Posted by Jeanne on November 23, 2009
Jumping on the furniture
Deciding whether or not your dog is permitted access to the furniture is a pretty big deal. If you have a big dog, it’s an even bigger deal.
Furniture access is a matter of some importance for two reasons: first, because it’s mighty inconvenient to have to fight for space on your own couch; and second, because it strongly relates to the matter of dominance, which is of the utmost importance as far as a harmonious dog/owner relationship goes.
Your dog knows that the furniture – in particular, your bed – is your turf. If he’s allowed up onto your personal, private territory as a matter of course and whenever he feels like it, that’s conceding a pretty big point to him; especially since it’s rarely a two-way issue (when was the last time you invaded your dog’s own turf and snuggled down for a nap in his bed?).
It’s best to be aware of these things before making a final decision on furniture access for your dog. If you do decide to allow him unimpeded access, you’ll need to make sure that you’re extra-stringent with the other facets of alpha-dominance to prevent him from getting an over-inflated sense of self-importance.
Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to forbid your dog access to the furniture outright, until he’s at least five or six months old.
When a puppy’s growing up, he’s forming the basis of his conceptions as to what constitutes appropriate behavior, and he’s figuring out his own ranking in the social hierarchy of the household. If he’s allowed to leap onto beds, couches, and armchairs (the three most-prized pieces of furniture in the house for any dog) at will and from day one, he’ll have a skewed view of his own ranking.
He won’t see it as the privilege that it is: he’ll see it as his God-given right, and something to be taken for granted. This does a lot towards equalizing your dog’s rank with your own, which – as far as your role as the owner goes – is decidedly not a good thing. To maintain a good relationship with your dog, not only do you need to be the boss, but he needs to know that you are.
To prevent attitude problems from developing in adolescence, it’s generally best to keep your puppy as humble as possible – which means that he needs to appreciate being allowed up ‘on your level’.
Rule number one, as far as this issue goes, is consistency. You must be consistent! Once you’ve made your decision as to whether or not he’s to be allowed up on the furniture, you will have to stick with that decision, or else – whatever that decision was – you won’t have a hope of enforcing it.
So, if he’s to be allowed up on the couch but not the bed, for example, he must never be allowed up on that bed – not even for a moment. If you decide not to allow him up on any furniture at all, you must ensure that nobody counteracts your decision and invites him up there.
Changing the rules according to human whims and impulses isn’t fair on your dog. It’ll just confuse him. He can’t tell the difference between an expensive new couch and a grubby old one, or between clean paws and muddy paws. This can have a detrimental effect upon your own peace of mind (not to mention your dry-cleaning bill), and if you take that frustration out on your dog, it’s confusing and upsetting for him.
This is why, if you’re going to allow him any access at all, it’s a fantastic idea to impose limits: to teach him that he can’t just leap up as and when he chooses, but that he must wait for an invitation.
Inviting your dog to join you on the couch is pretty easy. All you have to do is pat the seat next to you, and – in a cheery, friendly tone – say, “Up you get!”. Most dogs need little more encouragement than this, and will be up like a shot before the second syllable’s even passed your lips.
You’ll also need to enforce the “off” command – this allows you to relax in the knowledge that, when you want some leg room, it’s there for the taking; and also reminds your dog, in no uncertain terms, that his furniture access is not a right – it’s a privilege!
As is to be expected, most dogs are less enthusiastic about obeying the “off” than they are the “up you get” command: on occasion, you may be required to resort to physical force to maintain obedience. Don’t worry, it’s not inhumane in the slightest, merely highly effective.
More information on this subject next week…
Posted by Jeanne on September 28, 2009
Your first step in dealing with generalized disobedience is to reestablish your dominance. Here are some tips on doing so:
- When leaving the house and the car, you must always leave before your dog. This is unmistakable alpha behavior: to a dog, only the alpha leaves first. If you allow him to exit the house or the car ahead of you, you are saying to him, “You’re stronger than me; you should go first because you’re the decision-maker.” Inside doors aren’t so important, but every time you leave the house or the car to go outside, you must make him wait for you to go first, until you release him from the ‘wait’ with a release-word.
