Is your dog a sweetheart inside and scary outside your home? (Photo: red dog napping in a chair with his owner.)
Is your dog amazing inside your home? Loving? Sweet? Wouldn’t harm a fly?
Does she surprise you when outside she’s lunging on the end of the leash, snapping at other dogs, and killing rabbits in your yard?
Let’s talk about inside vs. outside.
“He’s a completely different dog outside than he is inside.” (Photo: a wolf making direct eye contact)
First, I want you to write down all of the things your dog does really well inside your home. Yes, right now. What’s stopping you?
Now, make a new list of anything she does in the home that you don’t like. That could be stealing your children’s socks; counter surfing (stealing food off of counters and tables;) jumping up on you (and/or your guests;) mouthing you (and/or your guests;) guarding food, bones, toys; not listening when you say a command; etc.
Put the lists side by side. Which one is longer?
For most people, it is the second list that is longer. Although your dog is a total sweetheart inside your home and a great cuddle-buddy, she doesn’t have the structure that she needs from you. This is the root of the issue of why she doesn’t listen to you when you are on walks with her. She doesn’t yet know she is supposed to.
Take the time to notice which behaviours you like and which ones you do not (Photo: a hand holding a pen writing a list on graph paper.)
Before worrying about what your leash walk looks like, there is work to be done on your relationship with your dog inside your home.
A dog who doesn’t listen inside the home, will not listen outside of the home.
You need to teach them to trust and respect you as a leader.
Think of yourself as a teacher. Right now, your dog is like a kindergarten student with no teacher in the room. That little kindie, if she were human, might paint on your walls with markers, cut up your most expensive purse strap and use the pieces to make hair for her alien stuffy, and possibly eat a crayon or two. The point is, kindergarten kids and dogs both require rules, structure, and supervision in order to learn right from wrong.
Dogs need a leader, just like kids need a teacher. (Photo: a red and blue finger painting with lots of handprints.)
So, how do you teach your dog new behaviours that are positive and awesome?
You start at the beginning. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult and it’s a lot of fun.
If you have severe behavioural issues, consult with a dog behaviourist who understands both dog training and dog psychology before beginning these tips.
STEP ONE: Provide enough exercise. It is very difficult to work with a dog who has pent up energy. By fulfilling their primal need for exercise every day, a lot (not all) of nuisance behaviours (barking at the window all day, stealing socks, constantly nudging you with a toy) begin to improve.
STEP TWO: Eye contact. You need more of it from your dog. A dog who looks at you for direction, is a dog who understands that you hold the key to all things he wants (food, water, access to outside, toys, etc.) This is a dog who listens to you and is fun to live with. Wait patiently for eye contact before: feeding, giving a treat, allowing your dog into your car, allowing your dog to follow you up the stairs in your home, and before you go through any doorway in your home.
STEP THREE: Reward calmness. When we reward our dogs for undesirable behaviours (begging at the table, jumping up on us, sprinting across the couch, and even when they are barking out the window) these behaviours continue. Sometimes, we reach down and pet our dogs without realizing they’re actually fixated on our cat (predatory behaviour toward a family member,) whining and looking out the window (anxiety), or laying on top of our feet (claiming us.)
We sometimes forget to reward the things we actually DO like.
When your dog is laying calmly on his bed, nodding off to sleep, reward that. You don’t have to walk over and pet him, just say: “Good boy.”
When you call your dog over into your personal space and he comes in with his head low and is calm, pet him.
If you call him over and he licks your face obsessively, bonks into your nose, jumps on you, and accidentally scratches your face — don’t pet him. Unless, you like all of those things and think that everyone else he meets in the future (your grandmother, elderly neighbour, your three-year-old niece, and your own future children) will like that too.
You get what you pet. Reward calmness more often and your dog will give you calmness more often.
Happy training, Dog Leaders! You can do this!
Alyssa
Photos by: serjan midili @s_midili (red dog napping in a chair with his owner,) Upsplash (a wolf making direct eye contact,) Glenn Carstens-Peters @glenncarstenspeters (a hand holding a pen writing a list on graph paper,) Bernard Hermant @bernardhermant (a red and blue finger painting with lots of handprints,)