Caesar Millan comes to mind, whenever I hear the dog whisperer mentioned, it is of course because he is the frontrunner in this unique form of behavioral conditioning for both dog and owner. The more I watch Caesar and his clients, the more I realize that humans are changing. With this completed, the dog can do nothing but follow.
Having watched several dog whisperer series, I can’t help but admire the devotion and expertise Caesar Millan brings to his craft.
His calm and authoritative approach sometimes leaves me speechless with the results he achieves in such a short time.
Most of the time, a pattern of behavior is corrected in a matter of minutes, and often instantly.
Caesar explains that our dogs need balance, and that a dog in the dog world has this balance (as in a pecking order) managed by the pack leader. We humans most of the time try to humanize our dogs thus removing the balance from their lives, and without this balance and the consequent lack of boundaries, a dog can become a bit confused and possibly dangerous.
Regain control/balance/limits
It is a game of wills and an altered mental attitude on the part of the human, the faster you can lose the idea that your dog is human, the faster you can start enjoying life with your canine. Your dog needs you to be the pack leader, and if you’re not, he’ll try to put himself in those shoes and the next thing you know, he’s the leader and calls the shots.
Caesar mentions three important steps that the (human) owner needs to exercise on a daily basis to ensure a wonderful and rewarding relationship between a man/woman and their best friend…their dog.
- Walk your dog – This is where the bond between you and your dog is most crucial. Dogs love to walk, that’s what they like to do! You need to get away from that pent up energy a dog will have after extended periods indoors. This is very important, a high energy dog with no way out can be more than a handful so regular walks are a must.
- Feed your dog: always feed your dog after his walk, he will be happier with a full stomach after he has already done his exercise.
- Love Your Dog: After you’ve followed the first two steps, this step should click into place. A happy, well exercised and fed dog will be ready to accept all the love you can give him and he will reciprocate accordingly.
Leadership:
Our dogs love us and seek leadership, a dog that does not receive this direction and leadership will often misbehave. There are no limits and the dog goes crazy, and no matter how much we yell and yell at our dog, our dog is less likely to pick up on our wishes. This is because all we are doing is increasing the level of aggression, distress, or nervousness in our dogs.
We need to take control quite assertively, taking back all the areas of our home that our dogs have claimed.
Then we can get down to setting limits for our dogs.
State of mind:
To achieve this leadership status, we need to change our thinking. We have a dog and not a human.
Dogs live in the now, they don’t think about what happened yesterday or the taste of the food they will have tomorrow, they live in the NOW.
Dogs don’t rationalize, they are mostly pure instinct. For example; The dog that barks like crazy at the postman is exercising his Territorial instinct. With time and some training, a dog can be shown that the postman does not pose a threat to his territory and his behavior will stop. The dog is happier because now he doesn’t have to engage in that behavior anymore (which is stressful), you’ll be happier because the dog isn’t making your ears bleed, and even happier is the postman, one less potential threat in his life.
Change your way of thinking, learn about your dogs natural instincts and work with them.
go ahead
If you are going to attempt any correctional behavior program on your own, it is imperative that you stick with it and not go halfway through it. Your dog can sense if you are scared or apprehensive and react accordingly, so be prepared to be the leader of the pack (calm but assertive, using few words) Let him know who’s boss. If you think your dog may react violently towards you or anyone else in your family as you embark on a behavior correction program, turn him over to a professional to show you.
The bottom line here is this;
“Dogs are much happier being dogs” than humans. When you treat your animal in a way that facilitates its natural state, the happier it will be. This doesn’t mean you can’t show him love and play with him, what it does mean is that our dogs need to have a place in the pecking order, and that place is below every other human being in your family.
When this is established, you and your Dog will find a new lease on life and happiness together.