements and quickly let you pass without any qualms.
* Treats – Don’t feed her treats will-nilly, make her work for her reward. Treats are an ideal way to reinforce the ‘Sit’, ‘Down’, ‘Heel’ and ‘Go to your bed’ etc. commands.
* Commands – It is imperative that your dog obeys all your commands without you repeating them more that once or twice. Don’t keep telling your dog to sit without reinforcing the action. Here is where you should use gentle but firm physical reinforcement, ie pushing down on her hind quarters as you say her name and the command. Also treats work well here. The key factor is to get her attention if she is ignoring you, use a can filled with pebbles, rattle it and say her name clearly then give the command.
Well then, I’ll let you get on with the important task of building your status as Alpha dog. If you’d like more information about your ‘Alpha dog’ status or dog training in general I highly recommend you take a look at ‘SitStayFetch’ – it’s been a boon to us.
Have a great day with your dog.
Stuart
PS
Don’t forget to leave a comment, Susan and I are always happy to hear from you.
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