The Post With No Name Pt. 3

Chapter Three: A Walk on the Instinctual Side & the Fulfillment Formulas

You've read a lot of talk on how important it is to satisfy your dog's instincts. Now it's time to walk the walk. Up first: the definitions of the fulfillment formulas.

The Fulfillment Formulas

Dog rehabilitator/people trainer & dog psychologist Cesar Millan was the very first to create & introduce the Basic Fulfillment Formula. Whatever you personally think about the man & his methods, it is well known that many minor behavioral issues & many severe behavioral issues have gone away on their own or been eased by following the Basic Fulfillment Formula. So, what is the Basic Fulfillment Formula?

• Exercise
• Discipline
• & Affection...

. . . but in that order! That means that in the morning, after the good-morning greeting & before feeding, ball chasing, or copious petting, your dog gets her morning walk. Next is discipline. I mentioned briefly how dogs define discipline, but I know it was not a satisfactory definition. Dogs define discipline as (& I quote Cesar here) “clearly defined & consistently enforced rules, boundaries, & limitations. Discipline also means consistency with given jobs & duties”. Discipline can also be defined as waiting games. For example, you can enforce discipline & structure into a simple game of fetch by giving the dog a command to perform before the ball is thrown, then making the dog wait until released to run after the ball. Discipline is enforced with the proper feeding routine. You can also teach your dog to stay in their crate until a release command is given. As you can see, discipline, as a dog craves, is not harsh at all. And last is affection. Affection is important, too. Affection makes a great reward for following commands or tricks. Affection is also given in playtime & food/treats, as well as through your tone of voice. Affection is even given through your own energy. When you're happy or pleased with something your dog's done, your dog picks up on that positive vibe & that in itself is a reward, or affection. Affection is like the sticky glue that binds pack members together. There is the first fulfillment formula in a nutshell. I've added two more essential fulfillment formulas that are not my own creation, but something Cesar has mentioned in his books that I've bound into fulfillment formulas. There's the Second Fulfillment Formula (for lack of a better title). That's the triangle of animal-dog-breed. This is the order in a which a dog's instincts must be satisfied: the instincts that come from the animal, such as migration & working for everything, satisfied in migrating (exercise), being walked before feeding, & being given commands or tricks to perform before being given anything positive, then there are the instincts coming from the dog, such as using the nose (scent games satisfying the dog instincts will be discussed later on in this chapter). Then there are the instincts coming from the breed side of the dog. Those are satisfied by giving the dog jobs to perform or games to play that mimic what they were bred to do. Suggestions will be given later on in this chapter. At last, we come to the third & final fulfillment formula. I call it the Dog Owner's Fulfillment Formula, because it targets three necessary ingredients in a dog-human relationship. They are trust, respect, & love. Those ingredients can be traced back to the Basic Fulfillment Formula. Trust is built mainly through exercise, but also through affection. Respect is gained through discipline & discipline-related exercises, & also through satisfying your dog's other instincts. Love is built & forged through affection & instinctual satisfaction. By following the fulfillment formulas, you satisfy the cravings in your dog as an animal, & form a deeper, stronger connection, & create a much more sane, stable-minded, & happy dog.

Exercise: An in-Depth Look at Alternate Ways to Exercise Your Dog

Besides the walk, there are many other ways to exercise your dog in a manner that builds that strong bond between you & your furry friend.

Backpacking is an excellent way to start. Purchase a backpack at a pet store or online. There are many different sizes & qualities, so be sure to measure your dog well to ensure a good fit. Before beginning backpacking, consult your vet to make sure there are no physical issues with your dog that will prevent her from carrying or bearing weight safely, & to determine how much weight she will be able to carry & for how long. Some packs come with their own weights, while others will not. If your pack doesn't come with weights, use stones, bricks, or canned goods, or whatever your dog can carry for you. Weigh it down no more than twenty percent of her body weight, as a safety precaution. Backpacking is also an excellent breed-fulfilling exercise for working-type dogs, because backpacking gives a dog a job to do.

Rollerblading is perhaps the most intense form of exercise out there. There are two ways to Rollerblade.

Rollerblading with Medium-large-/Large-/Giant-sized Dogs:

If you are making your own show-style lead, you will want to use a real show lead or a Dog Whisperer Training Lead or something like that for this exercise, because there will be much tension in the lead & that tension will cause the collar part to tighten too much, making the dog choke. If you can't get a proper lead, then get your dog a good, durable harness. (Not the no-pull type, of course!) When Rollerblading, you take the position of your dog, staying beside or slightly behind your dog, keeping tension on the lead according to your dog's speed: more when she's trotting or running, little or none when she's beside you. The high intensity of this workout means you only need to Rollerblade for about an hour to really drain your dog's energy. Like backpacking, Rollerblading allows you to cut the exercise session short by about half, meaning a thirty-minute Rollerblading session would roughly be the equivalent of about a one-hour walk. Rollerblading is also a great breed-fulfilling exercise for dogs bred to pull heavy loads, such as most pit bull-type dogs, Rottweilers, Huskies, & Malamutes, & is also a good workout for frustrated, hyper dogs that have had little or no exercise in the past, due to its high intensity.

Rollerblading with Small-sized Dogs:

Due to the intensity of Rollerblading, a small-breed dog is not suitable to Rollerblade in the manner of the “big boys”. Instead, your dog takes & remains in the heel position, matching her speed with yours. You will not need to use a harness for a small-breed dog, because she will not be pulling, but I suppose you could if you absolutely wanted to.

Biking is another good substitute for the walk. Your dog remains in the heel position, like on a walk, matching her speed with yours as you ride a bike. The movement of the bike may cause a dog to want to give chase, so desensitize your dog to bikes first. Start with your own bike. Stand between your dog & the bike, & say to yourself “This is my bike.” Block your dog if she should get too close to the bike or tries to jump on it. Smelling is permissible. Once your dog is comfortable around stationary bikes, move on to moving bikes. Have a friend ride a bike back & forth in front of your dog, giving a light leash tug if your dog attempts to give chase.

These are just the beginning of a long list of suggestions. There are many ways to creatively exercise your dog.

Discipline: Creating Fair Rules, Boundaries, & Limitations, & Enforcing Them in a Fair Manner

If your dog has no rules, boundaries, or limitations, it's time to create some. First, picture the way you want your dog to behave both inside the house & out. Do you have cats? Perhaps create a boundary by setting up a room or a specific section of your home just for the cats, where they can go get some peace & quiet & get away from the dog for a little while. Do you want your dog to stay off the furniture or off some piece of furniture in particular? If rules are clearly & consistently enforced, a dog can learn that she's allowed on one piece of furniture, but not another. Consult family members on their idea of how they want the dog to behave. Make a list & jot down each rule, boundary, & limitation as it comes to mind. Make sticky notes reminding family members of the new rules. For example, on the back door, you can put up a note that says: “Spot & Rover are not to be allowed into the house or the yard unless they are sitting quietly in a calm-submissive state.” Or above the area where you store your dog's food you can put up another note that reads: “Fifi will not be fed until she she is sitting or laying down & is in a calm, quiet state.” Set your dog up for success, not failure, by making the laws of the land very clear to her, & making sure they are consistently enforced in a calm, assertive, unemotional manner. The no-jumping-on-guests rule can be enforced by politely reminding guests to ignore your dog unless she is sitting quietly. If your dog is having problems staying off guests, put her on a leash & give a leash correction if she attempts to jump on anyone. Do not pull back on the leash, that will signal to her brain to move forward, which is not what you want her to do; pull to the side instead.

