I am always looking for books that help my clients. Dog problems can be a huge nuisance and not knowing how to communicate with your pet can often end up with the pet being euthanized. This just tugs at your soul, and it’s not okay.
Animals are not disposable objects. If we take responsibility for having one, we must do everything possible to make his life and ours a pleasant experience. Jan Fennell, in his book, the listening dogdiscusses issues such as separation anxiety, biting, car/bike chasing, littering in inappropriate areas, leash pulling, and dog-on-dog aggression.
Here are some tips I picked up from reading the book. I think you can safely use these tips even before reading it.
To successfully communicate with our dogs, it is up to us to learn THEIR language. Dogs share a universal language: the language of the pack. A dog believes that he is a functional member of a community that operates according to principles directly descended from the wolf pack.
Dogs like routines they can count on. Placing many toys for the pet is not effective. By doing this, you are establishing that the dog is the top dog of the pack (humans are included in the pack in the dog’s mind). The Alpha dog (leader of the pack) would distribute and play with the toys only when the Alpha felt it. appropriate.
Dogs believe that they are part of a social group and a hierarchical order that they must comply with at all times. If we don’t use his language and establish the correct hierarchy, things can go wrong, because the dog immediately assumes that he has been elected pack leader.
At the head of each pack is the Alpha couple. They are the strongest, healthiest, smartest and most experienced members of the pack. The job of the Alpha pair is to ensure the survival of the pack. As a result, they dominate and dictate everything the pack does and maintain that status through consistent displays of authority. The rest of the pack unfailingly accept this rule and are content to know their place and function within this hierarchical order. Each pack member has a vital role and place within the pack. Maintaining this order establishes a happy and serene environment that the dog loves.
Establishing yourself as pack leader should be practiced four times: When the pack gathers for any reason; when you eat; when the pack is under attack; and when the pack goes hunting.
Jan had an interesting interpretation of separation anxiety. If the dog thinks he is the Alpha of the pack, he feels uncomfortable when you leave the pack (to go to the store, to work, outside, or even to the bathroom!) If your dog follows you around the house, he thinks he is the Alpha. If the dog destroys the door trim or rips up the rugs when you’re not around, he’s an Alpha.
As an example: Bruce had severe separation anxiety. His anxiety was heightened by the mood of his owner. When he came home from work and saw the mess Bruce had made, he yelled at her. Now, Bruce’s interpretation of his owner yelling and getting angry was that going out into the world made him very angry. Wasn’t it obvious from the way he left in the morning acting happy and the way he came home at night all flustered? As a result, Bruce became anxious whenever he saw his mother go out.
The situation was also aggravated because the owner kept a basket of cookies at the door. Food is provided by the leader. If there is food all the time, then the dog must be the leader, because only the Alpha of the pack has that food available when he wants it. Bruce never ate the cookies because he was crazy with worry that his package had come apart. He was falling down at work.
The first thing Jan recommended for this case was to reset the pack structure. The first step was to adhere to the 5-minute rule. Next up was doing a bit of Amichien Bonding by doing what she calls “food gestures.”
The five-minute rule: Whether the owner leaves the house or leaves the room to go to the garden or the bathroom, the dog sees him as his son leaving the protective custody of the pack. Jan’s interpretation is that the dog doesn’t know how long you’ll be gone, so when you get back in the room, you must re-establish lead by ignoring the dog for five minutes. Do not recognize barking, licking or throwing the toy that he brings you. Even by turning around and saying “enough,” the owner is allowing the dog to achieve his goal. Therefore, do not make eye contact, do not talk, and do not touch initially unless it is to gently nudge the dog. This process takes about two weeks, but every dog is different and may need more or less of the bonding process to restore order to the pack.
In dog parlance, leaders do not advertise themselves coming OR going to the subordinates of the pack. Leaders come and go as they please. An Alpha has their own personal space. No other dog may invade this space unless he is invited to do so. By refusing or accepting attention from other members who wish to enter their space, the Alpha pair reestablishes their primacy in the pack without ever resorting to cruelty or violence.
Jan explained the Amichien Bonding process for Bruce’s situation. When the owner leaves the house, she must not address the dog when she left. If there was usually a lot of noise in the house, like the radio, TV, or people talking on the phone before the owner left, she suggested keeping those things on in the owner’s absence. The client was also instructed to pick up all the food and feed it only twice a day, plus treats when the dog did something acceptable. She also instructed the owner to reestablish the hierarchy by practicing “gesture eating” for two weeks.
Gesture eating goes like this: When you prepare the dog’s food at a counter while the dog is watching, you also prepare a small cookie for each human in the house and place it on a small plate right next to the dog. bowl (where they can’t see it). You want the dog to think you’re eating from his bowl because that’s what the Alpha of the pack does. Now, before offering his food to the dog, each person in the house takes a biscuit from the plate and chews it well in front of the dog. The dog’s food is offered for 20 minutes only before the excess is taken.
Minions in the pack warn the pack of an unidentified threat. Dogs that bark or jump at the sound of someone at the door should be thanked, then removed from the decision-making process and given a favorite treat for cooperating. After that, you should take him to another room or put him on a leash unless you know who is at the door and you know not to acknowledge the dog for five minutes after he enters.
Does this really work? I have the testimony of a woman who supports yes. She called me one night and described an Alpha situation with her Rottweiler. She thought she would have to euthanize the animal, but a week later she emailed me her success story. I am a believer!