Training a dog is like building a house. If the foundation isn’t solid, every effort made at gaining dog obedience will yield unpredictable and oftentimes short-term results. So, how do you build a strong foundation for effective dog training? You NEED to establish yourself as the alpha dog and gain your dog’s respect.

The theory sounds simple enough. However, a MAJORITY of dog owners will unknowingly flub this crucial component and wind up with a dog that is always fighting them to gain the top spot on the pack hierarchy. It’s by far the most common dog training obstacle that sabotages the entire relationship.

That said, you don’t have to fall victim to the hardships of an unruly dog. There really is a scientific process, based on rules, that will steer you out of the funk of a rebellious pooch. This process for establishing alpha status is tied together by a system of controlling your dog’s 3 environmental outlets – food, rest and socialization.

When you restrict or control all of these three facets to your puppy’s life, he’ll soon understand that he is dependent upon you for his freedom. With this dependency comes a respect and obedience for your command. The method is simple, effective and creates a fast bond between the both of you.

Let’s talk about the first environmental control, food…

1. Food

You’re going to control his food by determining when, where and what your dog eats. This means, feeding at set times in specific amounts. A key to this discipline is NOT responding to begging. There is no and I mean NO feeding from the table or giving human food of any kind.

As much as you love your dog, during the initial phases of dog training, you must enforce a separation in the hierarchy of your status. Don’t level the playing field by making him feel entitled to eat the same food you do. This specific facet of his life (eating) is directly associated with survival. This process is going to solidify his correlation between surviving and depending on your care.

He NEEDS you to eat. This dependency will enforce his instinct to please you through obedience. You are the alpha and YOU decide when the pack eats.

And this is just the first factor. The next two are just as crucial…

2. Rest

Other than being a necessity for living, rest is also a privilege. It’s an outlet for relaxation and enjoyment. Control this variable by deciding WHERE your dog sleeps. That means no allowing him up on the couch or bed. Those are YOUR resting areas. The alpha dog decides where and when the rest of the pack sleeps. You control the pace of the pack and the level of activity. Administer this control by setting limits on where your dog may rest. This principle is something that inspired crate training. If you decide against crate training, that’s fine. However, you absolutely must create limits and rules for your dog’s resting habits.

3. Socialization

This is perhaps the BIGGEST variable that you need to control. It’s also one of the more difficult ones to enforce because it takes a lot of diligence and patience.

When your dog approaches you, you need to force obedience before rewarding him with affection. That means, when your dog nuzzles his head into your hand or lap, before petting him or speaking in a playful pitchy tone, you should issue commands to exercise his submission.

Having him sit, lay down, give paw, stay or heel are essential tricks that you should constantly train him on. The true power of these commands isn’t impressing your friends or visitors. The power lies in exercising your dog’s attention and enforcing your dominance.

When you’re first training your dog, your love should be treated as a reward or it will be taken for granted. Once you have an obedient puppy and you’re confident that this respect will not go astray, you can dispense your affection without thought. In the beginning though, you’ll want to follow this guideline for best results.

These are hard and fast rules. Many people I encounter don’t understand them at first. However, nearly EVERYONE who enforces them experiences almost immediate results (within a week usually).

Keep at it and continue your training knowing that your dog WANTS to be led. Following a pack leader is the most natural instinct your dog has. Facilitate this need by becoming the alpha dog and take the anxiety out of his actions.

You may not realize it, but your dog begging for food is a HUGE red flag when it comes to your training efforts. That’s because giving in to his constant whining is one of the most dangerous contributors to his overall disobedience.

I’m not blaming you or anything. All dog owners have been there.

You’re enjoying dinner with the family and suddenly the little guy comes wandering up to you with that sad, tender look in his eyes.

Surely one little table scrap can’t hurt right?

Think again. When you give in to these little begging episodes, you’re doing a whole lot more than just encouraging the behavior. Your dog is testing you – but more than that, he’s trying to gain rank within the ladder of command.

If you’ve learned anything from this site, hopefully it’s that in order to establish dominance over your dog, you NEED to be the Alpha dog.

In your dog’s pack mentality, mealtime is incredibly significant as to who dominates the chain of command. When you give in and give him that bite, he’s doing a whole lot more than enjoying that morsel of food. He’s taking pride in the fact that he’s gaining ground towards alpha status.

This can lead to escalating behavior problems when you don’t give in to his requests and may even bring about aggressive resistance. He no longer sees himself at the bottom of the pack, so he may try to fight for his status.

Really, it can turn into a messy scenario.

As a dog owner and dog trainer, it MUST be your objective to establish your dog at the bottom of the pack’s rank.

First and foremost, stop feeding him from the table altogether.

That doesn’t mean, give him a nibble when he’s good. That doesn’t mean give him a taste 1 out of every 150 times. Let me tell you, if you give him a bite every 1 out of 150 times he asks, he’ll remember that one time and he’ll keep coming back for another chance at table food.

Set the rule now to NEVER ever ever feed your dog from the table. Talk with your family and educate them as to why. They must comply with this rule or your dog will simply start begging them instead.

It’s important that you feed your dog AFTER you and your family eat. This is very telling and will broadcast the message loud and clear. He is at the bottom of the pack rank.

After you clear your dishes, then put out his food. Be disciplined with this. Just like all other training methods, you must put your dog on a schedule to send the message loud and clear and avoid any confusion on his part.

Once your dog falls into this routine (it may take about 2-3 months), the begging will stop and he will seem much less anxious at dinner time.

