Establishing Yourself as Leader

Canine social structure

Pet dogs have been bred for generations to enhance specific behaviors and increase domestic tranquility. However, when domestic dogs are abandoned they often return to the same living arrangements that wild dogs keep. This doesn't mean that your dog is a junior wolf spin off but ancestral behavior influences your dog's behavior. Generations of domestication are a drop in the bucket compared to thousands of years of adaptation. Domestic dogs are adapted to scavenging around human settlements. They have a shorter flight distance than wolves, are smaller, and less likely to need large family groups to bring down elusive prey because they scavenge. Their ancestral behavior includes begging, foraging, and being willing to approach new sources of food. They also reproduce more often and with more puppies per litter than wolves.

Wild dogs usually collect in areas with a reliable food source such as a town dump. They live with their siblings and raise puppies in proximity to the food source. Some new adults periodically join the group for breeding purposes. Depending on the supply of food in the territory, some of the emerging adults may leave in search of new territory and breeding opportunities. Group members usually find their own food but will share with puppies who beg. After eating, group members may groom each other, play or share warmth. Last year's puppies may share in the care of new puppies by bringing food to them or staying with them while their mother goes to feed. In a stable group, there are a few qualified members to whom the others defer in difficult situations, such as when food is scarce or when shelter is shared. When times are lean, the group's more qualified members are the only ones to reproduce. No one knows how the dogs make this agreement to limit puppies in lean times, but the dogs accomplish it, nonetheless.

You may have heard stories of a lone dog, usually a wolf, overtaking the leader of an existing pack in a knock down, drag out fight. It is actually rare that changes in leadership occur from a single fight. This is partly because a group of dogs is more likely to attack an interloper than to allow him to lead the pack. And partly because pack structure in feral dogs is not as rigid as in wolves. There may be more than one leader. Wolves need each other to eat. Dogs, being scavengers, do better off alone at feeding time. In general, new group members are expected to assume a subordinate role until they are accepted. When a new leader does emerge, he will earn the position gradually.

The top dog is usually intelligent and not easily startled, he (or she) will avoid risky situations for himself as well as for the group and will be quick to find solutions to problems, such as escaping an enclosure. Contrary to myth, leaders are not necessarily aggressive. The leader, guides by doing. When he rests, the group rests. When he eats the group eats. If members are successful in capturing prey or discovering carrion, the leader may take the first opportunity to eat.

Socially qualified leaders may request deference from pack members in the form of appeasement behavior. Subordinate dogs crouch and look away when they catch the eye of their leader. They may even roll over and expose their abdomens. This appeasement behavior serves to keep peace in the group. If a subordinate member challenges leadership by staring back or refusing to defer, a leader would reprimand the subordinate with a growl or snap of his jaws. Serious confrontation with the leader in a stable group is uncommon.

However challenges between members of equal status do occur. Most often confrontations are over sleeping areas or food. These confrontations often start with a stare and a refusal to give way. The confrontations are more noisy than they are harmful. Even these lateral relationships between pack members are not rigid. For example, if one member of the group has a bone, a stronger individual may not take it away. However, if one dog approaches a bone recently abandoned by another dog, it may only take a glance from the owner for the would be thief to pass by the temptation. It all depends on the relationship between the two individuals and does not even involve their leader.

You have probably heard "Leader dogs" described as Alpha dogs or Dominant dogs. However, calling the leader alpha, for "first" can lead to the assumption that the leadership relationship is one sided. It's more complicated than that. Dog families are webs, not hierarchies. Social status, or "who's in charge", changes with the situation at hand. If one dog is particularly agile or assertive, that individual may be in charge when intruders enter the territory but another dog may be the leader while looking for shelter or food.

So how does this help you and your dog? When a dog joins a human family the relationships are the same, resembling a web more than an organizational chart. From the dog's point of view, it isn't always clear who is making the decisions-especially if most of the family is away from home during the day. Your dog may get confusing messages when you share food with him or brush and pet him. If he feels equal or dominant to you he may resent having his ears, feet, or mouth touched by you. He will not give up food or preferential resting places at your request and he will not always respond to your commands. Leadership is earned and based on your control of resources in the household. You can use a dog's natural inclination to respect leadership and the control of resources to better manage your dog's behavior.

