April 17, 2012
How should I proceed trying to establish pack structure leadership with a dog that has been a part of my household for 4 years and has a very established routine in our house?
Full Question:
Cindy,I have a 4-year-old male Boston Terrier who is very dominant and is the pack leader (of me). I'm trying to right this wrong because of two major behavioral issues we're having with him. 1. He terrorizes house guests with too much crazy affection 2. He's extremely leash reactive and can only be walked in really deserted areas (this is our biggest problem and I'm hoping that by beginning to establish pack leader we can work up to correcting this).
I read the article on pack structure and am planning on purchasing the DVD. However, much of the article was about establishing a pack structure with a new, adult dog. We've had Rocky since he was a puppy. In some regards he is well behaved inside. He is 100% housebroken and never ever chews up anything. So my question is how should I proceed trying to establish pack leadership with a dog that has been a part of my household for 4 years and has a very established routine in our house? I feel like to try and crate train him and put him on a leash inside when he is use to free roaming the house would confuse the heck out of him, but at the same time he does have dominance issues inside. Like I mentioned, he has terrible behavior when guests arrive and he lounges on the furniture which wouldn't be a problem except that if I'm sitting down he'll jump right on top of me to get onto the couch and if I'm sitting where he wants to sit he'll paw at me or push against me or just sit on me.
Also, besides the DVD on pack structure at this point what do you think would be more useful to lead up to correcting his leash reactivity and the way he acts around guests- the basic obedience DVD or the dominant/aggressive dog one?
Thanks in advance for any input!
Jessica
Cindy's Answer:
I would start over from scratch, like he's a new dog to your home. Every once in a while I will take one of my bossier dogs and do a week or two of groundwork as a "reminder" that I'm in charge. Even if he's confused at first, if you are consistent then it will all make sense to your dog. Think of it as a change in lifestyle as opposed to a task you check off of your to-do list.
As for the leash reactivity, you need to work on behavior in and around the home before you can add distractions like other dogs and people on walks. Take small steps forward and don’t try to fix everything at once.
I'd recommend starting with our groundwork program. Then Pack Structure for the Family Pet and Basic Obedience. You may need Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs.
Some dogs come around with more structure and leadership and others need more work on the actual aggressive response.
We also have a number of eBooks, which include topics that may help you.
I hope this helps.
Cindy Rhodes
As for the leash reactivity, you need to work on behavior in and around the home before you can add distractions like other dogs and people on walks. Take small steps forward and don’t try to fix everything at once.
I'd recommend starting with our groundwork program. Then Pack Structure for the Family Pet and Basic Obedience. You may need Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs.
Some dogs come around with more structure and leadership and others need more work on the actual aggressive response.
We also have a number of eBooks, which include topics that may help you.
I hope this helps.
Cindy Rhodes
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