One of the biggest problems that dog owners face is when their dogs jump on visiting guests. You know the scenario. The doorbell rings and your dog goes CRAZY, jumping on top of whoever enters. In this article you’ll learn how to combat this problem and stop your dog from jumping on people once and for all.

Your problem is way more common than you may realize. Nearly 85% of dog owners face the obnoxious dog jumping at some point in their dog’s life (usually when they’re young). If the problem goes untreated, jumping puppies grow up into overwhelming, jumping dogs. Hopefully, you’re trying to catch the behavior problem early. Either way, the tips below should help.

The root behavior isn’t so hard to understand. Dogs jump for a few different reasons…

First and foremost, dogs are extremely social animals. Most of the time, they’re jumping to greet the person.

The second reason your dog may jump is to establish social dominance. This is common in dogs that have aggressive tendencies. Hopefully, this isn’t the case for you.

Thirdly, dogs often jump out of conditioned habit. From the time that they’re puppies, owners and visitors can’t help but invite the cute little guys to jump up on their lap for some attention and petting.

How many times have you said to your little puppy:
“Awww…cute little puppy…come here! Come here!”

The puppy jumps up and you pet him and PRAISE him, positively reinforcing the negative behavior trait. In your puppy’s mind he’s thinking “Hey, these humans want us to jump up on them.”

It’s not your fault. Really, most dog owners don’t know they’re creating this pattern at the time. It’s hard to think that sharing affection for your dog can do any harm, right?

Anyway…

Over time, as the puppies get bigger, they don’t understand that the earlier invitations to jump up were based on their smaller size. The habit is already formed and your dog continues to jump up for attention. This scenario is the most common – especially for first time dog owners.

So, what’s the solution?

You need to teach your dog that all greeting needs to be done with all four of his paws on the ground. The most important part of this strategy is having everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) who comes into contact with the dog be consistent with the training. No one can encourage him to jump up. Your dog needs repetitive training in order for this to be effective. Tell everyone who enters the house about your “no jumping” policy. This way they’ll all react the same way when your dog tries to jump up and send him the same message. So here’s the tactic that over time actually stops his jumping…

When your dog jumps up on you, simply take hold of his paws and squeeze them. You don’t have to crush them. Just gently squeeze them with a firm grip. The idea here isn’t to hurt your dog. It’s to make him feel vulnerable.

Dogs don’t enjoy having their paws held for an extended period of time. They’re very sensitive about having their paws exposed, touched or held out of their control. After a few seconds of holding your dog’s paws, he’ll begin to pull away.

IMPORTANT: You need to hold on to your dog’s paws until he begins to struggle away. Don’t just touch his paws and let go (he’ll think you’re playing with him). You need to make sure he’s uncomfortable and struggling to get his paws back.

While he’s struggling, you want to use the command “OFF”. Be stern with your tone. Let him know with your voice that this is disapproved behavior. Do not use the command “Down”. “Down” should be used when you want your dog to lay down. If you use the same command for two different purposes, he’ll just get confused. Say “OFF” when you want your dog to stop jumping up.

After doing this for a couple of weeks, your dog will definitely get the message. I recommend when you enter the house, if your dog is staying calm, give him a treat to positively reinforce his calm behavior. Don’t do it every time. Only positively reinforce the behavior if you can tell that he’s consciously restraining his jumping.

Dogs naturally have a pack mentality. There’s no getting around it. You must establish yourself as the pack leader.

Some people find it difficult to create dominance over their puppy. Afterall, your puppy is just “sooo cute”. How can you look at that adorable face and be stern?

The simple truth is your dog wants to be led.

All dogs have either Alpha or Beta qualities. If your dog has strong Alpha qualities, he will compete with you for leadership. Let the dog win this battle and you’ll be following HIS rules.

You need to be consistent with your dog training, rule setting and dominance or your dog will feel like he needs to take the top spot on the hierarchy.

Conversely, if your dog has a Beta type personality and you don’t establish clear rules, he will become anxious and confused. Without a leader the dog may become fearful, confused or aggressive.

As a dog owner, your responsibility is to train your dog to understand that YOU are the “Alpha Dog” of the pack.

By acting like the “Alpha Dog”, your dog will be able to instinctively relax and just follow your lead.

Additionally, your family members or other owners must establish themselves on the hierarchy of the pack. Your dog should understand that he is the lowest on the chain and it is his place to follow everyone’s lead.

This will create a friendly, obedient and submissive dog that is respectful of your commands. Really the point of all this is to have your dog’s respect and obtain control.

Everything you do from the moment you get your puppy will either build upon your Alpha role or take away from it. That’s why it is so important to have a clear understanding of rules before you get your dog.

When you stick to hard and fast boundaries for your dog’s behavior, he will begin to understand what he can and can’t get away with. This also includes feeding him on a set schedule.

As he realizes YOU’RE the boss, he will comply effortlessly with the kind of behavior you expect.

Part of this strategy involves the immediate correction of disapproved behavior with acceptable behavior. Such as in the chewing example.

You must also immediately follow the bad behavior with a sharp “No” and always encourage any good behavior with “Good Boy”.

I will expand on this a great deal later on. But for now, know that these two phrases are “trigger commands”. Over time, they will become incredibly powerful so use them appropriately.

Now you have a much better understanding of how dogs think. So don’t feel bad about enforcing rules to your dog. It’s actually comforting to him.

By establishing your role as the leader, you make your dog’s life less chaotic and can train him knowing you are doing the right thing.