HOW important is your role in raising a new pup? Very important!
Your part in bringing up a puppy is a huge factor in how your dog relates to everyday life. If you have ever met a canine guardian who lacks leadership qualities, a wishy-washy type of person, then it is very likely that you have met their misbehaved dog that is probably lacking in appropriate social skills. As a canine guardian volunteer, you made the conscious choice to bring a dog into your family. That means the sole responsibility lies on you to educate and guide your dog through our human world. It is your job to make sure things run as smoothly as possible while you take your dog step-by-step through the ups and downs of living in a human world.
When a dog joins a new family, day-to-day life can be challenging for both the dog and the humans involved. A puppy is taken away from everything it has ever known and is confronted with a completely new world to live in, leaving us with an unfair advantage over the dog. I'm sure from a dog's point of view we humans are a strange species. We do not communicate with body language to the degree dogs do, we hide our emotions and give mixed signals. To a dog we probably seem very unpredictable. We can walk into a room and burst into a rage for what seems to be no reason, leaving the uneasy dog in a state of distrust and confusion. As a canine guardian, you should take the time to learn how to better communicate with your dog. Dogs try very hard to understand us and live harmoniously in our human world - we should do the same.
Being a leader starts from day one, and should continue through your dog's lifetime. Being a leader has nothing to do with power or strength. Being a leader has everything to do with guidance and preparation. While you establish your position as leader with your puppy, you have to pay close attention to your reaction to your own world. Puppies learn quickly and will pick up on bad habits, as well as good. For example, if you react to another dog walking down the street by pulling back on your leash, your dog senses this is a bad situation and reacts. Instead, use happy talk and offer treats for attention as you pass other dogs on the street while remaining cool as a cucumber.
Verbal feedback helps to establish rules in our world. Verbal feedback should be used on a daily basis. Verbal feedback is just that, words or sounds to establish right from wrong so that your puppy or dog can understand. Happy words or sounds used as praise when your dog is doing things you like and growling words or sounds to stop unwanted behaviours in their tracks. Say you have a puppy and your puppy is heading towards your best pair of shoes, which you carelessly left at the front door. A deep AAHHHH lets your pup know that this is not the way to go. As they look to you or move away from the shoes, you hand them one of their chew toys while using your happy talk, "good puppy, you are just the best dog". This is all about being a good leader.
As a leader, you make all the decisions. Making all of the decisions does not mean that you are hovering around your dog every moment of the day, but important decisions like going out, playing, eating, prime seating position, ownership and attention are made by you. 'Sit' is the first behaviour you will need to teach your dog. Having your dog sit for things it would like, teaches manners so that they don't just take things. "Hmm - you'd like outside - sit" ... presto, the door opens.
Do not respond to your canine's demands. This is the one mistake most often made by canine guardians. Even the smallest response to your dog's demands can get things rolling towards canine leadership. Now, when I speak of not responding to demands, I mean to muzzle nudging, pawing, staring longingly, barking or speaking from your dog to you. You know the behaviours ... "hey, you sitting on the couch, pet me, feed me, take me for a walk" behaviours. With all dogs being individuals, so should your response be individual. Some dogs will be just fine if you pet them when they paw at you, some will not. It is a good rule to start off firm, we humans tend to slide and give in.
To sum things up, you will decide when your dog goes out, which way you go, when they eat, when they play and where they will and will not lie. This is your right as leader of your household. There is nothing mean or cruel about these rules. We have rules in our human world that we must abide by, so your dog must also abide by your rules. If we fail in our leadership role, we leave a confused dog left to make its own rules as it sees fit. By establishing clear boundaries and rules, your dog will become the dog it should be - a well-mannered, social dog. - Sherri Regalbuto
