Assertiveness

Dogs are individual creatures. No two dogs are alike. Through a combination of genetics, circumstances or development one dog may be assertive while another is timid.

Dogs in the ‘alpha’ pack leader position are assertive. These types of dogs will take bones or toys away from other dogs or be the first of the pack to enter a room and demand a great deal of attention after having done so. On the other hand, a timid dog will always eat, enter and play last. These dogs simply remain quiet and wait to be noticed.

At first glance, timid dogs may not be in need of training as much focus is placed on deterring unwarranted behaviors. Their counterparts, assertive dogs, are more suitable for training. These dogs are leashed and pulled back during walking exercises. Trained not to chase the neighbors cat is also endured.

Unlike their rowdy companions, timid dogs are the last to exit, do not display a tendency to dig or other undesirable behaviors. These behaviors are carried over into personal space. Timid dogs distance themselves inside the home from other dogs, whether assertive or not.

The fact is that timid dogs are in need of training. The training for timid dogs goes in the opposite direction of traditional training. A timid dog is taught to not let a stranger approach it on the street and offer a treat. This can have a damaging effect on the dog’s overall health. Unstable individuals will use this as an opportunity to steal or harm a timid dog.

Likewise, timid dogs need to understand boundary respect by any unknown dog or human. For this reason, a timid dogs need not to accept treats from people you meet. This should be taught once to be effective.

Work with the dog’s nature in order to set a success training tone. Although timid in nature, the dog will still enjoy the occasional reward and play times.

When there is more than one dog in a household, reserve time for the timid one to get some one on one time outside. This keeps the more assertive dog in the house next to you. Give the timid dog the opportunity to therefore enter the house first, feed first or get a drink of water first. During general feeding time, prevent the timid dog from being chased out of the room.

Take a toy – favored beef treated bone or stuffed ball – and go through the ‘sit’ and ‘up’ motions with a timid dog. Do not engage in this as long as you would with an assertive dog. Be sure to use a friendly, up beat voice when playing with the timid dog.

Based on physiological or genetic circumstances, not all timid behaviors can be erased through training. Keep this in mind and do not set the bar too high when training a timid dog. Patience and persistence will win through and be effective in changing some of the dog’s behaviors.

Consistency and commitment will go a long way in training a timid dog. Be prepared to devote an hour once a day for several weeks, months or even longer to teaching a timid dog a more suitable behavior.

There are a lot of people who have pets and all these people have different problems ranging from their pet always barking at people when they pass by to being as quiet as a mouse and for any reason. The funniest and least funny of all these problems is when your dog won’t seem to want to sleep somewhere else besides your bed and oddly enough your side of the bed on top of that. There can be many solutions to all these types of problems and they will not always work for every person but this article is for the purpose of taking the time to address this quite irritating issue. Thinking about it this can be caused by many different issues such as insecurity to a dominance problem. It is your job as a dog owner to be able to tell the difference between the two. For example, if it were a dominance problem you would see other signs besides the sleeping on the bed issue. You might see aggressiveness or constant barking but as it may seem these two signs usually go hand in hand with a scared dog. Also if you were dealing with a insecurity problem than you might notice that your dog is always scared and has his tail down constantly. It might help him to sleep in your bed as security or simply because it makes him feel safer than sleeping alone. This problem is a lot more common than people think.
The best way to deal with the aggressive problem is to stop it dead in its tracks. Dog usually are aggressive because they think that they are being threatened by whatever they are barking at. This is usually caused by you the owner because the reason for this is that he thinks he is the leader in your household. He has been given enough power and leeway to feel as though you should be following him so any attempts to silence him will go on deaf ears so to speak. The best way to silence this kind of issue is to show him that you mean business and that you are the leader in this household and not him.
There are a lot of animals that in the wild before they were domesticated ran in a pack mentality. This means that in a pack mentality there is only one leader and it is usually the one who is the strongest in the pack. He relates this mentality to the home and sees that he is stronger than you. With that in mind you need to take back that leadership role and show him that you are the leader. This is the quickest way to silence your dog and to have some kind of confidence that he wont one day turn violent whether it be towards you or to someone else outside.
When we talk next time I want to address the second part of this article which will apply to dogs that suffer from insecurity issues.

As descendants from wolf packs, dogs have and seek a natural hierarchy in which some are dominant (alphas) and others follow. Struggles among young pups to sort of who is which start early, in some cases three weeks after birth.
Apart from human society, wild dogs will fight – sometimes to the death – to maintain or achieve the alpha status. Losers are occasionally expelled from the pack entirely.
But in any human-dog pair the human has to take the leader role. The alternative is property destruction, human frustration and usually a maladjusted dog. Naturally, that’s sometimes easier said than done.
Pups display early in life the tendency to want to lead or acceptance of a subsidiary role. For those who insist on being alpha, several techniques can help adjust the dog’s behavior. But first you have to identify it.
Put the pup on its back with a firm hand placed in the middle of the chest. No need to press hard, just enough to keep the dog from wiggling away. Monitor the strength and length of time the dog takes to submit, signaled by pulled back paws, averted eyes, and general relaxing.
Most individuals will struggle at the unfamiliar position and submissive role. The strength of the struggle and the length to relaxation will vary from breed to breed – Golden Retrievers may submit relatively quickly, where terriers may never stop struggling.
Dogs learn by cue and repetition so to assist curing excessive assertiveness lean your face close to the dog’s and growl, bark or even shout when required. Don’t expect completely satisfactory results the first few times, but gradually most will learn to accept their secondary role.
Variations have the person stand or kneel in front of the dog, then lift it at the chest using one or two hands. Most dogs, especially dominant ones, dislike this but they quickly learn who the boss is. Alternatively, grasp both front paws and lift up. Don’t be too aggressive. The goal is to encourage acceptance of their role, not to punish.
For dogs inclined to leap up on people, there are several useful techniques. First, attempt to tell the difference between dominance and the desire for affection. Many dogs leap up on you so that they can get closer to your human face. Dogs want to be at your height so their eyes are at your level. Eye contact and rubbing your face with theirs is used by them to encourage bonding and establish social roles. They may just be trying to ‘tell’ you something. Kneel down and allow non-biters to get close to your face.
Keep enough eye contact to establish dominance by waiting for them to look away. Do your best not to blink. When the dog accepts its role, praise lavishly with ear rubs and leaning your forehead into the dog’s head. Keep your head held higher however until your role is well-established.
For those who need extra discouragement, try the following. Watch the dog’s face and body carefully for tell-tale signs signaling an imminent jump. Discourage the behavior with voice commands (’stay’ or ‘down’) and a palm thrust out and down into the dog’s face. If they’re already in mid-flight, raise a knee slightly into the dog’s chest, to keep them off and put them off-balance, NOT to pummel the dog or throw it backwards, except in emergencies.
Establishing your alpha role with them takes patience and commitment and repetition. Assertive dogs will test you throughout their lifetimes. Always be prepared to defend your role.