I've shown you how to create & enforce boundaries in “Rules of Alpha-dom”.

A good limitation to enforce is to teach your dog that only a set number of barks is expected when the doorbell rings or when someone knocks on the door. Teaching this exercise will require a good deal of patience, but it will make for a more peaceful household. Now, when the doorbell rings, your dog won't charge the door, barking like a manic dervish, knocking over anything in her way. You will need a fair amount of repetition & patience when first teaching & enforcing the new rules of the kingdom, but your dog will be far more secure & happy once they're in place, knowing what is now expected of her & how you, the esteemed, loved, trusted pack leader, expect her to behave.

Discipline: the Three Best Ways to Correct & Redirect Your Dog's Behavior

Like it or not, there will come times in your dog's life when they will need a little correction. Like it or not, there are instances when a behavior must be stopped before it escalates & gets worse. Those moments require that a correction be given. There are three ways you can correct a dog.

First, there is touch. Remember, touch, not hit! Place your hand on the side of your dog's neck or on the hindquarters, curling your finger into a claw shape. Keep your hand in place until the dog stops her behavior & relaxes. The curled hand mimics the bite of a mother dog, & most dogs respond to it in a primal way.

A sound correction works with mild misbehaviors. A finger snap immediately followed by a firm, quick “Hey!” or “No!” will suffice.

The third & final form of correction is ignoring, particularly if the behavior is very mild or is meant to get attention. Simply wait you dog out, then when they give up on whatever they were doing, mark that behavior with petting. Finally, once the behavior has stopped, redirect it with a positive behavior. For example, if your dog is digging in your garden, a verbal correction will stop the behavior, but bringing her to her digging pit will redirect it. The redirection of behaviors makes for a well-behaved pet because she will now know both what you don't want & what you do want.

Discipline: the Difference Between “Discipline” & “Punishment” in the World of Dogs

A hot topic issue. Many people look at “discipline” as “punishment”. Dogs don't. That's why firm but fair & consistent corrections will not scare your dog into a fearful form of submission. However, punishment will make your dog afraid of you. Dog trainer Cheri Lucas wrote an excellent article on the subject, & I'll quote a little bit of it here:

“For most of us, an average day begins with a series of rituals.

We dress appropriately for our job. We show up at work promptly at the same time every day. We stop at traffic lights on the way to work. Does abiding by these rules and boundaries feel like punishment to us? Of course not. We are simply practicing the discipline expected of all of us who choose to live in a functional society. . . a society without chaos.” (Cheri Lucas, "Punishment or Discipline?""

A functional society. . . perhaps a dog pack? Cheri Lucas goes on to say,

“In their natural world, dogs or wolves live in a highly disciplined and structured society. The packs’ very survival depends on maintaining order, and order doesn’t happen without discipline. But often we feel that implementing discipline is a form of punishment to a dog. Nothing could be further from the truth! The reality is that dogs thrive on rules, boundaries, and other forms of discipline. Without discipline, a dog feels lost and confused about his role in the pack. Keep in mind that your dog doesn’t care what position he has in the pack, as long as the pack runs smoothly. Regardless of how smart you may feel your dog is, he or she is not equipped to manage a human household! If we truly love our dogs, then we want to fulfill them in every way. Just as we can’t survive on love alone, neither can our dogs. It’s actually a disservice to withhold discipline from our dogs! Make sure you offer your dog the complete package when you bring him into your world. Along with exercise, food, shelter, and affection, offer him a healthy dose of rules, boundaries, and discipline. Don’t think of discipline as punishment, but just one more gift you give your best friend to keep him happy and balanced.”

Dogs thrive in an orderly, structured environment. That means you give your dog both leadership & discipline. It's for his own good, & he will not hate you for you for it. In fact, he'll love you for it!

Affection: Breed-specific Games & Activities for You & Your Dog

Fulfilling your dog's breed-related instincts is a great way to build & forge a strong bond between you & your dog. Games & activities are listed by general breed group (i.e., sporting dogs), then by specific breed group (i.e., retrievers).

The Sporting Group:

Pointers: Take a scented object your dog likes, such as a scented toy, bully stick, or compressed rawhide stick. Introduce the object by name, if possible. Make a game of hiding the object somewhere in the yard or home, preferably while the dog isn't watching. Choose a hiding place that the dog can reach relatively easily. Cue the dog with “Find [object name]!”, then have your dog track the object down & point to it. At the pointing phase, praise with “Good find!” & toss the object to start a play session, or hide the object again. You can also play the classic hide-&-seek game, where someone whose scent is familiar to the dog runs & hides, calling the dog's name or giving the “come” command. The dog tracks the person by scent & points to their location. A toy is tossed or the hidden person comes out & showers the dog with affection. Try making the path to the hidden object or person gradually more difficult by building a homemade obstacle course the dog must go through or by choosing a really difficult hiding spot. It's imperative that you build up difficulty gradually to prevent your dog from getting frustrated & giving up.

Retrievers: You can play the same games listed above, but instead of having the dog point to the object, have her bring it back to you. Fetching is great too, but is even more effective when combined with water, as most retrievers are water dogs. With retrievers, you can also do a directed retrieve, where three or more identical objects are placed in front of the dog, & the handler uses a hand signal to point out the object the dog is to retrieve. Tips on teaching this exercise can be found online or in certain training books, such as 101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance.

The Hound Group:

Scent Hounds: The hide-&-seek game is, of course, the first game that comes to my mind. Scent games, like the ones listed for the sporting dogs, are excellent too. Also, you can make a game of hiding the dog's food in a difficult spot to find, the meal being the reward.

Sight Hounds: Running, biking, or Rollerblading can aid in fulfilling the need to run. Running is the number-one exercise for fulfilling sight hounds, but chasing objects is the number-two exercise. You can use a dog run (a wire cable attached between two trees, used for tying up dogs) to build your own lure course track, & attach your dog's favorite toy to it, then send him off!

The Working Group:

Working-breed dogs were bred to do a specific job. For dogs bred to pull heavy loads, you can buy a good-quality, durable harness for your dog, & attach weights or a cart or wagon behind to have your dog pull. Note that if you're using a wagon or a cart, the dog will be nervous about the noise the cart makes, so a little positive reinforcement (NOT when the dog is afraid, of course!) will be needed. Backpacking is also a job. A positive-based training method, such as clicker training, is great for draining the enormous amounts of mental energy working breeds have.

Powerful-breed Working Dogs: The powerful-breed dogs such as Rottweilers, Dobermans, German shepherds & the like that were bred for protection work excel at the Germany-originating sport of Schutzhund. Schutzhund, originally a breed test for evaluating the work ethic & protection ability of German shepherds, has evolved into a popular sport, testing the dogs in the areas of obedience, tracking, & protection work. Contrary to popular belief, Schutzhund will not cause a dog to become an out-of-control human-aggressive monster, but is meant to help redirect that natural protectiveness into a healthy outlet, strengthening the owner-dog bond & reinforcing the human's position as pack leader. You can join a Schutzhund club in your area, if there is one, or turn training into a game by teaching your dog obedience & protection exercises. However, protection work demands that a dog be thoroughly socialized to prevent a dog from eventually becoming human-aggressive. Proceed with caution.

