10 Minutes a Day to a Better Dog
There are some very simple things you can do if you incorporate them into your daily routine with your dog that will help your dog feel less anxiety, help her to be less demanding, improve her obeying commands and in general make your lives together much more harmonious.
If we start asking our dog to sit at the doors before going through, soon she learns that darting through the door doesn’t get her much. It can save her life if she likes to dart out and run to the street! She also learns that we control the door and her good behavior is the key to the door opening. This is a foundation to building respect.
When we feed regular meals, instead of free feeding our dog, she learns that we also control the food. This is a huge foundation for building respect and a relationship. The other positive aspect to this is that you will know immediately if she is sick. When we place food down for our dog and they don’t eat, we know there is a problem NOW that should be addressed. With a free fed dog, you might not know she is not eating for some time while the illness gets worse!
During feeding, we can include a sit before eating. This will enhance your sit command at other times, too! Once you say, “Alright” then she can have her food.
If we initiate play games, then we become the leader. Dogs that constantly pester us to play ball, or throw toys for them in the house are dogs that very likely will become anxious in other situations. Why? Because they believe THEY are the leader and you are not. Most dogs are not natural leaders, and they NEED your leadership to feel safe in stressful situations. While it might be fun for them to be the leader or initiator in a game situation, it is not fun for them to be anxious about someone new coming to the door, or being afraid of simple situations in life. Our dog needs to count on us to provide her with the comfort and security of our leadership.
One of the hardest things to accomplish is to watch things our dog has access to, particularly furniture. Dogs are very literal. When she is allowed to be higher than we are (such as on the sofa or other piece of furniture) she will believe she is higher in social status than we are. The higher you are, the higher you are in social status. Most dogs are not natural leaders and being higher can actually cause more anxiety. While we want our dog to feel comfortable and a part of the family, giving too many privileges can increase anxiety and even aggression in other situations. A better alternative is a nice fluffy bed you can place on the floor next to your bed or in your living room. A treat for lying on her bed can make that transition very quickly! Oh yes, we can still snuggle! But, it should be done by YOUR invitation.
Simple activities you incorporate throughout your day can make incredible changes in your dog in terms of listening to you when you ask her to do something, or even help reduce generalized anxiety. We all love our dogs enormously, but letting them know they are safe because we are there to protect them is imperative for a happy dog and one you can live with!
Caption: Mariah, my youngest, learned the first week she was home that she must sit at the door to go outside to play. Now, she sits immediately for anything!
