Are You The Leader Of Your Pack, Or Your Dog Learn More Now

I think we all know that dogs originated from wolves. Through time we抳e been able to change many things, except one. And that is the fact that dogs are pack animals and must belong to the pack. That one thing is the fact that dogs are pack animals and must belong to a pack. Whether you have one dogs or many. It doesn抰 matter if you have one dog or many dogs and animals Dogs aren抰 like people, they don抰 like to be alone. The pack to them means, survival, protections and communion. But everyone has to have their place in the pack, which means vying for position of the leader. There抯 one in every pack. They are usually that one alpha male or female set aside from the rest who when needed, is able to control and assimilate them into action. Everything is controlled by the leader of the pack, where they sleep, eat and who breeds with whom. Now that is a lot of control. Imagine if you will now one dog in a house full of humans with that type of control. Hard to believe as it may be some house have turned over control to one pet. They live constantly in fear of making him angry or displeasing him. Always worrying if he抯 torn up the couch or lifted his leg on the bed. They shy away from him because he growls at them while he eats but the dog is not to blame for his behavior. The blame belongs to the humans only. So what does it mean to be leader of the pack and how do we become one?

To be the leader means diligence and consistency. From the very beginning you must accept your responsibility of providing food, shelter and protection to prove you are the leader. They will look to you for their direction. They will look for a way in the beginning to assume control through any inconsistency on your part. It抯 just in their nature to do this it抯 not their fault. While you might not have your eyes on him constantly in those first few days and weeks he will have his eyes on you. Learning you, learning what is allowed and what is not. Now is when they will learn that peeing on the bed is dealt with quick and swift appropriate punishment, or if it will be overlooked for a while. Will growling as they eat get them more space or an instant command to stop their actions. Will you take the lead when you take him for a walk or allow yourself to be dragged along. All of this will be taken into their consideration when deciding if your are able to be their leader. Now a puppy is a pet who hasn抰 been taught right and wrong yet so they don抰 know what are good manners and what are not, and will look to you for guidance. Taking in an older animal means taking in older habits and will require more work, these are often rescue or shelter animals. For whatever reason these animals had no home and you provided them one so you抳e already provided one of their requirements to be the leader. Many rescues and shelters pre-screen the animals to see if there are any behavioral problems. So when taking on an older pet ask as many questions as you can about the animals behavior.

The best recourse for any age is obedience training and consistency. Inserting yourself as leader of the pack is done for the best welfare of the pack. Once you抳e done this, your pet should find his place relatively quickly within the rest of the pack, if there is one. And hopefully their will be harmony and love for everyone. Love, harmony and togetherness are the ultimate goal of the pack.


For more pet information please visit the Animal Shelter http://www.animalshelter.org