Your dog watches you constantly and reads your body language. He knows if you’re insecure, uncomfortable in a leadership role or won’t enforce a command. This behavior confuses him, makes him insecure and if he’s a natural leader or has a social-climbing personality, it’ll encourage him to assume the Alpha position and tell YOU what to do!
“Alpha” is an attitude. It involves quiet confidence, dignity, intelligence, an air of authority. A dog can sense this attitude almost immediately – it’s how his mother acted towards him. Watch a professional trainer or a good obedience instructor, they stand tall and use their voices and eyes to project the idea that they’re capable of getting what they want. They’re gentle but firm, loving but tough, all at the same time. Most dogs are immediately submissive towards this type of personality because they recognize and respect Alpha when they see it.
Practice being Alpha. Stand up straight with your shoulders back. Walk tall. Practice using a new tone of voice, one that’s deep and firm. Don’t ask your dog to do something – TELL HIM! There’s a difference, he knows the difference, too! Remember that, as Alpha, you’re entitled to make the rules and give the orders. Your dog understands that instinctively.
With most dogs, just this change in your attitude and an obedience training course will be enough to turn things around. With a dog that’s already taken over the household and has enforced his position by growling or biting and has been allowed to get away with it, you’ll need to do more than just decide to be Alpha. The dog is going to need an attitude adjustment as well.
Natural leaders and social climbers aren’t going to want to give up their Alpha position. Your sudden change in behavior is going to shock and threaten them. Your dog might act even more aggressively than before. An Alpha Dog will instinctively respond to challenges to his authority. It’s his nature to want to put down revolutionary uprisings by the peasants! Don’t worry, there’s a way around it!
An Alpha Dog already knows that he can beat you in a physical fight so returning his aggression with violence of your own won’t work. Until you’ve successfully established your position as Alpha, corrections like hitting, shaking or using the “rollover” techniques described in some books will not work and can be downright dangerous to you. An Alpha Dog will respond to these methods with violence and you could be seriously hurt.
What you need to do is use your BRAIN! You’re smarter than he is and you can out-think him. You’ll also need to be stubborn than he is. What I’m about to describe here is an effective, non-violent method of removing your dog from Alpha status and putting him back at the bottom of the family totem pole where he belongs and where he needs to be. In order for this method to work, your whole family had to be involved. It requires an attitude adjustment from everyone and a new way of working with your dog.
This is a serious business. A dog that bites or threatens people is a dangerous dog – no matter how much you love him. If treating your dog like a dog and not an equal seems harsh to you, keep in mind that our society no longer tolerates dangerous dogs. Lawsuits from dog bites are now settling for millions of dollars – you could lose your home and everything else you own if your dog injures someone. You or your children could be permanently disfigured, and your dog could lose his life.