Dogs are pack animals and need to feel safe. They need to know that you are in control. It is up to you to show your dog that he is safe with you. Here are a few tips how to communicate this to your dog:
1. Look (at me) Teaching your dog to look at you by command requires several months of training and is a very important tool you can use in different scenarios.
"Look (at me)" builds stronger communication and strengthens the relationship.
First, practice inside the house. Hold a treat with one hand and make sure your dog sees it. Say look and slowly move your index finger of the same hand to your nose. Your dog will automatically follow your index finger and will look at you. Say "Yes" and reward him/ her. Do this a for a few days in a row and make sure they start picking it up.
Once they seem to get it start getting your dogs attention throughout the day by calling his/ her name once. If he doesn't respond, make noises to get his attention. Right before you know your dog will look at you say "Look" . Once he/ she looks say "Yes" and reward right away. Gradually add distractions and work in different environments. Once your dog has mastered the indoor distractions, start trying it outside. When you are outside, use treats or toys that your dog can't resist. This will make the process much smoother.
After your "Yes" / after your dog did what you asked it to do, always say "Good Girl/ Boy" or "Good Job"
2. Submissive positions like rolling or lying down
Dogs communicate with us and conspecifics through body language.
Submissive postures should be practiced with your dog constantly. Being close to the ground can be very beneficial to your dog as this posture promotes relaxation and submission, both things that are important for our dogs to know and do.
Submissive postures basically say "I mean no harm" and communicates to the conspecific that the submissive dog does not want to fight, shows self-control, and has the goal of "safety".
Work on rewarding your dog every time he lies on the dog bed, is lazy, or rolls onto its back or side to play. This will encourage your dog to do this more often. Dogs repeat behaviors that had positive consequences in the past.
Practice this with your dog in public, especially when other dogs are approaching, and slowly start removing the treats over time and successful results. When dealing with an anxious dog who never gets tired, work on "down stays" in busy environments, walk around, reward improvements, and slowly increase the distance and time. This is mentally exhausting for a dog and will make him tired.
Remember that WE are responsible for our dog's experience and we can create amazing pups that love to relax. All we need to do is take the time to train the behaviors we want to teach our dogs.
3. Independent behavior
Does your dog go into his crate alone to relax or play, or does he just like his own space? Well, that's great! In fact, that's exactly what we want.
It's great when dogs bond with their owners, but they also need to be able to be alone and engage with themselves. They are much more settled when they are encouraged to play and enjoy their private space.
You have a dog that doesn't like to be alone? Teach him that the crate is a good thing by feeding him and giving him toys in the crate, as well as giving him interactive toys to play with. What you can also practice is putting him in another room where he is more isolated, rewarding him for being quiet, increasing the time between treats, and ignoring him when he barks, whines, or scratches. This will do him good in the long run because he will learn that you will always come back, when he/she is quiet and that he doesn't need to get your attention to be acknowledged.
4. Courageous behavior
Are there things your puppy is afraid of? People in hoods or with caps?
The vacuum cleaner? Umbrellas? If your puppy is afraid of loud noises or isn't sure about some
things, it's okay. The idea is to teach our dogs that the world is good and that it's okay to explore, even if it's spooky.
So the next time your dog barks or is afraid or unsure of something, be sure to encourage him to smell it or get closer, and once he does, make sure to give him a treat for being brave. If he doesn't want to do it, make him stay, don't back away, or he'll learn that it's okay to run away. Try to approach the uncomfortable situation or thing regularly, and do basic obedience exercises around it. When he finally investigates it, praise him and give him high-value treats.
5. Proper socialization
All dogs need to be socialized with a variety of people, animals, and situations throughout their entire lives. This means people of different sizes, ethnicities, shapes, ages, different dogs, cats, stores, beaches, woods - the list goes on....
It will make your life so much easier and your dog will interact with the world with confidence.
It's great when our dogs are confident, wagging their tails and excited to meet people. Always reward your dog when he sits down to greet and doesn't jump on people. Even dogs have manners and they need to learn what is polite and what's considered rude. Practice ignoring people and dogs as well. Every dog should be able to handle not greeting people and walking past them without making a fuss. They do not need or want to say "hi" to everyone.
Reward your dog for bowing when he meets another dog, for looking away when another dog bullies him or is too rough, or for laying on his back when he meets a new animal. These are appropriate socialization methods that will prevent you and your dog from getting into fights in the future.
You may now be asking yourself, should I always have treats with me then? And the answer is: Absolutely! Especially during the first year that you have your dog living with you, you should have treats with you everywhere you go with your dog. If your dog is treat motivated, there is nothing wrong with using treats as a training tool! It's what we make our dogs into that we want them to be, and treats are the best way to shape a dog's behavior. Your dog is relying on you to be the best he can be. You will notice a big difference, and it is going to be amazing to live with a pet that respects everyone around it and has confidence in itself and in you.
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