- Make him wait for his food. Your family and you must always eat before him – if it means he has to wait an extra half hour or so for his meal, it won’t hurt him any. When you put his food down for him, make him sit and wait until you release him to eat. Keep his feeding schedule varied, so he’s always aware that you’re in charge of his food – don’t allow him to form expectations of when he should be fed.
- Don’t allow him free, uninhibited access to the whole house. The house is your den: you’re allowing him to be inside. Remind him that you’re allowing him into your den – it’s a privilege for him to be there, not a right – by sometimes allowing him inside, and sometimes sending him outside for half an hour or so. Keep certain areas of the house strictly for your own, as well (such as your bed, certain pieces of furniture, or some rooms).
- Never allow your dog to initiate play. If he’s nudging you for attention or to start a game, you may think that it’s cute and affectionate; but what he’s really saying is, “I’m the boss and I’m telling you to play with me right now.” If he starts bothering you for attention, ignore him for a few moments: get up and do something else. Wait until he’s given up before initiating the play yourself. Playtime is a fantastic way to bond with your dog, but it should be done on your terms, not his.
- When you arrive home, don’t rush straight over to him and shower him in affection. That is not alpha behavior at all – an alpha dog, upon arriving home, doesn’t go over to the other dogs and throw himself at them, saying, “Here I am! I missed you guys! Let’s have a cuddle!” – he ignores everyone else, relaxes for a short while, maybe has something to eat, and only interacts with them when he’s good and ready. Even though you’re probably good and ready to interact with your dog as soon as you get home, it will make more sense to him – and underscore your authority – if you ignore him for just three to five minutes upon arriving home.
Another fantastic way of counteracting disobedience is to start – and maintain – a basic obedience training plan. You don’t have to do anything fancy or super-demanding; just ten minutes a day of learning and enforcing commands. This can drop to five minutes a day once your dog is completely reliable with the commands.
Here are some tips for a good training program:
- Never give a command that you cannot reinforce immediately if he chooses to disobey you. Every time your dog takes the opportunity to ignore your command, he’s learning that it’s both easier and a lot more fun to ignore you. For example, if you call across the park for him to ‘come’ as he’s playing with some other dogs, the choices are clear-cut to him: he could cut his play-time short and come to you, or he could ignore you – which is easy, since you’re so far away – and continue to have fun. Until your dog is completely reliable with commands, he should be on a long line or retractable lead so that you can enforce them if necessary.
- Remember to use your voice to the best effect. Praise should be in a light, cheery, happy tone of voice; if possible, smile at the same time. It makes a difference to your tone of voice, and most dogs will study your face to make sense of your expressions, too. Corrections should be uttered in a stern, brook-no-nonsense tone: you don’t need to shout, but your voice should be low and authoritative.
- When you’re verbally interrupting your dog, it’s more effective to shout, “OI!” or “Ah-ah-ah!” rather than saying, “No”. The sounds are more clear-cut, and you’ll get a better response.
- Do not repeat a command. Remember, you should be training on a leash
or a long line: if he ignores you, he gets a short, sharp tug (some call it a ‘flick’) on the lead to remind him that you’re present, and you’re in charge. Repeating yourself teaches him to wait for the command to be repeated at least once before he obeys you.
- Five to fifteen minutes per day is an adequate amount of time for training. Any more than this in one sitting, and your dog’s concentration will likely lapse: fifteen minutes of intense training, where your dog is concentrating hard on what you want, is enough to send even the most energetic dogs to their beds for a snooze afterwards.
- You can move on to more advanced training and ‘tricks’ if you feel like it, but it’s not something that you should feel like you have to do.
- Another great option is formal obedience training classes. They’re a great way of socializing your dog (he gets to interact with other dogs, and those dogs’ owners), and also teaches him to concentrate on what you want despite the manifold distractions taking place around him. It’s also very helpful to have face-to-face contact with a trained professional: they can pick up on any mistakes you might be making, and give you advice for tightening up your training techniques.