Your puppy in your household

We hear much about dogs and their ‘dominance’ behaviours and the importance of pack leadership. It is true that dogs live in clearly defined hierarchies. There are leaders and followers. In this article, I will try to help you to understand the way dogs work within these hierarchies and how this affects their behaviour. From the day your puppy walked into your home he will have been seeking the comfort and security of knowing his place in the structure of the household. Most of the interactions your puppy has with you and other household members help him to identify his position in the household pecking order. The main way that this is done is by access to resources. Resources include obvious things such as food and toys but there are other factors, which give a puppy signals about his status. These would be access to comfortable and high resting places, attention, the ability to control other household members and the ability of other household members to control him.

Different puppies will have different levels of desire to climb the social ladder and different puppies will have different tactics when doing so. Confident and pushy puppies may use their physical skills to negotiate relationships. Their weight, speed and teeth will give them advantages. But even naturally subordinate puppies will find ways of testing their position and this is often done manipulatively. Insecure and sensitive puppies are the ones most likely to get into trouble because they will constantly need feedback about their status to feel safe and will often become very demanding in their attempts to do this.

There are some simple rules in establishing a stable relationship with your puppy and this will benefit puppies of every type:

• Everyone must agree to a set of rules and stick to them. If you do not have a clear set of rules in your household, how is your puppy going to be able to learn what is and is not appropriate? How would you like your puppy to greet visitors? How many times have you guided your puppy through appropriate greeting behaviour? How many times has he been allowed to greet household members and visitors inappropriately? Consistency is the key.
  
  
• Is your puppy allowed to demand attention? Attention seeking or demanding behaviour can often be very subtle. Whether it’s subtle or in your face, it is important to know how your reaction will affect your puppy’s behaviour. If you have a pushy puppy, allowing him to attention seek may be a clear indicator to him that you are elevating his status in the household. He may then become more demanding and behave very inappropriately when his demands are not always met. If you have a sensitive puppy, you may find that giving your puppy attention when he demands it leads to over attachment and dependency problems. It’s not really fair on your puppy to be allowed to demand attention one minute and then to be ignored the next. Ideally, it’s best to always save your attention for when your puppy is behaving appropriately. Remember that your puppy is likely to repeat any behaviour, which is successful in getting attention (positive or negative).
  
  
• Are you a good pack leader? Dogs look to their leaders for safety, security, social structure and guidance. A good pack leader never needs to use physical reprimands to maintain his position. Fear does not help to build healthy relationships. To be a good pack leader, you need to be confident when handling the puppy. You need to be brave when your puppy is worried. You need to be vigilant, observant and quick when guidance is needed. Being gentle, kind, firm and consistent inspires puppies to respond. Being emotional, stressed or angry inspires fear and a lack of trust. If your puppy does not trust your abilities as pack leader, your puppy will have to make decisions for himself and he can’t be blamed if those decisions are incorrect.
  

Puppies will do whatever works to achieve their goals. This is normal and natural. It’s really your choice. You can allow your puppy to discover ways of achieving his goals and accept that some of them may not be desirable or you can guide your puppy and teach him appropriate ways to get what he wants. For example: If your puppy wants to go out to the garden to toilet he can:

• Whine and bark until you let him out.
  
• Scratch the door until you let him out.
  
• Sit quietly at the door until you let him out.

It is up to you to decide which of these behaviours is desirable in your household. Always be aware that every time you respond to one of your puppy’s behaviours, you are teaching him how to get what he wants!