Living According to the Rules of the Dog Pack

Living according to  the rules of the dog pack

When we look at the family dog, we can notice that it finds it hard to understand how to behave properly as a result of living in a diverse environment with people and dogs. Every dog pack needs a leader to maintain its hierarchical structure , each member of the pack knows its position in that hierarchy, and the higher the position is, the greater are the benefits for the dog.

A lot of people are trying to teach their dog to understand human values, and make it behave like a human.  But the truth is that he dog can only understand dog values and can learn something only at their level. We often make our pet's life more difficult, and the ability of dogs to learn to live with illogical human beings, makes them great creatures and good friends.

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So, let's see how we treat the  dog and try to imagine how the dog understands and "decode" our actions ...

What we do:

  • We would allow it to jump up on a chair and our bed, let it  lie under the kitchen table, though our dog has its own place in our house.
  • We let the dog eat first, and only after that we sit down at the table themselves, moreover,we gave it our own food from the table.
  • The dog is the first who enters through the door, and we follow it.
  • When we play with the dog "fighting" that is one of the favorite activities, we allow the dog to be the winner, we behave in the same way in other power games, when we pretend giving in the game.
  • If our dog is lying in the aisle, we carefully go around it, so as not to disturb it.
  • We pet our dog when sitting in front the TV, it demands it, and does not obey our request to take its place.
  • We often avoid looking directly in the dog's eyes.

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This is how the dog understands our behaviour:

  • It sleeps where it wants, but in its place is not taken by anyone.
  • It always gets its share of the available food, and the people eat what is left.
  • It can win all the games where there is a power struggle.
  • People allowed it to go ahead in the narrow passages and do not bother it when moving indoors.
  • People respond to its demand for affection,and  put up with her unwillingness to obey their commands.
So this situation  the dog enjoys the rights of the  pack leader. In this way,we show it that we  respect its higher position. Our dogs do not demand that we treated them in such away, but conscious or not, we give them these rights. If by ignorance, we let our dog have such a high position in the hierarchy, we have to put up with the fact that she takes responsibility for this mission of being a leader.

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Your Dog Is Always Ready to Protect You

Because the leader's duties are:
  • Be the first who eats and only the best food
  • Sleep on the best place
  • Make sure that the pack members stay together and obey the leader
  • Protect its pack
  • Be the first who starts the  hunting
  • Protect the territory occupied by the pack
Of course it does not mean that dogs who follow such behavior patterns, are  bad, naughty or aggressive. Usually they are just dogs, that have  taken the  responsibility, which the owners have charged them by themselves.

If you, as the dog owner, encounter any problems with controlling the dog's  behavior, then you need to analyze your relationship with your dog and try to find out if you grant it, unconsciously, the advantages of a higher rank than your own.

Changing positions in the hierarchy is possible if you do not allow your dog to enjoy the benefits that are the privilege of  the pack members with higher ranks. But keep in mind that this should be done without a confrontation. If you cannot solve the problems on your own, you can always get help from professional dog trainers.