Great Tips from the Dog Whisperer

The Dog Whisperer made several great points last night.
First, a dog won't obey or follow a loving leader, a kind leader or a gentle leader, it will only follow and obey a dominant leader. That is the reason so many people have problems with their dogs. The dog has no idea who the leader is so it assumes all behavior is OK.
The second tip I caught was really a surprise to me. I always thought that when walking Duke and he had his ears pinned back that he was unhappy or mad at me. Actually this is exactly what the Dog Whiserer wants to see. It means the dog is paying attention to your lead. If his ears are up and he is looking all around it means he is ignoring you and therefore in charge of the walk and dominant. This will carry over into all other activities.
While all this dominance over your dog may sound cruel to some, he further explained that all dogs are very happy to be guided and led if they know and trust their leader. It is the confusion in their little brains that creates problems.
Of couse we can all love and adore our pups but make sure it is on your terms. Something as simple as a dog coming up and jumping in your uninvited may be cute but it is a sign that the dog is dominating you. If the dog respects you as the leader it should come to you and sit and wait to be invited up into your lap.
One good thing that Duke does that demonstrates this point is that he is allowed to sleep on the bed with us every night, however he does not assume this is his right. Each and every night he first ask permission by resting his chin on the bed. Of course there is no way to resist that pleading look but at least he does ask first.

 

Good points! We are working on having Bonnie ask to jump up on the couch. Our trainer said to intercept her on the way in and ask her to sit. Once she is sitting, we release her and pat the couch and tell her to come on up.

It is difficult, though, because Nala is usually chewing on her leg by then and that's distracting to her...

 

LOL Jamiya I know what you mean. It is impossible to try to train Freckles with Duke present and vice-versa. They are starting to obey the same command at the same time IE WAIT before they walk through a door.
The other day I was trying to teach Freckles how to play the old Pea Shell game using a tennis ball and three large plastic cups. Freckles concentration is very keen and he would watch intently trying to follow the one hiding the ball as I move the cups around . We were making great progress and having fun until Duke butted in thinking the game was called Grab The Cup and Run.

 

Dukesdad, you hit the nail on the head with the dominance thing, we let Jake be the dominent one and I know that is why his training over the years has gone so poorly

honeybear

 

LOL!! Grab the Cup and Run.... :lol:

 

Hmm Pheobes new favorite game is Mom Bowling. This is the game where when mom gets up to go somewhere she with the stealth of a heard of buffalo run up and knocks into my legs. Any idea on how to stop this except with a stern no? I am afraid this will be alot more painfull when she is fully grown. :lol:

 

Hey! Nala has the stealth of a herd of buffalo as well! Isn't it fun?

 

Dukesdad, forgive me if you have answered this before ... what channel / time / day does this show come on? It sounds very interesting and I would like to see it!

Thanks,
Piper's Mom

 

Piper's Mom,
It comes on at 5:30 Central Time here in Houston on the National Geographic Channel.

 

Thank you. I get that channel, so I should be able to find it!