The Herding Group

Due to their speed & natural agility, herding dogs make great disc dogs. Also because of the challenging nature of herding, it's important to make the game a psychological challenge. Make your dog hold a sit or down or ask for a different command or trick between each throw. Herders also are great at agility. You can build your own obstacles to make a course with stuff from home. Bring up a search engine on the computer & search “homemade dog agility equipment”. Flyball is something else herders are great at. But the very best breed-fulfilling exercise out there is to take your dog to a sheepherding class, if there's one near you. Herding breeds have a high mental & physical exercise need, which means that they can very quickly develop behavioral issues that stem from boredom or frustration. Keep this in mind!The Terrier Group

Terriers are earth-loving dogs, which means they like to dig. Instead of letting them dig up your prized rose garden, why not make them their own “sand box” to play in? All you need are some bricks, stones, or wooden planks & some sand & dirt. If you use wooden planks, you can nail them together into a square-shaped frame. Select the area for the dig pit. Take a shovel & dig a small hole where the dig pit will be. If you do not wish to dig a hole, you can stab the shovel into the ground to loosen up the dirt a little. Place the wooden frame down or line the edge of the dig pit with large stones or bricks. Fill it with sand & dirt. You can get a nice big bag of sand at most home-improvement stores or warehouses. Bring your dog to the new pit. Show her her favorite toy or a small handful of her favorite treats & let her watch as you bury them. Step back & let your dog enjoy her new “sand box”! Terriers also excel at the same activities as herding dogs do, due to their high energy & athleticism. Pit bull-type terriers love to pull weights around. Try using a harness to hook them up to an object they can pull around, like you'd do with a working-breed dog. For the small-breed terriers, use boxes & furniture legs to build “tunnels for your dog to run through & hide or hang out in. Periodically hide treats or toys in the tunnels for your dog to find. Terriers also tend to have higher energy levels, & need a lot of primal exercise, as much as you can give them.

The Toy Group:

Although some may disagree with me, toy breed dogs were bred for little more than to serve as companions to humans. They will most likely enjoy any of the above listed activities.

The Non-sporting Group:

The breeds in the non-sporting group were not really bred for any specific purpose. Therefore, almost any canine activity will do well for them. An excellent book to pick up is 101 Ways to Do More With Your Dog by Kyra Sundance. It lists all the canine activities available out there, as well as recommended breeds for each activity. Also, all of the canine activities listed here have classes available that you can take with your dog. Agility classes & trials for herders & terriers (or any dog, really), sheepherding or herders, Schutzhund classes & trials for working dogs, earthdog trials for terriers, lure coursing for sight hounds, hunting trials for scent hounds, the list could go on & on! Just do some research & see if there are classes in your area that you'd like to take.

Affection: Dog-fulfilling Games to Play

Dogs primarily use their noses when exploring objects in their environment (or the environment itself), so it makes sense to give them something to do that will engage their nose. When playing, remember to encourage your dog to use his nose, not his eyes.

The “Find the Treats” Game

You hide treats in the house or yard & your dog finds & eats them. This game is a great way to fulfill the dog in your pet & also provides mental stimulation.

1. Take some smelly treats, such as regular dog treats or dog-pleasing human food such as cheese or real meat, cut up into small chunks.

2. Place each treat in its own hiding spot. Make sure the treat's location isn't glaringly obvious, but don't make it too difficult, dogs can give up quite easily.

3. Take your dog to the area where the treats are hidden & let him find them using his nose. Try not to help him, but if he seems to be having trouble, give him some encouragement & just a little bit of direction.

The “Find the Supper” Game

You hide your dog's meal &, upon a command, he runs to find his meal, using primarily his nose.

1. Show your dog his filled food bowl, then have someone remove him from the room.

2. Hide the dog's food, then call him back in. Encourage him to find his food. Give him a little direction if he seems to be having trouble.

Alternate Way to Play: Build a homemade obstacle course using boxes, barriers, & the like. Rub the food all along the course, but hide the food in the most hard-to-reach or difficult place of all.

The “Towel Treat” Game

You hide several treats under a small washcloth or towel. Your dog finds the treats & figures out how to get the treats from underneath the towel.

1. Place a small handful of treats or kibble under a towel or washcloth. Let your dog smell the cloth & figure out the best way to reach the goodies.

Alternate Way to Play: Do the same step as above, but use a box instead, or rub a treat on several boxes, but hide the treat under just one box.

These are once again just the beginning of a long list of ideas. Look up “mentally stimulating games for your dog” on the Internet & see what comes up.

Going From Endless Buffet to Twice-a-Day: Getting Your Dog Off a Free-feeding Program & Onto a Twice-a-Day Feeding Schedule

It's time to pick up the bowl! Start the program in the morning. After the morning walk, use the feeding guidelines on your dog's kibble bag or can & scoop out the morning ration. Follow the feeding routine discussed in “Rules of Alpha-dom” & set a timer for ten minutes. When the timer goes off, pick up the bowl, put any uneaten food back in the bag or in a sealed, airtight container, & wait until the evening walk to feed your dog again. Treats do not count as feeding, but don't give them too close to dinnertime, so as not to stave off hunger.

If the dog is eating when you come in, set the timer for five minutes, then repeat the above steps. For dinner, repeat the same steps. If the dog doesn't eat, then he doesn't eat. It will not take him long to understand the buffet is now closed & that he'd better eat when food is placed in front of him. It's that simple.

The Instincts of the Dog & Fulfilling Them

There are deep-seated needs in the dog, needs that are animal- & dog-related more than they are breed-related. These are often the least-fulfilled needs in a dog, & thus perhaps the most important.

The Instinct of Working For Everything. The simplest to fulfill, yet often the most overlooked. Simply walk your dog first thing in the morning, before feeding, then again in the evening before feeding, that's symbolic of the hunt & satisfies the need to work for food. Have your dog perform simple commands or tricks before receiving anything positive or getting to do something she wants to do.

The Instinct for Leadership & Direction. The strongest instinct in a dog. If a dog does not feel that a strong-minded, calm-assertive leader is not in charge, then by the dictation of instinct, he will take that role himself, because a dog pack will not survive without a leader. The denial of this instinct is why there are so many unstable, stressed-out dogs in the world.

The Instinct of Migration. The walk. The most important ingredient in your relationship with your dog. A dog has to be walked every day; only the most dire of weather or emergencies should prevent it. No dog of any breed, size, or age should be kept cooped up all day & night. Every dog possesses the instinct to get out & roam with her pack.

The Instinct of Pack. Dogs are, by no stretch of the imagination, solitary creatures. A dog living in a feral pack is never alone; the pack is always together. That said, even a calm, mellow, submissive, balanced dog can develop separation anxiety. The treatment & prevention of separation anxiety will be discussed in chapter four.

The instinctual cravings dogs possess are very rarely fulfilled; thus, that is why there are so many unstable dogs out there. Don't let your dog down.

An in-depth look at the fulfillment formulas & the instincts of the dog has come to a close. You have completed level two of dog psychology, & you can almost call yourself a dog psychologist. However, you must complete level three to fully earn that title. Level three will be achieved after completion of the next chapter, "Issues: Treating & Preventing".

The Post With No Name Continued

Dog Emotions Vs. Human Emotions

Many people have the tendency to treat their dogs like little furry humans; they are unable to see them as anything else. This is detrimental to a dog's psychological well-being. Dogs are perfectly happy being dogs & prefer to be dogs. Also, they know they are dogs, they do not “think they're humans”, like some people say.

Dogs do have emotions, but not the same as humans, as you'll see.

Jealousy: Some owners state that when they bring home a baby or if the owner starts petting/interacting with another dog on a walk, the dog gets “jealous” & starts seeking out or demanding attention or barking at the other dog. Jealousy is really just dominance coming out, the “demanding” or “seeking attention” part is a dominance trait, the barking is a sign that the dog owns this human & doesn't want the other dog near “their” human. In the wild, the pack leader gets a lot of attention & affection from her followers. Your dog may come over to you & begin licking/grooming you in a gentle manner while displaying highly submissive body language, or come up & gently rub against or nuzzle you. That's affection from a follower dog, & this will be different from the nudges & focused, determined licking a dominant dog will give you.

