by Carol Benjamin
Reprinted from the AKC GAZETTE
In dog training, ALPHA is what it's all about. If your bad dog is nasty, ring wise, marking the house, running away when you call him to his bowl, growling when you roll over onto him in your own bed, ALPHA is what it's all about. If your good dog sit stays in the elevator, listens to anyone who takes his leash, lets you take his food away, does tricks on eye contact alone, looks to you for direction and approval, understands "No" and "Okay", no matter what, comes when called even if he's off leash, out of doors and playing with another dog, ALPHA is what it's all about.
Professional trainers know that it is a waste of time to try to train a dog without first establishing themselves as alpha to the dog. The dog is a pack animal. He must have a leader to listen to and adore. If he doesn't, he takes the role himself. Then he's nasty, ring wise, he's marking in the house, he's running away when you call him, scratching an itch when you say "Down", breaking his stays, guarding his bowl, growling when you roll over onto him in your own bed. Having so much to do and so little time, professional trainers establish short cuts to becoming alpha to any dog they meet. Of course, the longer they work with dogs, the more alpha they feel. The dog can read this. He can smell it. And this "eau de alpha" reinforces the message delivered by the trainer's behavior and body language. As you learn and use these short cuts, as you begin to feel comfortable in the role of top dog, you'll wear that all important perfume too. These short cuts follow -- and so do some long cuts (my friend John Bramlette's phrase) -- for as you know, dog training is an art which takes time. So work quickly and work slowly on becoming alpha. Here's how:
1. Always praise a dog, anyone's dog, as if you own it. Put your hands firmly on the dog. Hug the dog. Pull the dog into your leg for his hug when he's in the heel position. Pat him so that your hand gets warm from the contact. Do not praise in a timid or offhand way.
2. Praise warmly, well and quickly. Do not drag out or draw out your praising of a working dog. Do not fawn over the dog just because he gave one crummy sit. As my first teacher used to say, "He wasn't that good."
3. Reprimand fairly and quickly and then forgive. Again, if you are putting your hands on your dog, do so with confidence and authority. No -- hands on does not mean hitting. Hands on may mean a collar shake, a shove, a surprising assist into the sit or down. Or, it may mean a yank on the leash. Do it quickly and with authority. Then when you've made the dog do exactly what you want -- once -- give the beast a hug. That's ALPHA.
4. Give permission. Give it for what he is about to do anyway as long as it is okay with you. This does not mean that you say "OK" when you see your dog about to steal the evening roast!! This means you do say OK when your dog is about to get into the car for a motor trip with you, eat the food in his bowl, go out with you for his afternoon constitutional. It means that, in a subtle way, you are teaching the dog to look to you for approval and permission instead of making decisions on his own. This is a good and comfortable set up which is easy to establish and no, it does not turn the dog into a robot. The better behaved the dog, the more freedom and fun he can have.
5. Deny permission. Monitor your dog's behavior. Teach him some manners. Even if you like him to walk on your couch and coffee table (You know who you are!), he shouldn't behave that way in other people's homes. When you hike him to the lake, he should wait for permission to swim. It may be too cold some days or there may be too many young children swimming. And he should come onto your bed only with permission, too. More on this very soon. Remember, if you are in charge, you call the shots.
6. Do a sit stay. My own very laid back way of becoming alpha in five minutes with a new dog is to put the dog on a sit stay. If he's a wild animal and doesn't know the meaning of obedient, all the better. When he breaks, and he will, I put him back. If he breaks 11 times, I put him back 14 times. You see, I have trained terriers! At the end of the five minutes (ten if it's a terrier), the dog knows you're alpha. No yelling. No hitting. No electronic stimulation. No leaving him in the kennel for three days. Just a sit stay.
7. Stand tall. Use your voice to express your confidence, your alphaness. Use your eyes in a top dog way -- unless you are dealing with a biting lunatic. Breathe like a top dog. Smell like a top dog. What does that mean? Benevolent, but alpha, that's what. Tough but loving. Capable of getting what you want, what's necessary for safety and sanity, that's what. Never jerky, show offy, arbitrarily rough, unfair, sadistic, never! Can a dog understand what's fair and what isn't? You bet!
8. Be a model to your dog, as his natural mother was. The top dog behaves with dignity, surety, confidence, authority, intelligence. He or she is in charge, comfortably. Your comfort in your alpha role will help the dog to be calm. Comfort is contagious. Remember -- he's watching.
9. The Hindu proverb says, "A dog is a lion in his own lane." Don't let a lion sleep in your bed! If you've got no problems being alpha and no problems with your dog and you want your dog in your bed, invite him up. Invite him. He should never feel it's his right to sleep in your bed. That would make him your equal, which he is not.
10. Indulge in an occasional demonstration of power. Wolves and dogs do this all the time. The alpha wolf will remind the others ritualistically that he is in charge. It may look violent to you -- that grabbing of the muzzle, that tossing of the other onto his or her back, that icy stare over the still, submissive body. But it's not. It is a ritual. It is communication. You can indulge in a demonstration of power symbolically, too. Use the down stay, one hour long, once a day. It's a panacea. It's easy. It says, "I'm alpha." It says, "Calm down." It's humane and effective. It's communication. It's non-violent, yet it does the trick.
What your dog sees, hears and smells; what he feels when he's in your presence should all read ALPHA to him. As you can see, this does not require you to walk around your house growling. Far from it. The more confident you are as "top dog", the more easily you can step into your dog's mother's shoes -- for, surely, she was alpha and taught him the power and justness of the role -- the more relaxed and loving your household will be. With his faith well placed in you, your calm dog knows there are rules and customs to be honored, love and fun to be shared.
With the role of alpha yours, no longer will you have to tiptoe around your own house, hoping against hope not to come upon your dog when he is guarding his plastic frog or chomping on a bone. No longer will you fear a dog fight breaking out when you are least prepared. No longer will you need to spend afternoons searching the neighborhood for your runaway. With order established and the habit of reminding your dog who's who and what's what firmly established, peace will rein and there'll be time and energy for fun. That, too, is what it's all about, this living with dogs.
(c)Carol Benjamin