3 Dog Training Concepts Learned from the Dog Whisperer
Even if you are not a big tv watcher, you have probably heard of the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. Cesar is an excellent dog training and does a very good job at leading his extremely large pack.
Here are 3 things that I’ve learned from the Dog Whisperer when it comes to effective dog training.
1. You Must Become Pack Leader
Dogs are pack animals as you may have heard many times on this site and they always have a pack leader. When it comes to your dog, either you are the pack leader or he will become the pack leader. One of the simplest ways to start establishing yourself as the pack leader is by setting rules and boundaries for your dog.
By enforcing these rules, he will start to see you and respect you as the pack leader. Things like where to eat, when to eat, where to sleep, etc all work towards this goal.
2. Owners Cause Dog Problems 95% of the Time
Although that 95% number is not totally correct, it helps to paint the picture that owners are the cause of many dog problems continuing a large portion of the time. Treating your dog like a family baby, spouse, or anything outside of being a pet can cause many longterm problems. A few of these can be dominance, not respecting your authority, excessive horseplay/dogplay, constant barking, and more.
One of the things I like best about the Dog Whisperer is that he spends a lot of his time fixing dog owners which eventually leads to solving the immediate dog problems.
3. Always Remain Calm and Assertive
The Dog Whisperer is famous for telling owners the need to be calm and assertive. If you are excited and passive, your dog will rule your world. By the way, this is not only in the case of very big dogs. Little dogs will rule your world just as fast if you don’t spend time to use and implement the calm and assertive strategy. Dogs can sense excitement in your voice and actions. When you get excited, they get excited. They also don’t listen to much you are saying.
Proof that a dog is listening to the sound of your voice is when two of my dogs were in protection school. When the perpetuator entered my yard, the dogs would just look at him as long as my voice stayed at a certain level. Once I became excited or yelled that I wanted him to leave now, the dogs would immediately respond to the change in my voice and stand up.
So, if you want to have a well behaved dog and live in a peaceful houshold, you have to become the proven pack leader, recognize that a dog is a dog and make decisions accordingly, and display a calm and assertive energy when dealing with your dogs daily.
If you would like to learn more proven dog obedience training techniques, check out this online dog training course or email us.
