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How to keep your place as pack leader
I was reading this, its interesting.
Dogs are pack animals who need a leader to look up to. As the owner of a dog, you're the pack leader, and both of you need to know your roles. Here's some information on those roles.

By about six months of age, most dogs have reached an awkward adolescent stage (some dogs don't reach this stage until their second year.) In this stage, everything you've taught your puppy seems to be forgotten: He won‘t come, and he wouldn‘t even think of obeying the commands "sit" or "down".

During this time, the young rascal wants to test his rank, to see whether he can take over as the boss. You have to do a lot of obedience training and put your young dog in his place. It also makes sense to do some obedience training with an adult dog from time to time. Remember, praise is very important.

A dog expects a hierarchy within the family, as well as in a pack. Suppress the first signs of aggression with suitable measures as soon as they manifest themselves. Although it might be amusing to see how your puppy defends his bone, don't tolerate this behavior. Once he’s several months old, it can be too late. It can be very tedious to cure him of the aggressive behavior, and it might even be dangerous if you have a big dog.

There are some things you can do to reinforce your position as the pack leader: Take your puppy’s dish away sometimes when he’s eating. And make sure he gives up chewing bones or play things without complaining. If he growls or even wants to bite, you have to be strict. Lay your dog down on his side. Hold him down with your hand over his neck. Only when your puppy surrenders and relaxes (this can take several minutes in the beginning) can you let go of him. Speak in a comforting tone to him during this time. This dominant soothing, as it is called, can be used any time your puppy misbehaves; for example, when he curls up his lips and threatens while grooming. You're not hurting him when you do this, and it's similar to the behavior an animal with a higher rank in the pack would show to put a younger dog in his place. But let the puppy get up only when you think he should – even if he's struggling desperately.

Gripping the dog's mouth with your hand, done carefully, is also a gesture of dominance among dogs, and serves to strengthen your position. It must be clear to all members of the family that the dog is the last one in the family hierarchy.

In order to thwart the dog's ambitions to climb up the hierarchy, forbid him to sit on the sofa, for example, or to sleep on the bed, unless you explicitly allow him to.

Of course, it's much more difficult to correct an existing misbehavior than to prevent it from the beginning. Dogs who are not put in their place from the beginning can be a real problem once they are one or two years old. Often they end at an animal shelter or -- in the worst case -- they must be destroyed when they become a threat to people. However, this will not be the case when you start a consistent training program with your little puppy.

The old-fashioned way of keeping dogs in their place by beating them has fortunately gone out of vogue. Dogs who are beaten tend to be anxious and can start biting from fear. They lose confidence in people. You will achieve more with consistency, praise, and love.

Remember also that it's not just the dog who's a student and has to learn everything. The human must also learn. You must behave in a way that allows the dog to do what he's expected to do.





Decada
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