As soon as you mention Pack Leader, many people automatically envision some sort of acute dominance such as pinning a dog to the ground. From now on, when you hear Pack Leader, I want you to hear parent. In many peoples lives, it may not have actually been a parent that made them feel safe. It may have been an Aunt, Uncle, teacher, or coach. Over time there was a person who through their actions showed you that you were cared for and safe. They consistantly met your needs more than anyone else. This created trust and that trust led you to focus on them even in the most out of control situations. Often they also disciplined you more than anyone else as well. With a consistent mix of love and discipline, they shaped your behavior. That is how we train dogs.
Dogs are like children that never grow up. You will always have to provide for all their needs. They cannot even go out a door unless you open it. Dogs have five resources that we call the Canine Commodities. They are food, water, space, toys, and attention. A basic training principle is that you never give them too many options at once because it will overwhelm them. For example, let’s discuss the #1 commodity, movement. Out of the five commodities, movement is the one that is always in play. Part of movement is space and you and your dog are always moving and/or taking up space. When you’re with them, their space and movement is always in relation to you. The majority of communication between dogs is movement, so if you don’t move with them, you cannot communicate with them. This is why loose lead walking is the foundation of all obedience. It’s why dogs need at least a short walk every day. If you cannot control your dog on a leash, you will never be able to control them off leash. They need to be conditioned to focus on you both while stationary and while moving. The less you talk while moving, the faster your dog will see you as the pack leader.
Clients will often describe their dogs as constantly being “under foot,” trying to rush past them, through gates in the house, up and down stairs, and out the front door. This behavior often becomes more obvious around 4-6 months of age as the dog becomes sexually mature and tries to establish dominance. Dogs have gotten into some vicious and bloody fights trying to get out the door at the same time. It’s because they instinctually know that whoever goes out first is in charge. Most of the time one dog will yield to another so that there isn’t any need for aggression. That is how your dog feels about you every time they lead you in or out of a space. Dogs are like us in that they typically don’t use anymore energy than needed to accomplish something. If they can just brush past you, there isn’t any need for a bark or a growl. I have said before that if for some reason you are unable to walk your dog, at least lead them in an out your front door a few times a day. You walk out first and pop the lead until they stay and look at you and wait for you to lead them out.
If you watch dogs run and play together, you can easily see which dogs are driving the play. Since most of us cannot run fast enough to keep up with our dogs, it is imperative that we use a lead to keep them at our pace.
Dogs are easily overwhelmed with options. Dog owners are led all over the place by their dogs presumptively looking for a place to go potty. That is not the case. It’s like going to the mall and seeing a bathroom and deciding to use it. You don’t go to the mall looking for a bathroom. The world is your dog’s mall. They use their nose to interpret the world. They are not looking for a place to go, they just find one along the way. Your dog should walk next to you on a loose leash, with their shoulder in line with your knee. Keep them moving. When you come to a place where you have seen your dog or another dog eliminate before, stop, give them the whole leash, and give them a few minutes to sniff and go. As soon as they are done, or a few minutes has passed, take up the slack in the leash and continue your walk.
The other day I had Odin in our outside kennel along with our two other two older dogs. When I walked up and put my hand on the latch, Odin stepped forward and the other two dogs stepped back. They know Odin is in charge and he constantly reminds them of it, usually with a look, and a growl every once in a while. He never takes a day off as the leader of my other five dogs.
Over just the past week we have heard from three different clients about their 4-6 month old dogs who are beginning to show signs of food aggression. It always starts the same way. The dog has food and someone moves close to the dog and he growls. The worst and most natural reaction is to move away. This feedback tells the dog that growling is effective, and if it is effective he will keep doing it. Then when someone does not hear or heed the growl, it will be followed up with a nip and in the worst cases, a bite. From very early, the “OK” command should be used to condition the dog to eat their food or a treat.
While on the subject of food, my Mother never put dinner on the table and said “eat whenever you want to”. I am pretty sure that yours didn’t either. Then don’t leave your dog’s food out. Food should be offered for 15 minutes. The only thing I say during the feeding ritual is “OK”. Believe me, the dog will focus on the person that gives and takes away their food. Being the one who also controls the movement will cement you as the pack leader. Once you have bonded with a dog using these two primary resources, they will trust and focus on you. You will have their undivided attention. A dog with clear, consistant leadership, is happy and fulfilled.
Purposely absent from this article is constantly giving the dog treats or providing a never ending supply of dog toys. There are basically three types of toys: chew, chase, and tug. The best is the one that is interactive. For example, for Odin is tug, for our Patterdale Terrier Duffy it’s chase. Playing with and controlling the dog’s favorite toy allows you to tap into the third most important commodity. There is another type of toy, I call them mind toys. They provide the dog’s mental stimulation, usually when they are alone. In most cases, I am not a big fan. I like to provide the mental stimulation with walks and other physical interaction. Also, we need to understand the difference between a toy and a reward. A reward is something that the dog does not get to keep and it is only enjoyed when you are together. When you find something your dog loves more than anything else, use that as your reward.
Like food, water is only provided by you. There is not much to say here except that a thirsty dog is appreciative of water and who provides it to them.
Last, but certainly not least, is attention. The improper use of attention is what creates many of the problems we have with our dogs. To dogs, attention comes in tree basic types: verbal, movement, and touch. For too many dogs, the only time they get attention is when they are misbehaving. Most often it comes in the form of yelling and movement. The obvious human response to barking is yelling at the dog to stop. The dog hears this as you barking with them. It makes sense since it is usually done repetitively from behind the dog. A dog this is taught to focuses on you with a pop on the leash while out and about will focus on you while inside. They will learn to ignore what you ignore.
Dogs love to take things they know they are not supposed to have and run. As soon as you chase them, it’s on. If this is an issue with your dog, consider leaving a lead on in the house, instead of chasing them, step on the leash and pull them to you.
Always be sure that your response to a maladaptive behavior does not add emotion or energy to the situation. Formulate an intuitive, repeatable response to behaviors. Do your best to pet only when calm to link the feeling to the action.
It is not lost on me that I have been all over the place in this article. You have been feeding from a firehose. To summarize I will say this. You can’t have a conversation with someone who is not focused on you. They cannot focus unless their needs have been met, are being met, and they have the expectation they will continue to be met. If you are the one providing for all their needs, they will focus on you and once that happens there is not much a dog won’t do for you.