It’s A Dog’s Life—

The Quality Of Leadership

By Mary Jane Anderson

“Why does my dog behave for my husband, but not for me?” asked Sue as she struggled to keep Butch under control as she visits with her neighbor. The complaint is common. The questions is why can one member of a family have a better rapport with the family dog than another? And the answer is leadership.

Leadership is something that dogs understand. A dog identifies with a person by their recognizable behavior. Dogs are habitual watchers of their world they live in as well as the people in their life, especially those in the family. Day in and day out, dogs watch their family members, and, in many ways, they can anticipate their owner’s moves before they happen. A well-known example is when the owner goes to get his coat and keys, the dogs knows his master is going out — hopefully for a walk or a ride in the car.

Don, Sue’s husband, expects Butch to listen to him and follow Don’s direction until Don is satisfied with Butch’s behavior. Sue, however, does not show any leadership that would guide Butch to do what she wants him to do. “But,” said Sue, “I am very good to him. I take him out to play in the backyard when I can and walk him around the neighborhood. But, he is just like a kid, very active. He wears me out.”

There is the problem. Butch is an animal with a language different from the human language. So when Sue treats her dog as a human child, Butch does not understand. He does what an animal would do, not what a human would do. He enjoys being an animal and will take advantage of such a situation and that’s when it becomes a big problem for Sue.

Dogs depend on leadership. When leadership is not asserted, then the dog becomes confused, trying to figure out what he should do. Unfortunately, his decision often does not please his owner. If Sue wants to have Butch behave for her, she must teach him a new response to counteract the old unacceptable habit — such as jumping up on her when he wants to go outside or jumping up to greet her when she comes into the house.

To eliminate a problem owners have with their dog, they must replace that problem with acceptable behavior — without yelling or hitting in anger when the dog does not obey.

First, the owner must decide what he wants to change in his dog’s behavior. He must decide when, where, and how he will do the convincing. A trained dog is a happy dog. A dog confused about what to do can be very difficult to control. Remember, a dog depends on the quality of its leadership — Sue would like Butch to listen to her in the same way that Dan and Butch solve their problems.

If you want your dog to stop jumping up on you when you come into the house, just tell him: “Sit, Stay.” Teach him to stay that way until you take your coat off, hang it up, and tell him he is a good boy. Then, quietly walk away and let the dog have time to think about it. The one behavior, jumping up, is replaced by sitting quietly before he is greeted. When this is done each time you come into the house, your dog will automatically sit to be petted.

The “Sit, Stay” lesson also works when you are taking your dog out for a walk. Teach the dog to sit quietly while you get his leash on and then quietly go out the door. The more attention that an owner pays in teaching their dog to obey, the more positive results will be. But, if the owner only once in a while expects his dog to obey, there will not be a bond between owner and dog. The failure lies with the owner.

Good quiet training will correct any misbehaving dog as he learns what is expected of him — housebreaking, house rules, eating, sleeping quarters, respect of family and especially children. For dog owners like Sue, Blanche Saunders, a well-known dog trainer has this advice, “You must convince your dog that you will enforce the leadership — and that you will consistently enforce your commands.