Anxiety is the root cause of most canine misbehaviors. By fulfilling your dog's needs you will create an emotionally and socially balanced dog. A dog that is better behaved in general, and a dog that is more responsive to training.


​​​These are the 5 key necessities to building and maintaining  emotional and social balance in your dog.

*SOCIALIZATION~
​ Dogs needs frequent opportunities to experience positive interaction with people, dogs, kids and varying environments.
Never force your dog toward something fearful. Forcing and rushing your dog toward something fearful only exacerbates the problem. Dogs that are very well-socialized as pups are least likely to develop fearful or aggressive behaviors in their lifetimes. Pups that aren't well-socialized tend to be suspicious and fearful of new things and people.



*EXERCISE~
​​Be sure your dog gets enough physical exercise. A 30 minute walk releases endorphins giving your dog a sense of well being.
• Well-exercised dogs tend to be better behaved.
• Make sure there is an appropriate outlet for pent-up energy.
• Walking with your dog helps strengthen your bond and your leadership​.​
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​Your dog is nomadic by nature and is happiest when on the move.


*SPENDING SIGNIFICANT, QUALITY TIME WITH THE FAMILY ~
​Dogs are Pack oriented animals and are happiest when they feel that they are part of a group or pack. Preferably a pack of other dog's but humans will do just fine. Spending quality time with you and the family and living in the house with you is a must. The dog that lives in the back yard or in the garage will never feel like they are part of the pack. Dogs do not cope well with isolation.


​​​*MENTAL STIMULATION ~ A bored dog is a problem dog!

​​Problem dog behaviors like chewing, digging and barking, escaping and ignoring your recall command are common manifestations of a bored dog.
• Most dogs are happiest if they have a "job" to do (e.g., agility exercises,
herding, canine assistance, obedience training).
• Obedience training and playing games are a good way to provide mental stimulation.
• Use toys that encourage problem solving.



​​​​​​​​​​*BENEVOLENT LEADERSHIP ~

​BENEVOLENT – Characterized by expressing goodwill or kindly feelings.

LEADERSHIP -​The dictionary describes it as an individual who guides or directs. Synonyms: authoritativeness, influence, command, effectiveness, control, sway, clout, guidance, direction: They prospered under his strong leadership.

​What does Leadership mean when it comes to your dog?

​Know that “The days of Dominance are over.” Word’s like Dominance, Dominate and Alpha, and phrases like Alpha dog, Alpha Rollovers, Alpha walking, “Quick Snap” corrections and Dominant Eye Stares are no longer part of the dog training Vernacular. It’s time for the Dog Trainers, Dog Owners and Veterinarians that are still using these phrases and techniques to catch up and start taking care of The Dog.
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Often times we expect more from our dog's then they are capable of. ​​​It is vital that we understand and acknowledge that we are not only working with an animal that may not know one thing about this world he finds himself in but we are working with the mental equivalent of a toddler. A true Canine Leader understands that IT is never the dogs fault and that communication and education are 100% up to us as dog owners.

​​Following are the 4 pillars of leadership and are the appropriate approach to presenting yourself as a strong leader in the eyes of your dog, help them R.E.S.T and defer the leadership role to you for the duration of your time together.


R esource control-Your dog's main purpose in life is to get "stuff". As much good stuff as possible. As the "Packleader" your job is to have control of these resources. We want to send your dog the message that "everything in this world that comes to you comes through me".
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​6 vital resources:

​​FOOD-

​​TOYS-

​​OBJECTS-

​​SPACE-

​​AFFECTION-

FREEDOM- Good canine leaders understand the value of controlling this valuable resource. Dogs must earn their freedom through cooperative effort of his owner.

​An important aspect of any authority figure is possessing the power to give permission. If your dog is going to see you as an authority figure it is essential to set a baseline of decision making and permission granting. When you make at least 20 decisions and grant your dog permission at least 20  times a day you are exhibiting control of valuable resources and your dog is sure to view you as the authority figure in their lives.

​​E nergy- ​​​​
​​Dogs can be classified into three energy groups. low, medium, high, and very high. Lower energy people struggle with higher energy dogs.

​​Dogs are absolute experts in reading energy. ​They are constantly observing body language, facial expressions and energetic disposition and are acutely aware of how you are feeling the second you walk into the room (often times before) and they always know the emotional states of everyone present.
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​Dogs see negative energies like fear, anger, frustration and sympathy as weak energies and do not respond well to them. They undermined the dogs emotional wellbeing and they will not follow these energies. Alternatively they will gravitate toward calm, confident and self -assured energies. What energy are you projecting? What is your body language telling your dog? Being aware of the messages that we are sending our dogs through our body language and energy is imperative if we are to experience success in both our training and our relationship.

​Ignoring- Ignoring is a powerful tool. Timely turnaway’s, lookaway's and walkawa'ys help shape your dog’s behavior.
This only works, of course, if you’re not ignoring your dog regularly already.​ Like humans, dogs are results oriented. They will repeat any action that leads to a successful outcome, and they will avoid actions that have unrewarded or unpleasant consequences. For example, if an attention seeking dog is successful gaining your attention by barking or jumping up on you they will continue to do so. If that same behavior is being ignored they will stop. What behaviors are you rewarding?


S teadfast consistency– K9 leaders are constantly striving for more consistency and working toward smoother and more confident communication.​Dogs thrive in an environment of consistency and routine. Using the same word and the same tone consistently in the same context helps the dog understand its meaning. The Pack leader not only has to be consistent in verbal communication. She has to also be consistent in nonverbal communication and the enforcement or reinforcement of all the set rules. She also has to be sure that everyone else in the household is following the same rules and being consistent with the set commands. This can be difficult at first and it takes conscious awareness and practice to have continual success.


T raining- Communication and education is 100% up to the dog owner. Poor communication and a correction based relationship with your dog is a sure way of increasing their anxiety levels.

​Through training you are able to properly set rules and boundaries and teach your dog the rights and wrong's as they are "according to us".

​​Through training you teach your dog what the words that we use with them mean and we improve our physical timing skills.

​​Also through training we learn how to use the resources we control to motivate our dog's to happily and voluntarily respond to our wishes, and quickly respond to our verbal and physical cues. This is commonly referred to as relevance training and it is the primary method of integrating obedience into our dog's lives.

​As you and your dog learn and work together you gain leadership through transition. ​

All properly executed commands reinforce your leadership but the following are the 5 primary Leadership reinforcing skills and commands:
WATCH ME/ LOOK, WAIT, STAY, LEAVE-IT, RELEASE COMMAND

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