First Habit of a Successful Dog Owner

Take a close look at the behavior of any successful pack leader (dog owner), and you see it mirrored in the behavior of successful people from all walks of life.

The FIRST HABIT of a successful dog owner
is to PROJECT CALM, ALWAYS!

Scientists now know that animals are not in tune just with other animals—they have an uncanny ability to read the energy of the earth as well. We have all heard anecdotes about a dog who predicts earthquakes, a cat who “smells” an impending tornado, or a captive elephant who breaks through his fence and heads for higher ground hours before his human companions learn that a tsunami is headed straight for the village they all inhabit.

One of the most important things to remember is that all the animals around you—especially the ones with whom you share your home—are reading and interpreting your energy whenever they’re in your presence. When you talk to them, you can use any combination of words that pop into your head, but the energy you’re projecting cannot and does not lie. You can scream and shriek till your face is blue when your dog jumps onto your new sofa, but be aware that, in losing your cool, you’re also losing your dog’s respect.

Because dogs often perceive loud vocalizing by excited, overly emotional humans as a sign of instability, your dog will either be frightened by your tantrum or, worse, completely un-affected by it. What he won’t do is respond the way you want him to. Humans respond to unstable leaders; dogs do not. With your dog, you want to project what Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, calls calm-assertive energy at all times. It means that you are relaxed but always confident that you are in control.

Calm-assertive personalities are the leaders in the animal world. (Think about the way the mother of a litter of newborn pups conducts herself.) And though they are few and far between in the human kingdom, they’re always easy to spot. They’re the ones who are powerful, confident, inspiring, and successful. For example, Oprah Winfrey exudes calm-assertive energy. She is consistently relaxed, curious, and even-tempered, but she is also always undeniably in charge. Her personal magnetism is impossible to deny, and it has made her not only one of the world’s most powerful women but also one of the richest.

Pack Leader Basics

A dog’s mother begins training puppies from birth. She makes them wait for food; she controls when they play and how far they travel. Adult dogs need these same rules, boundaries, and limitations from you, their pack leader.

According to Cesar Millan the dog whisperer:

A pack leader does not project emotional or nervous energy, so neither should you. In the wild, the pack leader uses calm-assertive energy to influence how the dog interacts with his surroundings. She enforces these laws in a quiet way, as is the case when a mother picks up a puppy by the scruff of the neck if he strays outside the den.

Ownership of territory is very important. Dogs in the wild claim space by first asserting themselves in a calm and confident way, and then communicating this ownership through clear body language signals and eye contact. A dog who understands that you, as the pack leader, own the space in which he lives will respect your asserted authority.

Waiting is another way that pack leaders assert their position – puppies wait to eat, and adult dogs wait until the pack leader wants them to travel. Waiting is a form of psychological work for the dog. Domestication means dogs don’t need to hunt for food, but they can still work for it.

Establish your position as pack leader by asking your dog to work. Take him on a walk before you feed him. And just as you don’t give affection unless your dog is in a calm-submissive state, don’t give food until your dog acts calm and submissive. Exercise will help the dog, especially a high-energy one, to achieve this state.

In all of these ways, the pack leader in nature sets rules, boundaries, and limitations for her pack, and in doing so, nurtures her dog’s healthy state of mind.

Dogs are Dogs.....not Humans

Cesar Millan says it best when it comes to not humanizing your dog.

Here are his tips:

Find a canine solution. Often, the solution we would use for a human is totally wrong for solving a dog’s issues. For example, when a human sees a scared or nervous dog, s/he will first offer comfort and consolation. This would never happen in the animal world and can make the problem worse instead of better, because it reinforces unstable behavior.

Speak the animal language. When dogs come into our homes, they meet emotional energy for the first time. We shower them with affection and babble at them in high-pitched baby-talk, so they see us as excited energy. This is why many dogs don’t listen to their human caretakers. Their mothers never acted this way; where did that calm-assertive leadership go?

Treat your dog like a dog. We often develop a different agenda for our dogs. We want to make puppies our babies. From day one, many humans forget to fulfill and understand their dog's needs and instead project their own needs and desires on the animal.

Be the pack leader! In the absence of a clear leader, a dog, even a submissive one, will seek to fill what they see as the vacant leadership role. The dog will ignore the owner, act out, and can lead to serious behavior issues.

Imagine if your significant other mistook your needs for the needs of a chimpanzee; where would that leave you? Confused and disoriented. It’s the same for dogs. But their confusion and disorientation manifest in bad behavior such as tearing up the couch or incessant barking. If we don’t fulfill them as a species, our dogs won’t live a balanced, centered life.

Understanding and projecting a pack leader’s calm-assertive energy will create a positive and lasting connection with your dog.