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Your puppy is a social animal. That’s what makes him such a fabulous companion. He willingly incorporates your family and world into his social system. And his social system is quite a bit simpler than ours. It breaks down into two general categories: everyone is either someone to follow or someone who follows. There are some simple ways to put you and your family in the “someone to follow” position: - Walk through doors first.
- When you get home, you and your family should eat in your dog's presence before setting out the dog food. Among dogs, the most important dogs always eat first.
- Have your dog respond to you before you respond to him. For example, before you put out the food, give the ‘come’ command; before a pat on the head, give the ‘sit’ command; before a toy is offered, give the ‘down’ command. This gives you daily practice calling the shots and him daily practice responding accordingly.
- Use tone of voice to communicate. A higher-than-normal pitch is exciting and playful and perfect for praise. A normal tone – direct and confident – is your command tone. A lowered voice your dog hears as a warning, like a growl. With practice, your dog can learn to understand your mood through your tone of voice.
Remember, never hit or yell at your dog. Focus on preventing or distracting from problem behaviors, not on correcting them. Replace unwanted behaviors with something you like – if your dog chews, give him a food dispensing toy to work on or a good chew toy. That way you both win: he gets to chew, you get a house in one piece and peace in your house.
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