But always be careful not to fall into the trap of pop culture. Grabbing your dog roughly and stealing his food will not make a you a leader. These simplistic ideas are commonly shared as old wives tales. Acting on these misguided tips can harm your relationship with your dog.

Establishing leadership

If you are your dog's leader, you can simply tell him to stop whatever he is doing or call him to you successfully at any time. Wouldn't it be great to be your dog's leader? The only behavior problem it wouldn't solve is one that occurs when you aren't there. Wow. Simple, yet so elusive. Most dog behavior problems are related to a dog's confusion about leadership or a lack of motivation. Well, if leadership is sounding attractive, you might want to read more about domestic dog pack structure. You can't become the leader in one knock down, drag out fight, and hope it will stick. You will have to earn the leadership position. If you are ready to motivate your dog, read on....

THE PLAN If you have had specific problems with aggression involving dog bites, work with a professional trainer. Any dog with a mouth can bite, but a dog that has bitten a person has proven that he will do so. If your dog has bitten, she should wear a leash when you are home to supervise (leash can be a hazard on a dog left alone). You will be able to use the leash to move her off the sofa, out from under the bed or anything you may need to do that normally results in a confrontation in which you risk getting bitten. This not only keeps you safer but it will change your dog's mind about how you react to threats. You won't have to back down because you won't have to touch your dog to gain compliance when she is behaving in a threatening manner.

If you are not dealing with aggression but have other general behavior problems that could be solved with a leadership plan, establish a command that your dog responds well to for a treat, such as "sit." If your dog does not respond to commands reliably, start with our basic lesson. Once his response is reliable, begin asking him to sit before you feed him. Show him the food and ask once. If he does not obey, put the food away. Feel free to ask again in 5 or 10 minutes after you have done some other activity in another room. He will catch on quickly that you only ask once. If you are unable to get results the first day, be sure to leave food out at night. Don't let him see you leave it because he did not respond to your request but never deprive an animal of food as a part of training. Dogs do not learn well when they are worried about food and companionship.

Eventually, your dog will probably sit as soon as he sees you with his bowl. However, if he sits without being asked and you feed him then YOU have deferred to him. So, if he is already sitting at meal time, ask him to come into another room. Then ask him to sit. Of course, you may use other commands such as "down" or "fetch" if he already knows these. The point is that you must ask him to obey a command or defer to you before you give him his food. He must learn that all things come from you and nothing is free.

Begin asking him to sit for any attention at all. Ask him to sit before a walk. If he does not obey, put him out in a fenced yard to eliminate rather than walking him--if he prefers the yard, then walk him--whichever is more rewarding should be withheld unless your dog is willing to do you a favor first. If he puts his head on your lap for attention or climbs up on the couch or bed, get up and change the TV channel or leave the room. The reason for this is two fold. He absolutely cannot have anything, especially your attention, unless he defers to you first. Second, you do not want him to learn to persistently bother you until you give in. This is definitely NOT going to earn you a leadership position.

You will eventually notice that your dog sits beside the couch waiting to have attention or to climb up. Remember, if he sits without being asked make sure he does something extra before you allow him his reward. Ask him to give you his paw or bring you a toy. You may notice his behavior is changing for the better already.

It is important to remember this is not boot camp. Your dog can still have all the luxuries, treats and attention he has always enjoyed, as long as he earns them by complying with his leader's requests. It's that simple. Never deprive your dog of his usual care as a punishment. During this training period you may even want to offer extra attention in the form of extra walks and games of fetch -- even ice cream; AS LONG AS YOUR DOG EARNS these. Once you feel your dog responds reliably indoors when resources are involved, it's time to work on motivation so he will respond away from home and in trying circumstances.

A dog does not fear his leader, he trusts him as the source of all good things. A leader must demonstrate an ability to provide and must command respect without fear. You can control any dog's behavior quickly with a choke collar or loud voice but you will not be his leader.