Who’s The Leader??!
Apparently, Lacey thinks she is. I was hoping I would have a nice submissive dog who didn’t ever think she needed to be leader — not even once.
I had a dog that was very small and very alpha, a little West Highland Terrier named Gretchen. Lord have mercy, she was feisty and pushy and demanding and in charge of our small household. She was unquestionably the alpha and I was so low in the pack order (according to Gretchen) I think the neighbor cat ranked higher than I did.
Anyway, I was hoping Lace would be different.
She’s really challenging me and my pack position (which I claim as alpha). This morning when I took her for a walk, we started with some training — heel, sit, down. She charged the heel, sat with her back to me, and refused the down. Also, unsuccessful muzzle control — she fought it. She would not give me leadership. I got more and more serious, demanding, and frustrated. So much so that we went inside. But we did end on a positive note — she “sat” at the front door and “wait” ed until I released her to come in. That was good.
I put her in her crate, walked out the door to the car (on my way to the gym), and called my great friend, dog trainer extraordinaire, and business partner Neal. I practically screamed into the phone “HELP!!!” She’s on the east coast and had just gotten out of bed (I’m on the west coast and was already done with a fairly unsuccessful walk and on my way to the gym).
I explained and she helped. First of all, I get very serious and have this attitude. Lose the attitude. Second, make it fun. Distract her from the positioning. Don’t make eye contact so it becomes a staredown. And for breakfast, I took the raw meat I was going to feed her and broke it up into pieces. I hand fed her, acted silly, got her to do commands, ran around the kitchen, and fed her the whole bowl like that.
We both had a great time, she got food and lots of attention and love. And no jockeying for position. The rest of the day, she’s been a different dog.
Of course, I get to work and she peed on the carpet. geez. I honestly thought we had that one (house training) under our belt.
Next question for Neal — she nips, at pants legs, shoes, sleeves, hands. She’s playing and jumping around, but it’s not a good habit. So what to do? I’ll let you know.
And let’s see if I’m alpha at dinner.
Anna