Learning to Speak Doglish
When training your dog, it’s important to look at the world from her perspective. She simply can’t understand your world or your interac-tions as another human being would. In fact, your dog thinks of you and your family as other dogs in her pack. Understanding her way of com-munica
ting and how she learns and views your interactions is the topicof this chapter.Understand Pack Theory
Before you can train your dog to listen to you, you need to understand just what makes her tick. Although you may not look like a dog, your dog responds and respects you as though you were. Straight down the canine ancestral line, dogs habituate behavior that is reflective of pack theory:
where one is the leader and the others respect the leader’s direction. Training is based on this instinct.
Who’s in Charge
Long ago, dogs were domesticated from the wolf, and many of their social instincts remain the same. Wolves live in packs in which the social structure and hierarchy are predetermined and respected. Every pack has a leader who is responsible for everyone. This is a big job that can fall to either a male or a female. That leader and his or her partner together make up what is called the alpha pair. When you bring a dog into your home, she is primarily interested in establishing who is in charge. This is why training your dog is so important for both of you. Most dogs prefer the relaxed role of a follower, but if you don’t take charge, the dog will.
Dogs who are in charge typically exhibit a few to all of the following behaviors:
• Bark or paw at you for attention or a treat.
• Ignore you or run away when you say COME.
• Are unruly with company.
• Go to the bathroom in forbidden spots.
• Pull you on the leash.
These behaviors are not signs of a “bad” dog; they simply show a dog who thinks she is supposed to make decisions and be
the leader.
Quote for:Dog Training by Sarah Hodgson
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