Being The Alpha Dog

There is a much more effective way to establish yourself as "Leader of your Pack" than the Alpha Roll, and much less hazardous as well.

Dogs think of their family as their "pack". This comes from centuries of living wild before man got a hold of them and domesticated the wildness out of them. While the wildness is gone, much of the instincts remain. One of these is "Pack Mentality".

Pack Mentality focuses on behaving as the Leader commands. The Leader in any dog or wolf pack, is considered "Alpha". The Alpha protects the pack, shelters the pack, feeds the pack, and determines how the pack reacts and behaves. Consider a family with a number of small children. How the parents behave can often directly influence how the children behave. Using this analogy, the Alpha would be the parents, the dogs in the pack, representing the children. This isn't quite a perfect analogy, but it demonstrates my point. The Alpha's behavior determines the pack's response.

How do you establish yourself as Alpha without resorting to the violence seen in some wolfpacks?

Put Yourself First
The Alpha always, always comes first. The first to eat, the first to enter the shelter, the first to choose the softest, most comfortable resting place.

You, as Alpha, need to establish a routine of being "First".

Eat first, then feed your dogs their meal.

Go through the doors of your house first.

Get comfortable in bed first, before allowing your dog to settle.

Be the first on the sofa when relaxing.

Is your dog already running the show?

Time to take your position as Alpha back! Make your dog work for every little goody that comes his way.

He wants to go outside?
Make him sit for a minute before you open the door.

He wants more water in his dish?
Make him lie down at your feet first.

It's dinner time?
No food until he's done something you want to, sit, beg, lie down ...

He wants you to pet him?
Make him do something for you first.

By having him "work" for everything that he wants, you will take back your position at the head of the pack. It may take a while, some dogs are more stubborn than others, but it will work.

Remember, YOU are supposed to be the Leader, the "smart" one. There should no need for YOU to resort to outdated and violent training methods.

Part One: About That Alpha Roll