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Thinking with a Pack Mentality
“Dogs are
pack animals.” This is a widely known
fact, but although we might know it, it
can be quite challenging for humans to
truly understand it and apply it in our
daily relationships with our pets.
To summarize, applying a pack mentality
to your relationship with your dog means
providing leadership. By acting like his
leader, your dog can instinctively relax
and fall into the role of “family pet.”
In fact, without leadership dogs can
become very confused, anxious or
dominant, and may feel obligated to step
into the “top position” since no one
else is.
For example, imagine you are a small
child who is just beginning to attend
school. Imagine that you arrive at the
school and no one tells you where to go,
what seat to sit in, how to walk
appropriately in the hallways or what
time lunch is eaten. It would be chaos!
Children would be running everywhere, no
one would learn anything and it would
likely be downright dangerous.
When not enough leadership is present in
a dog’s life, he can feel just as
chaotic. In the wild (or in any group
situation including our homes), dogs
will always identify a pack leader who
sets the tone for the entire group. That
alpha dog dictates when they go walking,
how and where they walk, when they eat,
who eats first, second and last, and
when they all rest.
When you think about it, it makes
perfect sense. For example, if the whole
pack didn’t hunt together and just went
off “willy nilly,” each deciding when
they feel like hunting, chances are no
one would catch anything. The group has
to work together, and just like any
working team, there has to be a leader
who delegates responsibility and
designates how and when things are done.
Of course, our pets don’t have to worry
about hunting for food. But they do have
to worry about conforming to the
household rules. If no one clearly
defines the rules, provides a schedule
and shows what will or won’t be
tolerated, the dog simply won’t know.
The majority of dogs don’t have the
natural inclination to be a pack leader.
When such a dog is in a situation where
no leader is present, this can lead to
anxiety, wild behavior, chewing,
excessive barking, separation anxiety
and a multitude of other problems.
If the dog does have natural leadership
qualities, he may step into the role of
household leader, and the rules he
chooses to implement may be very
different from how you want your pet to
act. Dominant behavior, aggression,
territorial marking, area guarding and
many other problems can surface when the
family dog feels like the pack leader.
Now that you have a better understanding
of how dogs really think, it should be
much easier to provide the necessary
leadership your pet needs. Instead of
feeling “sorry” for enforcing rules, you
can now do so knowing that in his heart
of hearts, it really makes your dog feel
comforted. Instead of treating him like
a human and then wondering why he keeps
acting like a dog, you can now treat him
like a dog and know that you are doing
the right thing.
Some things you can do to provide
leadership include: Setting and sticking
to a schedule, always walking through
doorways ahead of your dog, enforcing
obedience commands on a day-to-day
basis, not allowing your dog to pull you
when you walk, keeping him off the
furniture, and other similar rules.
Another thing you should do is to keep
an eye out for your dog trying to
“train” you. For example, if your pet
“demands” that you throw his ball
whenever you’re on the phone because he
barks at you, do not throw the ball.
Instead, put your dog into a down/stay
(provide leadership), and play ball when
it’s on your terms… not because of his
demands.
By really understanding how dogs think
and implementing some leadership
strategies into your dog’s daily life,
you can have the best possible
relationship with your pet.
Article written by Lori Verni
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