Dog Training and Training aids
Overview
All dogs benefit from training and are happiest when they know their place in the hierarchy of the family. However many people and dogs you have in your family, your dog(s) sees that as their pack! The head of the pack or alpha dog should always be human.
Problems occur when a dog sees itself as higher in the hierarchy than the people of the family. Whilst this might at times just manifest as "amusing" behaviour in the beginning it can progress into situations where the canine alpha dog asserts it's position as alpha by using aggression. Aggressive behaviour isn't just confined to within the pack and many common problems occur where a dog is great with its own family but is aggressive towards outsiders, be they human or another dog, as they take their alpha position seriously and protect other members of their pack.
There are a number of things owners need to do to maintain their alpha position in the pack. Dogs by nature will try to push the boundaries back and if possible sneak into alpha position! It is important to establish clear and consistent pack rules that reinforce your position as alpha. In time your dog will try to push the boundaries less frequently and happily accept your position as alpha and defer to you.
Feeding
Dogs should be fed after the humans have eaten. In the wild, the alpha dog gets the choice parts of the kill and the subordinate dogs eat the rest. Do not give titbits to your dog during your meal. Save any scraps to the end when you have finished your own meal and put them in the dog bowl. Do not feed your dog cooked bones that may splinter and cause mouth injuries or intestinal perforations. Scraps should only ever be a small fraction of your dog's diet and are not required nutritionally so there is no need to deliberately put a portion in the pot for your dog! Dogs don't cook and have no dietary need for carbohydrates or plant material. It is better not to get into the habit of always giving your dog scraps so it won't always expect them.
There is plenty about what to feed your dog in the nutrition pages of the Treatments section of this website so I won't repeat it all here, save only to say that some commercial feeds contain additives that are banned in human foods because they are known to cause behavioural issues in people. It is not surprising that these same E numbers can cause similar behavioural problems in our pets. It is unfair to expect your dog(s) to behave properly if you feed them food that makes them hyperactive or alters their behaviour in other directions.
Training Aids
Dogs should be able to walk under control on a lead. Whilst it is great for dogs to exercise off-lead in a safe environment, there will inevitably be times when you will need to exercise your dog in a more controlled way. This might be because you are in a strange area where there are no open spaces available, or because dogs being walked are required to be on a lead going across fields, near bird breeding areas or whatever. In the unfortunate event that your dog has a physical injury your vet may well advise you to restrict exercise to lead walks only and that may include leading your dog in the garden to go to the toilet. It is important that your dog therefore knows how to behave on a lead without pulling.
There are various leads and harnesses etc available on the market. The simplest is the traditional collar and lead or the choke chain. These however this put pressure on the dog's windpipe and neck. If incorrectly fitted, a choke chain will not release and your dog will continue to strangle itself even when it has stopped pulling. The idea of walking your dog is not to build up powerful neck muscles and shoulders to pull you along! Pulling (or even worse still yanking) on a lead attached to a collar has the ability to cause misalignment of the vertebrae and damage to the associated structures in the neck. Animal Chiropractors will frequently encounter neck issues resulting from the use of a simple collar and lead or choke chain. A dog in continuous discomfort will not be a happy dog that can create behavioural problems in itself and such neck issues can lead to further health problems and resulting expense.
Whereas collar/lead/choke chains can cause neck issues anywhere on the neck depending on where they are placed, Halti Collars or similar arrangements where the action of a dog pulling forces the head down towards the chest will centre the neck damage high up on the neck at the top 2 vertebrae and associated structures. Whilst these types of training aid appear to be very effective because the dog usually stops pulling quite quickly, the damage can nevertheless still be done.
The Walkezee Solution to safe Dog Walking and Training
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