Submission: As you'll know, many owners mistake a submissive dog for a sad dog, due to the dog's curled, low-held body & body language, & the perked up, proud, & “happy” look of a dominant dog. Submission is not sadness, it's quite the opposite.

Pride: Do dogs have a sense of pride? In a sense, yes they do. In the dog world, “pride” is called “calm-assertive”.

Anger: Dogs don't have an emotion like anger, the closest thing is either frustration or aggression.

Happiness: Yes, dogs have an emotion like happiness, we call it calm- or active-submission. Many people think a dog in a dominant state is happy; if you've read this far into the book, you'll know that's not true.

Excitement: No, excitement in a dog isn't happiness. It's usually stress or anxiety.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. We misinterpret dog emotions all the time. Try to remember that your little dog is just that: a little dog, not a little fuzzy human in a dog suit.

Why Humans Fail to Be Good Pack Leaders

If leadership is so necessary for a human-dog relationship, why do so many humans fail to be good leaders? I'll give you a few examples.

I was sitting on a curb with a friend when a girl walked by with a little terrier & some sort of shepherd. As I was petting the shepherd, the little terrier came up & put its paws on my leg. The owner's response: “Looks like she wants some attention, too!”

I offered to take a picture of a girl's dogs for her, as she was struggling to get them to hold still. Upon returning the camera to her, she said, “It's good to get a picture of mommy with the kids. It's usually just the kids. The dogs are my babies.” What do these two examples have to do with pack leadership? Example one: The jumping dog. To us, a jumping dog may look like the dog just wants attention. To a dog, a jump is a dominance check, not a plead for attention. You never see follower dogs jump on their leader, now, do you? Humans tend to misinterpret what a dog's actions mean due to our humanization of our beloved pets. You can't be a good pack leader if you don't understand canine psychology, body language, & behavior. Example two: the babied dogs. Once again, dogs are not humans, they are dogs. A dog is not your baby, she is your dog. You can't keep treating your dog like she's your baby, it's not good for her psychological health. Well, you can if you first treat her like a dog, not a human. 

There are more reasons people fail to be good leaders. It's up to you to try to understand what your dog needs as a canine animal. Fortunately, that's what this book is all about.

Is it True That All Ya Need is Love?

As I mentioned in the introduction, dogs need much, much more than love to be balanced & happy. I normally don't advocate using human examples in dog psychology, but I think it's necessary sometimes. Think about a child. What would happen if you only gave a child love & affection? They would become destructive & unruly, right? A child needs more than love to be well-behaved, they need exercise & discipline, too. It's the same thing with a dog. When I say “discipline”, you may picture spanking or hitting or kicking the dog, or putting her in “time-out”. That's not a dog's definition of discipline. Physical punishment often will scare a dog & make her afraid of you, & in the dog world, time-outs do not exist, corrections must occur at the exact moment or right before the transgression begins to be effective. A dog's definition of discipline will be discussed more in the next chapter.

Do dogs enjoy love & affection? Of course; it's just that love & affection as we think of it are not found as abundantly in a feral dog pack as they are in human society. Dog packs are highly structured, orderly things; that said, that makes leadership, rules, boundaries, & limitations the things a dog craves most. Think about a wolf. If you had a pet wolf, you would be more inclined to give it what it instinctually needs, right? In essence, a dog is not much more than a domesticated, small wolf, yet we seem to forget this fact, throwing instinctual satisfaction out the window & treating our dogs like little fuzzy humans instead of little fuzzy dogs. With all this talk of instincts & satisfying, what do dogs need instinctually & what can you do to fulfill them? That's discussed in the next chapter.

And so we come to the end of chapter two. You have completed a basic crash course in dog psychology. Now it's time to move on to level two: the instincts of the dog.

Dog Body Language

Interpreting Canine Body Language

Humans, being unable to sense energy, must instead learn to read body language in order to understand how our dogs are feeling. It's imperative that you do, affection in any form, whether through physical touch, treats/food, or sweet-talking, will reward whatever energetical state your dog's in, so only give affection to a dog in a calm-submissive state.

CALM-SUBMISSION:

 See how this pup's ears are drooped down to the sides? They are not pricked forward in a more dominant manner, nor are tucked back flat in fear. Also notice the pup's eyes. See how they seem to "stare" straight ahead? That's a dog in a highly submissive state.

 

  

Take a look at the photo below. Pay attention to the bulldog. See how its ears pinned back? The tongue is flicking out in a lick or a "kiss", & the leg is slightly lifted, exposing the soft underbelly & genital area to potential attack. The bulldog is in the highest state of submission, at least in this picture.

Signs of a calm-submissive dog:

Eyes: “soft” (no facial tension), indirect gaze or gaze seeming to stare straight ahead, causing whites to be somewhat visible, not to be confused with the highly visible whites of a fearful dog.

Ears: pinned/tipped back or relaxed to the sides, depending on size, position on head, degree of submission, & shape.

Mouth (if open): lips are relaxed completely, dog may appear to be “smiling” (lips are pulled slightly back at the corners but relaxed); if closed: lips are completely relaxed, no signs of tension or growling. Dog may attempt to lick face or mouth of dominant being.

Head: carried level with the spine (sometimes lower if a dog's sitting down) or held up but not high.

Tail: carried down, possibly curled to the right, & relaxed on long-tailed dogs, carried up but not stiff or slightly down on short- or docked-tailed dogs. (Note: some long-tailed dogs such as German shepherds will carry their tail down even when in a highly dominant state, & some long-tailed small dogs will carry their tails up even when in a submissive state.)

Overall stance: neutral, centered, weight distributed evenly on all four feet on a standing dog. In instances of total submission, a dog will lay on their sides or backs.

FEAR/ANXIETY/NERVOUSNESS/WORRY:

Take a look at this spaniel. At first glance, this looks a lot like a submissive dog. But notice the tail. See how it appears to be curling to the left? That indicates a fearful or nervous state of mind. This dog doesn't appear to be full-out fearful yet, but could be soon.

Notice the glaringly-obvious whites on the above dog's eyes?

Signs of a fearful dog:

Eyes: staring straight at source of fear, whites highly visible.

Ears: tipped back or flat against head.

Mouth: if reacting to an overly-assertive being, dog may yawn in an exaggerated fashion, lick its nose, or try to lick face or mouth of dominant being.

Head: turned towards source of fear.

Tail: tucked tightly between hind legs.

Overall stance: tight, tense, scrunched up, body possibly held low, may be trying to lean away from source of fear. Be very gentle with a fearful dog, as if they're pressed too far, they may snap or bite to protect themselves. Move the dog away from the situation causing fear, if possible, or use calming signals (discussed later in this article), to settle/calm the dog down.

 

DOMINANCE:

  

Signs of a dominant dog:

Eyes: staring hard.

Ears: pricked up & forward.

Mouth: open or closed, dominant-aggressive dogs may show teeth.

Head: up high.

Tail: up high, carried low or down on some breeds, may be waving slowly.

Overall stance: puffed up & proud.

CALMING SIGNALS:

Calming signals are used by dogs to both calm themselves down & calm another being down.

THE YAWN

 

The yawn of a calming signal is large & exaggerated in its fashion. A yawn may also indicate many other emotions including submission, fear/anxiety/stress, frustration, mental taxation, or the working out of a mental problem (in the case of the former, the yawns will be very frequent & exaggerated).

