If your dog has been lunging at other dogs, barking at them and not coming when called…you need help and a Dog Trainer is probably your first thought. If they push through open doors, pull items from your hands (food, treats, toys) or if they won’t get off the furniture or move out of your way…. you have a problem… If your dog could communicate with you in a way you understand, you might realize that they bark at other dogs because they think YOU need to be protected… When a dog has to protect themselves and their handler, it can be a problem. In most cases that is too much for the dog and they get desperate.
If your dog doesn’t always come when you call their name it is often because they think they are the one in charge!!
So if your dog is barking at other dogs or people or they don’t listen to you it could be that they don’t see you as their leader. In their eyes you you’re not acting the way a good trustworthy leader is supposed to act. To be the leader all you need to do is change some of your behaviors…
Some of the first things I tell people is;
No Free Food. Have your dog work for all their food. Do not let them think the food magically shows up on the kitchen floor every day. Many people say they make their dog sit and wait until they put the food on the floor. That is a great start, but if you have been doing that for years, you need to make it more work for the dog to get the food. Make the dog wait longer, or from a farther distance. If they do tricks, have them do more tricks… challenge them and make a game out of it…
Do Not Say Their Name in Front of them unless you are talking to them! When a dog hears its name you want them to think it is a party. If they hear it and can’t relate it to anything fun and exciting, it starts to sound like the teacher on the Peanuts comic.
Always have a release word for your dog. If you are teaching them to sit, down or stay….. How long are they supposed to do it? They should stay in the requested behavior until released. To have a dog stay or be able to put in place to keep them out of the way is wonderful.
It is really helpful to understand dogs communicate non verbally. They understand the value of personal space and and any type of attention. We use non-verbal communication with other people all the time but then we add or change it using verbal communication. It is really hard to do that with a dog. They understand very limited verbal signals and rely more on non-verbal’s. If the dog does something you don’t want or like, but you accidentally reward them with the wrong non-verbal communication you are encouraging the unwanted behavior.