Being The Pack Leader !
How should I treat my dog ? should I think that my dog is a fur baby ? should I share my bed with my dog ?
Lets start off with the obvious. Your dog is a DOG, you are a human. Dogs are pack animals, they work together as a group to achieve consistent supply of resources, safety and protection. The Pack has a leader - The Alphas , normally a male and female, there are also dogs that sit underneath the Alphas in the hierarchy, they are subordinate to the Alphas but hold a position over the Omegas, which are the lowest group in the hierarchy.
When you have 2 or 3 dogs they tend to sort out the order themselves. It is easy to pick the class of dog. Check out the dogs tail is it wrapped down over its bum and between his/her legs ?is the tail wagging ? do any of your dogs stand over the top of others ? has the dog raised its hackles ? is the tail raised and motionless ?does one dog get preferred sleeping position ? We need to read the messages that our dogs give to other dogs and give to us.
When I get home from work I always greet my wife first, then my children and any other humans in the house, then I greet the Alpha dog, then the Beta dog and lastly the Omega dog. Always in that order. I never let my dog sleep in my bed, that domain belongs to my wife and I. My behaviour gives my dogs clear instructions about our families pack hierarchy.
My dogs look at me as their leader. My wife and I are the Alphas, your dogs are looking at you for leadership. Will you take the challenge and become a pack leader ?
This photo shows Kaia our 9 month Old Staffy sitting on Tiger our 13 year old staffy. She has been doing this for the last 3 or 4 months, she sits on him often. In other words "you are below me". Tiger has always been an Omega dog and this continues with Kaia being dominant over him. She bullies him off the bed, she will eat her dinner then she will start on his. She is wearing a Dogtra IQ Plus remote-training collar which is used when she approaches Tigers food bowl. She had 2 small corrections - problem solved.