THE LOOK AWAY or HEAD TURN

 

After establishing eye contact, to prevent potential conflict caused by staring down another being, a dog will purposefully break eye contact by turning their head to the side. Look-aways are only seen in instances of submission or anxiety, unless of course something has caught the dog's attention. A dog may also blink in a slow, exaggerated fashion. This signal has the same meaning as the look-away.

 

LIP/NOSE LICKS

 

A stressed, submissive, anxious, or nervous dog may lick its nose or lips (often both) in an effort to calm itself or another being down.

THE SHAKE

A dog may vigorously shake itself off even when dry as a sort of “Phew, glad that's over!” type of signal.

THE SNIFF

A dog may suddenly start sniffing an object or the ground very intently to diffuse a rapidly-intensifying situation, may also show other calming signals.

In conclusion, if you learn to study your dog's body language & take the time to observe the cues they send every day, you open a whole new level of communication you might never have thought possible. Not only are you preventing the behavioral issues that come from affection being given at the wrong time (to a dog in a fearful state, to a dog in an aggressive state, etc.), you can read your dog's energy & body language the way they do yours. You can learn how different situations make your dog feel. The possibilities of communication are endless! But body language can take some time for you to memorize; put in the effort.

 

The Post With No Name Pt. 2

Chapter Two: Why They Do What They Do

No study of dog ownership would be complete without a study of dog behavior. Many (not all) humans have so twisted & even downright perverted the needs, behavior, body language, & instincts of the dog that the dog has unofficially earned the title of “One of the World's Most Misunderstood Animals”. The next two chapters go hand in hand. This chapter, “Why They Do What They Do”, looks at & explains dog behavior & body language. The next chapter, “A Walk On the Instinctual Side & the Fulfillment Formulas” explains the instinctual needs of the dog & what you can do to fulfill them.

The Post With No Name Pt. 1

The Ultimate Book of Proper Dog Ownership & Dog Psychology: Turning Your Pet Into the Dog of Your Dreams

This book is dedicated to Tacey the dog,

who now lives in the Great Big Kennel in the Sky,

eating bees & wreaking havoc wherever she goes.

Introduction

Our dogs are great. We love them dearly, & they love us. They love us with a deep, unconditional type of love not found anywhere else. They don't care whether you're rich or if you don't have a cent in your bank account. They don't care if you have the latest fashions, or if you don't have a single shirt to your name. All they care about is you. Dogs happily give you their heart & will gladly steal yours away. Our dogs enrich our lives. Isn't time we enrich theirs & pay them back for the immense love they so willingly share with us? After taking a crash course in dog psychology, I now see & understand the psychological suffering our beloved dogs go through each & every day of their lives, right under their owners' noses. We pamper & smother our dogs with all the love we can give them & think they surely must be happy. Sadly, friend, no. A dog needs much more than love to be really, truly happy. Come, take a journey with me into the very mind of your dog, & emerge enlightened. Your dog depends on you for what he needs deep inside, & you may be failing him! It's time to call an end to this madness. Read on.

Chapter One: For the Good of the Pack

You're sitting up on the couch one day. Smiling, you watch Fifi the poodle as she sleeps in her favorite spot in the sunshine. You give her tons of love & lots of food & toys, but you're wondering if she's still happy, if she's missing something in her life. Well, it turns out that if all you're giving Fifi is affection, affection, & affection (food & toys counted,) then she is missing a key ingredient in her life, & that key ingredient is. . . drum roll please. . .leadership. Contrary to popular belief, dogs actually want & crave leadership. If this were not true, packs would not exist: every group of animals need a being to lead them & keep them safe from harm, the job description of a pack leader. How does one become a leader? Through strong, fair, consistent leadership. You DO NOT have to kick, hit, scream at, or otherwise abuse your dog in any form in order to become or remain their leader. Such treatment is far too harsh for a creature as sensitive & intelligent as the dog, & will result in making them terrified of you. The type of leadership a dog is looking for is very calm, very gentle, but still very firm. Still wondering why you should establish leadership with your dog, wondering why they can't be your leader? Okay. In a dog pack, there are only two roles: the leader & the follower. In our human society, dogs can only coexist peacefully with us if they're in the follower role. The reasons why will be explained & explored in further detail later on in this book. In most households, the leader is the dog. This can put great stress & pressure on a dog: they have a pack to run, & the followers (the humans) don't always listen to their leader. For example, we do things like leave the house when the dog says we can't, we don't get up or go to bed when the dog says we must, we don't eat when the dog says we can. This results in a hyper, frustrated, anxious, unhappy pet. If you'd like an idea of what exactly a house dog goes through, picture this scenario in your mind: you're brought to a big, roomy cave (yes, that's what your home is to a dog) where there is no leadership, no rules, & no minute form of structure, so everything's a free-for-all, resulting in a stressful, chaotic home. Whenever you're taken for a walk, you're expected to lead the pack (a huge, potentially stressful responsibility), & you pull on the leash all the time. When you get home, there's a whole pack to run & take care of, but no one listens to your orders consistently, resulting in even more stress. The stress & pressure to lead is making you hyper, so you run around all the time, but you never get any more tired. Imagine living like this every day of your life until you die. Now, imagine this scenario: Since your behavior was “uncontrollable” (it was the humans who were uncontrollable!) you've been dumped off at a shelter, when not long after, another human family takes you to another big, roomy cave where you find the rules, structure, & leadership you've been craving for so long. You get to go on walks every day where the humans lead, so you can just relax, follow, & enjoy the sunshine, the trees, the grass, the birds. When you get home, you have all the affection, playtime, & food you enjoy. But most importantly, you have a calm, confident leader that takes care of you, gives you what you instinctually

The Most Vital Aspect of Establishing & Keeping Leadership

Where does leadership come from? It comes from various elements that blend together harmoniously, & there is one vital aspect of true leadership you must be able to grasp, & that aspect is. . . energy. What is “energy”? Energy is a term that refers to the emotional/psychological state of any living being. For example, a person feeling fearful would be said to be projecting weak, fearful energy, a person feeling angry would be said to be projecting weak, angry energy.

Simply put, your energy is whatever emotional state you're in. Why is energy so important in your relationship with your dog? Since dogs do not have a spoken language like we do, they communicate through body language & energy. Dogs are able to feel the emotions/energy of the beings around them, & if they feel emotions from you such as anxiety, fear, nervousness, etc., what they consider weak energy, they will see you as just that: weak. They will not look at you as a strong leader & will consequently try their doggone (no pun intended) hardest to be yours. However, if they feel such emotions from you as calmness, firmness, & confidence, they look at you in a whole different light: they look at you as a genuine, trustworthy leader. Dog “psychologists” (those that study the behavior, instincts, & body language of the dog) call this calm confidence “calm-assertive” energy.

More on Calm-assertive Energy

“Assertive” is one of those words that have a bad rap amongst people; many dog owners think it means you must be harsh, forceful, or even aggressive with your dog; if you've read the above paragraphs, you'll know that's not true. So, besides calmness & confidence, what else makes up calm-assertive energy? Calm-assertive energy is. . .

Confidence, certainty, decisiveness, firmness, positivity, strong-mindedness, security (in one's decisions), & self-assurance. But there are many thinks a calm-assertive leader is a not. A calm-assertive leader is not:

Harsh, angry, pushy, frustrated, dogmatic, dictative, forceful, domineering, or overbearing. The difference between an assertive leader & an overbearing leader is an overbearing leader physically forces their followers to obey their commands, an assertive leader does not.

