A pet dog often instinctively wants to become top dog in a household pack. This is because the strongest animals get the best food, the most comfortable sleeping places and the chance to breed and pass on their genes to the next generation. Dogs in a wild pack live in a social hierarchy in which they arrange themselves in status order beneath the leader.
Check out You’re the Alpha Leader in Your Home.
Good leaders look after the pack, making sure they are well fed and comfortable. They don’t always give in to demands, and can be uncompromising and tough when necessary to maintain authority. They decide what to do and when to do it. They have sufficient strength to earn respect rather than constantly harassing or bullying the pack to stay in control.
Your dog’s life is completely intertwined with yours, and his schedule is entirely dependent on yours. If you wok a nine-to-five job, it isn’t long before your dog beings to anticipate that you leave at a certain time in the morning and return at approximately the same time each evening. He picks up the cues. Dogs learn to plan their day around their people’s routines. – source
In domestic situations, you must remember that you are the leader and your dog is the lowest-status pack member. If the status alters, you will certainly have problems in controlling your dog’s behavior. However, if this happens, all is not lost: the hierarchy in a wild dog pack isn’t fixed and will change if circumstances alter. Consequently, there is hope for humans whose dog has taken control of them.
Check out Owning Your Title: Be a Pack Leader.
