During dog training, become the Alpha leader with these 5 methods

Want to know how to make your dog obey your commands when you are training him? One simple procedure is to make it known to your dog that you are the leader, the alpha of the pack and that he is the follower. Once your dog learns that you are the leader, he will obey your commands much faster and your training sessions will go more smoothly.

You see, dogs work in a pack hierarchy mentality where there is one leader and many followers. The leader of the pack is the dog who gets first dibs on everything from toys to food and does whatever he feels like doing. The leader will make all the decisions for the pack and the other dogs, being followers, will do whatever the leader will allow them to do. So, it is essential that your dog see you as the leader before you begin training, and he will then listen to you and obey your commands much faster. Here are 5 techniques you can start putting into practice to make your dog learn that you are the leader of the pack and he is just the follower.

One way to show your dog that you are in charge is during feeding time. In the alpha pack, the leader dog always eats first and gets the best portions. Only after he is done eating, can the others eat. So, if you feed your dog before you eat, you are showing him that he is the leader over you. What you need to do is prepare your meals and eat first, even if it is a small snack. Then get ready to feed your dog by placing his food in his bowl and swishing it around with your hands. This distributes your smell all over the food which reinforces that you are in charge. Then before you place his food bowl down for your dog to eat, you need to make him sit first. The goal is to make him obey your commands or wants and avoid giving your dog what he wants. This seems like a simple step, but believe me it can work wonders.

A further technique is to completely ignore your dog when you come home. I know this one will be very hard as it was for me when training my dog. Your first instinct is to praise your dog with a lot of love immediately, but this only reinforces to your dog that he is in charge because he is setting the rules on when he gets attention and love. You see, in a dog’s world, the alpha or leader always gets the attention first, so be greeting your dog first and not your family, you are telling your dog that he is the alpha and that your family is the followers. What you need to do is completely ignore your dog when you come home and greet all the other people in your house hold. Your dog will soon realize he is being ignored and will calm down and sometimes he will lay or sit down, patiently waiting for you to be ready to give him love. Once he is calm then, go ahead and shower him with a lot of love. Your dog will soon learn his place and he will patiently and calmly wait for you to greet the humans first.

Another characteristic a leader of a pack shows is that he makes all the decisions. So, by you letting your dog do what he wants when he wants to do it, is proving that he is the leader and you are the follower. This one training tip will take a bit longer for you to learn simply because it involves working with your dog in everything he does all day long. What you need to do is make all the decisions for him. Yes, this sounds simple enough but it can get a bit tricky, epically when your dog is used to doing it his way. If he wants to play, say no and wait until he gives up by either lying down or doing something else. Then call him over, pick up his favorite toy and ask him if he wants to play. If he wants some pets and love, just look at him and then look away, wait until he gives up, and then call him over for some loves. Just try to make sure that you are making all the decisions for your dog and this will show him that you are the leader and he must follow you.

Bedtime is an additional technique where you can show your dog that you are the leader of your pack. When it comes to bedtime, the alpha pack leader always gets the highest sleeping spot because he is the one who looks out for the rest of the pack. So, when you allow your dog to sleep with you on the bed, you are reinforcing that he is the pack leader and you are not. It is ok to allow him to be on the bed with you at night while you are watching TV, but when it is time to sleep you need to make him go to his own bed on the floor. This will help strengthen your position as the pack leader.

The last way you can demonstrate to your dog that you are the alpha leader is by grooming him and rubbing his belly. In the dog world, lying down displays submission to an authority leader and a pack leader will never show submission to those under him. This is what will make these sessions so great. It’s a fun and relaxing way for both you and your pet and it also proves to your dog that you are the leader and he is subordinate to you. All you have to do is make your dog lay down on his side and then brush him and rub his belly. This may be hard to do at first since your dog is not used to doing this, but as you continue to it, it will become easier and he will even begin to look forward to his grooming sessions.

When you put these five methods presented above into practice, your dog will soon begin to learn that you are the leader and he is the follower. Once he learns this lesson, your regular training sessions will go much more smoothly and easier since he already knows you are the leader and he place is to follow and do what ever you want him to do.