Dogs respond to the calm-assertive energy of their leader/s (yes, dogs can have more than one leader!) with an energy of their own: calm-submissive energy.

More on Calm-submissive Energy

“Submissive” is another one of those words that have negative connotations in people's minds. Many dog owners think it means that their dog is sad, weak, or somehow “missing out” on something in life. That's not how a dog looks at submission. In fact, calm-submissive energy in a dog is actually happy energy. As has been mentioned, dogs are much happier being followers rather than leaders, & calm-submissive is the energy of a follower. But what is calm-submissive energy, exactly?

Acquiescence, amenability, humbleness, reverence (bit of a stretch), respect, trust, docility, tameness, tractability, passiveness, & politeness. You know what submissive means to a dog, but what does it not mean? A submissive dog is not...

Depressed, suppressed, slavish, fearful, weak, timid, shy, ashamed, or apprehensive.

Creating Calm-assertive Energy

It's one matter to talk about calm-assertive energy & quite another to create it. How do you go about creating calm-assertive energy? Take a few slow, deep breaths to help you stay on the calm side. Stand up straight: head up, shoulders back, (no tension, though), chest out, & back straight. Strut, if you must, it's okay. Envision someone who comes across to you as a calm, confident leader, & pretend you're that person. Think big & powerful, because you are. It's time to develop a little healthy pride in yourself, that's where calm-assertive energy comes from. Tell yourself, “I'm the pack leader around here!” You are. And your dog knows it. How do you know your dog knows it? Read his body language. (Body language will be discussed in the next chapter.) Now that you've got calm-assertive energy down pat, it's time to move on to the other aspects of leadership.

Rules For Establishing & Keeping Leadership: the Do's & Don't's of Alpha-dom

Every dog has an instinct to know their place in their pack. If they don't, they can become very stressed out & react by destroying things as an outlet for this stress & frustration. This is one reason you must be a leader to your dog. However, there are rules as to how become & stay a pack leader. Below are those rules. Everyone in the family & every friend that interacts with the dog every day & that is old enough to make decisions & control their emotions must be in on the program. It's confusing to a dog if one human is a leader & no others are. The dog may discover he can get away with certain behaviors, like barking & growling at anyone that disturbs him during dinner, because one person controls the food & the others do not.

Follow this program strictly for two weeks; depending on the natural dominance level of a dog, two weeks is the amount of time it will take for a dog to accept his owners as pack leaders. At the end of the two-week program, you can stop making your dog sleep in a closed crate; you can leave the door open if you want him to stay off the bed. Good luck with the program!

The Walk

*First of all, there's the walk. There is a proper way to walk your dog. It's discussed in the next section.

The Awesome Power of Food

Food has an amazing effect relating to dogs & the balance of power. In the wild, the pack leader controls the food. That means from now on, the humans are in charge of meals.

*Take the bowl off the floor, no more free-feeding. In dogs packs, the alpha chooses when everybody gets to eat. If your dog is choosing when he eats. . .well, point proven. *No more sneaking Max treats or tidbits under the table. A pack follower would hardly ever dream of disturbing the leader while they're eating. In the wild, the pack leader will eat first. He gets the best-tasting, choicest bits of the kill, & when the alpha is finished & only when the alpha is finished do the rest of the pack get to eat.

*If the dog is to be in the room during the meal, he must wait until all humans are finished eating & the table's been cleared before he can be fed. Ignore any barking or begging.

*Once the food is in the bowl, tell him to sit. If he refuses, no food. Try again every five to ten minutes until he listens to the command. Set the bowl on the ground. DO NOT LET THE DOG EAT YET! If he darts towards the food, body block him & make him sit or lay down. Stand over the food, this is how a leader claims what belongs to them: they get on top of it & use energy, eye contact, & body language to communicate to another being that this thing now belongs to them. You're telling him that food now belongs to you. Once he submits (see the article on body language), give him the command to eat. Use whatever you want. If you have multiple dogs, feed the calmest dog first.

Sleeping Arrangements & the Furniture

*No more doggies sleeping in the bed! The highest, most comfortable places are reserved for the highest-ranked members of the pack. At least in the very beginning, have your dog sleep in a crate or kennel. His crate can become his own personal “den”, which instinctually feels safe & secure. Pad with a dog bed or some blankets for comfort. The crate should be big enough for him to stand up, turn around, & stretch out in comfortably. Proper introduction to a crate will be discussed in chapter four. Place the crate in your bedroom, positioning it so your dog can see you through the door, & cover him up with a blanket, leaving the door uncovered. Once your dog accepts you as leader, & if you don't mind them sleeping on the bed, they must be invited up, not be allowed to nudge humans around, & they sleep at the foot of the bed, not on the pillow.

*Same thing applies to furniture & car rides: the dog must be invited up. No sitting on human laps unless strictly invited. No getting in the human's face. Space is respect, & your dog must learn to respect yours. Don't let the dog on the furniture if he has not been invited.

Attention

*Plain & simple: no attention at all if the dog nudges/noses you, paws at you, barks at you, or nibbles on you. Only the pack leader gets to demand attention from their followers. Only give attention to the dog when he is calm & in a submissive state of mind.

*If your little dog demands to be picked up, do not; tell him to sit, & if he complies, pick him up & cuddle. Don't put him down unless he's settled quietly in your arms.

If you have left the home or room & come back in, even if you've only been gone for a moment, ignore the dog for a few minutes. Followers always the greet the leaders, not the other way around. This will also aid in treating &/or preventing separation anxiety. *When guests come over, the dog is not the first being to be greeted, you are. Part of the job of a pack leader is to greet/investigate any being that comes into their territory, letting the rest of the pack know if the stranger is safe to meet.

Playtime, Toys, & Possessions

*From now on, the dog owns nothing.

*No playing keep-away or snapping at humans that try to take an object away. If the dog runs away with an object in his mouth, just stay calm & assertive, & use body language & touch to “herd” them into a corner. Wait until they drop the object of their own accord. Give them a few pats & scratches & let them go. Don't yell “Drop it!” over & over if the command was not followed the first time.

*You decide when human-dog playtime starts & when it ends.

Body Positions

*During that critical two-week period, no hugging the dog. He may take it as a dominance check & possibly growl, snap, or even bite. You can resume the hugging once your dog accepts you as leader.

*Don't ever tolerate a jumping dog, yes, even the little ones. Jumping up is disrespect. If your dog tries to jump, step into them, bumping them. Keep walking into them; either tell them to sit or wait until they sit by themselves. Claim back the space your dog tried to take away.

*If the dog's in the way of your path, make him move or step over him, don't go around the dog.

The Miscellaneous Group

*Start making all the big, important decisions, such as where you go on a walk or when human-dog playtime starts & ends, but leave little, unimportant ones to your dog, such as what bone to chew or which tree to rest under.

*No more letting the dog go through doorways/gates/up & down the stairs first; leader goes first, leading the way.

*Give an obedience command or a trick to perform before any interaction with the dog: going out the door, going for a walk, feeding, petting, etc. If the command is not heeded, the dog doesn't get what he wants. Dogs have an instinct to work for everything, so this type of exercise both satisfies the instinct to work & reinforces your higher pack position at the same time. This also teaches him that obeying commands can have its rewards. If your dog doesn't seem to understand commands, practice them.

*Eye contact is a powerful communication tool. If a follower makes direct eye contact with their leader, the follower always blinks or looks away before the leader does.

