January 2008 Archives

A dog is constantly reacting to the energy in its environment. If the energy coming from you is the anticipation of bad behavior, then that is what your dog will give back to you. You are creating the negative situation in your mind before it even happens.

In the case of Chloe, the owner is anticipating that her dog will try to bite her or misbehave. She already is giving off a negative energy, so the dog reads this as, “She’s feeling bad about this situation. I should put my guard up.”

Instead, use the power of intention to your advantage. The key is to think and visualize what you want—and celebrate it as it happens. Train your brain to do this around your dog, cat, horse, and even other humans. Whatever the species, you will see the effect your positive energy has on others: they’ll be at ease like you!

Horses and dogs both require balance, but I don’t hear of many “bad horses” from horse owners. In my experience, I find that “horse people” respect their horses as horses. They love them, but give rewards after work and exercise. But, when it comes to their dog, they do everything backwards. They say that they don’t want a wild 1,000-pound animal coming after them, but an untamed 80-pound dog can harm you, too.

In this case, the owner didn’t have the time to exercise her dog, so the dog never got any challenge. She just wanted something to do. The dog was able to follow direction well, but it only gets better with adequate exercise. The trick is to do what a horse owner does with a horse: project calm-assertive energy; follow exercise, discipline, and then affection. It’s the same. If you fulfill your dogs’ needs, they give you what you want: a calm, submissive state of mind.

When dogs ask for direction, our answers should be given through discipline. And by discipline, I don't mean simply giving corrections. Discipline maintains order and lets a dog know his position within a pack. It is what allows the dog to feel safe.

Some people are reluctant to discipline a dog with a physical handicap. Dogs don’t feel sorry about themselves, so we shouldn’t either! It's okay to provide discipline; it is what your dog needs. Take your dog's particular disability into account and find a safe way to provide a correction.

If a dog is in an anxious state, the pack leader needs to step in and tell the dog to calm down. In this particular case, the dog is healthy; he just can’t see. Using the physical touch isn’t going to hurt him. By using physical touch to discipline, the owner is able to remind the dog of his rules, boundaries, and limitations. Remember, a physically disabled dog still has the same basic needs as a healthy dog.

Submissive urination isn’t a housebreaking issue; it’s actually a behavioral problem.
When dogs are extremely submissive, shy, overwhelmed or insecure, it is easy for them to get overexcited to the point where they can’t control their bladders.

The best way to deal with this problem is pinpointing when the dog gets most excited, for example, when you get home from work at the end of the day, and follow these rules: No touch, no talk, and no eye contact during the initial meeting, and to let them approach you as opposed to you approaching them.

Bigger doesn’t always mean more trouble when it comes to bad dogs! The biggest barks and bites often come from the little breeds, a fact that many people tend to disregard. The key is recognizing the dog as energy. Dogs that are excited, nervous, tense, excessively dominant, or aggressive can all create problems, no matter the size. And that can give you a better insight on which dog is causing behavioral problems.