Keep this in mind for the 1st week of National Train Your Dog Month… Don’t focus on obedience commands, housebreaking, leash walking, or any other hands-on dog training skills. Rather, start with creating the proper mindset and mental framework.
As with anything, the right tools used with the wrong frame of mind are ineffective & even potentially detrimental. So…
Forget being “Dominant” and “Alpha” over your dog. Those terms imply the need to impose your will on the dog.
Instead, be your dog’s leader. Leadership isn’t mean. It’s kindness. It’s teaching. It’s helping.
Dogs do not inherently know how to navigate the constructs of our human world. This contributes to uncertainty, which manifests itself in fear, aggression, or simply not listening to you.
Lead your dog: As a teacher would a student, as an employer does an employee, as parents do with children.
Leadership creates trust, appropriate behavior, & happiness.
B