*And most importantly. . . don't lose sight of your calm-assertive energy. When around your dog, avoid weak emotions such as anxiety, nervousness, fear, or anger. Use less talk. Dogs do not understand your words, but they understand your body language & energy, that's what matters to them.

Babies as Pack Leaders?

Even a little baby can be pack leader to the biggest powerful-breed dog if everything is set up right. Start taking your baby in a stroller while you & the dog go out on walks, ensuring the dog is following both you & the stroller. Stop allowing the dog in the nursery, but don't just close the door. Stand inside the nursery with the door open, your dog on the other side. Draw an invisible line across the threshold of the door & do not let your dog cross that line, stepping forward, giving a quick verbal correction & making her back up if she tries. Commit 100 percent to the project, & you may be surprised at how quickly the dog begins to understand. She can now sit outside the nursery & watch what's going on just like she could when she was allowed in, but now she won't be jumping up trying to see the baby or grabbing dirty diapers & running away with them or getting underfoot. Also build a “bubble of space” around the baby herself, a bubble the dog can't enter without permission. As the baby grows & gets older, you can start letting her get more involved in caring for the dog. For example, out on a walk, point out how the dog follows along behind or beside you. You can instruct the child on how to feed the dog or how to pet the dog, teaching her how you only give the dog affection when she's calm & submissive. Your dog will soon accept the baby as a leader, too.

If you're expecting a baby, you can repeat many of the above steps, as well as desensitizing the dog to the movements & sounds of a baby by buying one of those dolls that crawl on the floor when wound up or a doll that cries, always enforcing that “bubble of space” around the doll. Start working on your leadership skills as soon as you can. It's important. Dogs need leadership more than anything else.

It All Comes Down to the Proper Walk

Did you know that approximately ninety-five percent of the connection between leader & follower is laid down in the walk? When you hear the word “walk”, you may imagine trailing behind your dog, patiently waiting for him to move on as he stops to sniff every single tree, bush, & telephone pole in the neighborhood. I'm sorry to tell you that that's not the proper walk. Think about dog packs in the wild: the pack leader is always forging ahead, leading the way, & their followers are always, well, following. When I say your dog needs to follow you, I mean for your dog to heel. Heeling has become a bit of a lost art, but that doesn't mean a dog can't learn. Here's how to teach your dog to “pack walk”.

The Proper Walk Outlined

A successful pack walk starts with your own energy. Stay calm & assertive; don't chase after your dog with the leash, but call your dog to you instead, & put the leash on the dog only when the dog is sitting & in a calm-submissive state. If possible, place the leash up high on the dog's neck, like in a dog show. The highest part of a dog's neck is also the most sensitive, giving you a maximum amount of control with a minimum of effort. You can make a makeshift show-style lead by taking your dog's leash & clipping the metal part to the leash, creating a loop that can be adjusted to fit your dog's neck & that will not slide down over time. Give your dog an inch to an inch-&-a-half of slack, winding the rest of your leash around your hand.

Start this exercise by the door or gate, & have the dog sit before opening the door. Do not let the dog bolt out at top speed, but calmly body block if they do try to bolt, insisting they wait calmly. This may take quite a bit of time & patience to accomplish at first, but don't give up & keep working at it, taking slow, deep breaths, & thinking calming thoughts as you picture the dog sitting & waiting. Once your dog has sat calmly & submissively at the door for a few moments with the door open, step out first, letting the dog follow. At this point, the dog may pull forward a little. Do not let them, just give an up-&-to-the-side correction. Continue walking, correcting if your dog pulls forward or to the side or tries to walk ahead. Remember that the correction must occur at the exact moment the dog starts to pull or move forward because that's how the dog will associate the correction with pulling. Also, remember that if you've turned the leash into a show-style lead like I suggested, the loop will gradually become tighter as you correct. You will need to stop every now & then to loosen the “collar” so it doesn't become too tight & make your dog uncomfortable.

The dog may try to pull quite a bit, so just as with the waiting at door exercise, stay calm-assertive & keep taking deep breaths, picturing your dog in the heel position. If you keep at your assertive, calm state, eventually your dog will give up on trying to pull & start walking calmly, seeing that you're now the leader & they aren't. Do not praise your dog once they're walking calmly, that will only create excitement; walking calmly is already in a dog's nature, anyway. Keep your head up, chest out, & shoulders back, walking at a good pace. If the dog gets distracted by something, give a correction; the goal is to keep your dog concentrated on following you, that's what really makes a pack walk a success. Pay attention to the dog's body language: if the head is up but not high or is carried low, the ears are back a little, & the tail is relaxed (it can be either up or down), then that's a submissive dog out walking with his pack leader. In about ten to fifteen minutes of proper walking, you can unwind the leash & allow your dog to smell the ground & pee & poop if he need to. Say to your dog, “Fido, take a break.” You are letting the dog explore his environment & relieve himself just like he would when he was still leading you, but now it's on your terms. That's not being a control freak, that's being a leader. Your dog can do pretty much anything except pull while he's “on break”. You can let him wander ahead a little, just as long as he doesn't pull & is smelling, not trying to lead. After about two to five minutes, it's time to return back to the walk. Wind the leash back up & continue. Cue your dog, “End break” or “No break”, whatever you want to signal that now is migrating time. This type of pack walk, where the dog heels & follows you, drains both a dog's mental & physical energy & reinforces your position as pack leader.

Why Even Bother to Walk Your Dog?

The proper walk, as a has been mentioned, drains a dog's mental & physical energy. This will calm her down & make her easier to live with, & will also aid in treating & preventing behavioral issues. The physical exercise helps keep your dog fit & prevents obesity or obesity-related health issues, many of which noticeably shorten a dog's lifespan. The psychological aspect of following satisfies the dog's instinct to get out & migrate with an esteemed, trusted leader & keeps a dog mentally stable, as she doesn't have the pent-up energy & frustration resulting from not getting out & walking. Out in the wild, packs of dogs get up in the morning to hunt/walk, walking until they find the food & nourishment they seek. This process of hunting can be simulated by walking your dog before feeding them; the instinct to work for food is ingrained deep in a dog's nature, & this instinct is one of the easiest to satisfy.

There Is No Substitute For the Proper Walk

There isn't. Taking your dog to the park to play will not satisfy the instinct to migrate & work for food, although the dog is getting a little exercise. Playing fetch in the backyard, while providing your dog with a little exercise, will not satisfy this instinct, either. A big backyard, even if it's half an acre, compared to a walk, is like a big kennel or a prison.

“To keep our dogs in our nice fenced yards is like putting a human in a padded cell & feeding them, but not letting them out, never letting them see the light of day.” So writes Sharon Maguire, dog owner/psychologist & creator of the website dogbreedinfo.com, & she's right. Nothing is going to satisfy the instinct to migrate & work for food, only the walk will.

How Long to Walk Your Dog?

This will depend on the dog's energy level & how much exercise they've had in the past. At first, walk them as long as you can, then add about fifteen to thirty minutes on top of that. Towards the end of the walk, pay attention once more to your dog's body language. If they're panting heavily & beginning to tire or lag behind, then they've had enough exercise for the day & can go back home & rest until their evening walk. If they're only just beginning to show signs of tiring, walk another fifteen to twenty minutes, then check them again, repeating the pattern. Make the evening walk half the time of the morning walk.

Dogs that have not been walked in the past, or that have not been walked enough, will show signs of hyperactivity, such as jumping up, zipping around the house or yard all day, &/or always being in an excited state of mind. No, excitement in a dog isn't happiness, it's stress. Stress is a negative thing & it should not linger in your dog's life.

