Begin your dog training by learning how to understand your dog! The following books can be ordered through dog magazines, found at local book stores, pet shops or the library.
Everything that your dog does relates, in its basic form, to canine pack behavior or canine survival instincts. The dog always thinks, acts, reacts and behaves like a dog, as per its natural instincts and abilities. It stands to reason that the dog cannot think like a human, act like a human react like a human or be human... it is, after all, a dog.
Many dog owners make the mistake of thinking of their dog as a "little human in a fur coat"... or as a "replacement child." If you expect to have a normal, sound, healthy relationship with your dog, don't make this mistake! Learn to appreciate your dog as a canine companion and love it for what it is. Do not read "human qualities" into its behavior and your relationship will take a big step forward. Remember the great canine ability to adapt to human behavior. Some dogs are great actors and can easily use mock human behavior patterns and emotions. The dog has survived, as a species, by playing our game from the beginning.
The basic nature of the canine is that of a "social animal". It wants, likes, and needs, company, and leadership! Not so very different from the human.
In the wild state, canines travel, hunt, live and survive in groups known as "packs." The canine pack supplies group companionship, family relationship, individual safety and survival for the members. The canine pack can be large or small. It is made up of several individuals of varying ages and sexes. Sometimes the pack members are related to each other... sometimes they are not. The general group cohesiveness, regulation of all conflict and behavior guidelines, are all maintained through a governing form called the "dominance order". Each member has a place in this dominance order, earned through the individual's intelligence, abilities, strength of body and dominance of temperament.
Topping the dominance order is the "pack leader" and its mate. They are known as the "alpha male" and the "alpha female". Both have proved their ability to rule and their worthiness as leaders through interactions within the pack. They are the ones which can dominate over all others within their pack. Conflict and fighting are very limited in the canine pack, due to the dominance order and each member knowing and keeping to its place within this system. With the danger of inter-pack fighting gone, there is seldom risk of injury through fighting. Thus the pack is better fit for hunting and maintaining their survival.
Breeding is regulated through the dominance order and the available food supply of prey species. Only the dominant pair will breed and produce young. The balance of the pack works as "nannies" and extra food suppliers to aid in the wellbeing and survival of the young, as well as continued survival of the pack unit.
Lowest on the dominance order are the young pups. They learn, through the teachings and domination of older pack members, the correct, acceptable behavior patterns within the group. Once weaned, young pups vie with each other for peer dominance and the leader-follower bond. Here they learn the behavior patterns which will be needed to earn their own place in the pack dominance order as they mature. Thus, by their very basic nature, the normal, healthy puppy is a very pushy individual...self-centered, with the tendency to go as far as it can in all endeavors. The pup is seeking leadership guidance and behavior limitations, which it receives within the canine pack... and should receive within the human home.
The relationship between human and dog is known as a "mixed pack". The dog transfers all of its normal pack behavior instincts to its human companions. In the dog's mind, the humans of the household (as well as any other dogs in the household) become fellow members of its "pack"...i.e.; group or family unit. Topping the dominance order in the mixed pack is the person with the strongest personality and ability to dominate over the dog...this person is looked upon by the dog, as "pack leader". All remaining members of the mixed pack...be they human or dog...are looked upon, by the dog, as fellow members of the dominance order, ranking either higher or lower than the dog in dominance, depending on their personalities and ability to dominate the dog.
In order to live happily with the dog and begin the foundation of all further training, the dog owner must first establish a strong, normal, sound relationship with the dog, that is to say, "a leader-follower bond" with the human as leader. As with any relationship...whether between humans or between human and animal...the development of said relationship will take time, interest, and dedication. The dog owner will get as much out of the relationship with their dog as they are willing to put into it! Successful development of the "leader-follower bond" is through the use of applied canine psychology and using the dog's natural instinct to our purposes, just as our prehistoric ancestors did!!
The dog owner must convince their dog to pay attention to him/her both as a leader and as a companion. As in the canine pack, where the young learn behavior guidelines from elders through interactions and physical contact, so is it in the human-dog mixed pack. The dog owner must actively participate in developing the leader-follower bond through large amounts of physical contact petting, playing, grooming, corrections for errors (always firm, clear, but never over done!), balanced with praise, fairness and encouragement. The dog owner's "leader" image must be established on a basis of actions, not ideas or verbals (a non-verbal intellectual relationship). Verbals having no meaning to the dog in the beginning.
Once the correct leader-follower bond is established, the dog owner will find that a strong bond of affection and loyalty has also developed between dog and dog owner. Many beginners in dog training mistakenly believe that they will lose the dog's affection by placing demands of obedient behavior on the dog. Such people do not understand basic canine pack psychology. In actual fact, when the owner accustoms themselves to projecting a dominant leadership image and behavior guidelines, instead of growing fearful of the dog owner, the dog feels a stronger attachment to the owner. The reasons being, that the dog owner has proved themselves worthy, in the dog's mind, to be loved and to be loyal to, because the dog owner has supplied two of the dog's basic needs, companionship and leadership guidance.
Editor's Note: We are speaking of appropriate leader-follower, human-dog relationships.
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