Once those signs have diminished & gone away, you can start making the morning walk about forty-five minutes to an hour & the evening walk thirty to forty minutes. Adjust the time as you see fit & according to your dog's activity & energy level. You may be thinking, I don't have the time in my schedule to walk my dog for two hours! I'm here to tell you that if you don't have the time, make the time. The point is, for you & your dog to have a good leader-follower relationship, & for your dog to be stress-free & mentally stable, they have to walk, even if that means adjusting work hours or going to the later church service or getting up earlier or cutting breakfast time short. There is no way around it. However, if you absolutely cannot adjust your morning schedule to fit in a walk of this magnitude, then get a backpack for your dog. You can find them at most retail pet stores or order one online (you will be able to find a better selection online). Get one that will fit your dog well. Weigh it down with bricks or stones, about twenty percent of your dog's body weight. Backpacking will allow you to cut the walk time in half, giving you twice the work input in half the time.

Alternate Ways to Exercise Your Dog

There are other ways to exercise your dog besides walking, provided your dog still heels. You can bike, skateboard, run, jog, sprint, Rollerblade; use your imagination. Every dog, even little dogs & senior citizens, need to get out & exercise. It doesn't matter what breed they are, what size they are, or what temperament they have. The point is, walk! Raining outside? Get a raincoat for your dog & grab an umbrella. Snowing or cold? Bundle up & get a coat & boots for your dog. Is it gonna be a hot one? Get up as early as possible, before the air & ground get hot. The point is, get out & exercise together!

Do Dogs Really Need to Be Followers?

The best & greatest dog trainers out there say that leadership is a vital ingredient in a human-dog relationship. But why do dogs need to be followers? Why do you need to be a leader?

First of all, dogs bite. You may think that because you have a little dog, you can let them bite or snap all they want because they're so little & won't cause very much damage. Let me ask you this: what if that adorable little five-pound Chihuahua that's snapping, snarling, growling, & biting your hand was a 150-pound Rottweiler, would you still think of that snapping & biting as “cute”? A time may come when people refuse to come over to your house or can't even get through the front door because of your little dog's snapping & aggression. Part of the reason these little ones snap & bite is because they are pack leader & feel a need to protect their “property”, which is you. The amount of stress that occurs from this type of guarding/protection is too much for a dog of this size to handle. Why make them bear a burden they can't when you can easily take it off their shoulders? You may think that your dog will never bite because he's a Golden retriever or a Lab or a similar “safe” breed, & only pit bulls or Dobermans or other so-called “aggressive” breeds are dangerous. Let me tell you something: I've seen more calm, mellow “dangerous” dogs than I have calm, mellow Labs. If you have a large, powerful-breed dog, then you'd better make sure you're a good leader. There's a reason many of these breeds are deemed dangerous & vicious. The number one reason a dog bites is because an instinct is not being fulfilled in his life, most likely the instinct for leadership & direction.

Secondly, a pack leader does not listen to a follower. Let's say you need to actually give your dog a reason to listen to you when you give him commands. What's gonna happen when he wanders near the curb, intending to cross the street, at the exact same moment a car comes shrieking around the corner, driving at top speed? Will you be able to give him the sit command in time? More importantly, will he listen? I was out walking with my Doberman one evening, & when we passed by a yard, two Chihuahuas rushed the fence, yapping up a storm. Their owner was trailing behind, shouting at them in full sentences. “Pocket, no! Stop that! Quiet! Picket, no! See, that dog's doing nothing to you! Quiet! NO! POCKET RENAE, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!?!” Why didn’t the dogs stop their barking when their owner told them to? One, they had no respect for their owner. Two, they were the leaders around there & had no reason to regard the commands their follower gave them, no matter how firm they sounded or how loudly they were yelled. There will come a time, more than once, for sure, when you will absolutely need your dog to obey what you tell him. If he has no respect for you as his leader & no respect for your commands, why should he obey?

Thirdly, there's the issue of separation anxiety. Pack leaders are allowed to leave the followers whenever they please, but followers are not allowed to leave the leaders unless given permission. One of the jobs of a pack leader is to make sure that their followers are safe & secure. When the followers leave the care of their leader & the leader is left behind, you can imagine the stress & anxiety a dog goes through. It's not practical for our dogs to accompany us every single time we leave the home. The destruction that occurs from separation anxiety is enough to drive you mad, & the accompanying whining & barking may drive the neighbors to order the dog to be removed from the property. If you put your dog in the yard, he may try to chew & dig his way out, & who knows what may happen if he gets loose?

Remember that a pack leader gets to make most of the decisions. There are certain things we can't let a dog decide, such as when you can leave to go to work or who can come into the home & who can't, etc. These are the things we need to decide, not the dog. When you aren't listening to what your dog tells you when he's the leader of your pack, you cause a build-up of stress that can manifest itself in mild or even severe behavioral issues. Why make your dog live his life full of stress & anxiety when he doesn't have to?

Owners of powerful-breed dogs need not worry if their dogs will still guard & protect. The instinct is still there, & they will still protect you & your home if necessary.

With humans, dogs have to be followers. The stress & pressure of trying to lead humans but failing is like taking a shy child & leaving him unsupervised with a gang of bullies & telling him to “deal with it”. One of a dog's strongest instincts is the instinct for leadership & direction. Dogs are perfectly content with the type of leadership a leader would give in the wild. I'll show you what exactly a leader does.

The Many Jobs of a Pack Leader

A pack leader has many jobs to perform, dictated by their role. Here's another look at why dogs need to be followers & why they're actually happy being followers.

There is the job of protecting the pack. That means you handle strangers at the door, not the dog. You also decide what to do when loose dogs approach your pack.

The leader sets the rules, boundaries, & limitations of their pack. Contrary to popular belief, dogs need & thrive under rules, boundaries, & limitations, provided they are made perfectly clear & are enforced in a calm-assertive, not harsh or domineering, manner. The consequences of breaking those rules are also determined by the leader. Rules, boundaries, & limitations will be discussed more in depth in chapter three.

The leader always leads the way: through doors, up/down stairs, & on the walk.

The leader makes all the big, important decisions, the decisions that will affect the pack, such as when you leave for a walk, where you go on the walk, & how far you walk. The leader decides when the pack gets to eat & who is fed first. The leader decides if & when the dogs are allowed on the furniture.

The pack followers make the decisions that are left over, the little, unimportant decisions. The stress of juggling all of these jobs is a huge responsibility for any dog. Instinct dictates that if a strong-minded, calm-assertive leader is not in charge, the fate of the pack is at stake, so that's when a dog takes over. The burden of leadership is very heavy for a dog to bear. Add the extra stress of trying to control & lead humans that inconsistently follow your orders, & you have a recipe for disaster. That's why a dog will gladly accept a follower position, because they see a way out of nightmarish life. However, you are going to need to consistently show your dog that you are strong enough to be able to lead the pack. “The Rules of Alpha-dom” can really help in that area. Once again, leadership is something dogs want & crave, but they don't necessarily crave their own.

Well friend, congratulations, you've made it through the first chapter! Just remember: if you're working with a very dominant-type dog, you'll discover that your dog's behavior may start getting worse instead of better. This is perfectly normal & perhaps to be expected, as your dog is testing your authority & energy to determine if you're strong enough to leader the pack. These can be compared to “temper tantrums” & the best thing you can do is wait your dog out. A dog can only stay in a negative state for so long before they give up. Stay calm, strong, & assertive (NOT aggressive or harsh!) The more consistent you are in your signals, the sooner this “testing period” will blow over. Now, we move on to the next chapter.