First, you should ask yourself how your dog became dominant in your home. 

After all, you brought him to your house.  He may have come to live with you as a little puppy -- he only weighed a few pounds.  So, how did he come to be in charge?

The answer is that people and dogs can get confused about their roles.  We love our dogs and we do things for them out of love.

We cater to them and want them to be happy. 

In many cases we may even start treating them like children.  All of this is great if you’re a dog! 

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But it can also be confusing because your dog is still a dog.  He’s not a human child.

Dogs long for structure.  In the wild, as descendants of wolves, they would live in a pack hierarchy.  They would have a role in a wolf family.  They wouldn’t be raised the way we raise human children. 

So, when we try to raise a puppy as a child it can become confusing for a dog.  Your actions done out of love can be seen, from a dog’s perspective, as being a weak pack leader.  Your puppy/dog starts thinking that someone strong needs to be in charge and maybe it should be him, this come about by aggression or fear biting.

For example, when you give your favorite spot on the sofa to your dominant dog, you’re doing it out of kindness and love.  Your dog may be thinking, “Yeah, I’m tuff!  I made that weak underling move over for me!”  You and your dog have a major communication problem because you’re seeing the world as a human and he’s seeing the world as a dog. 

The next time your dominant dog wants on the sofa he may demand that you move over and not be very nice about it because he thinks it’s his right -- and he thinks he’s your boss.  Meanwhile, you’re sitting there looking at your dog like he’s a monster.

That’s how your dog became the dominant member of your household.

A dominant dog can be hard to un-train because you have to change your own behavior, too.  Clearly, you need to be the dominant figure in the house.  You cannot let your dog rule things. 

If it needs to be spelled out, humans are at the top of the food chain in this world and we can drive.  Dogs can’t.  Your dog depends on you whether he realizes it or not.  For his sake and yours (and the rest of your family) you have to be the dominant figure in your home.

There’s nothing wrong with having an alpha dog but you can’t let him be a dominant dog over you.  He may be the alpha when it comes to other dogs.  Dogs recognize top dogs among themselves.  But you should assert yourself and be in charge when it comes to your dog.

Here are some tips to stop your dominant dog ruling your life:

1.  Teach your dog some manners.  Obedience training is one of the best things you can do to re-establish your place as the dominant figure in your relationship with your dog. 

 

Whether you attend classes with a trainer or you train your dog at home, teaching your dog the basic commands of Sit, Down, Stay, Come and Heel will do wonders to put you back in charge. 

 

Once you have established these basics you can use them when you find yourself in situations at home where you need to assert some authority over your dog.

2.  Remind your dominant dog that all good things come from you.  When your dog wants to go outside, ask him to sit at the door and wait for a moment first. 

 

Before you feed your dominant dog make him sit and wait for a moment first.  When your dog wants something, tell him to sit and wait first.  This puts you in charge again.

3.  Keep your dog off the bed, at least until his behavior greatly improves.  When you elevate your dog to the status of sleeping on the bed you are putting him up on your level.  You are making him an equal. 

 

You are giving him the same physical role that you have.  You are making him a co-ruler.  Keep him off the bed and you lower his status in the household.

4.  Put yourself first.  When you and your dog are doing things start asserting yourself.  Assert your own dominance.  If you’re going out the door with your dog, you go out first, not your dog. 

 

Don’t give your dominant dog your seat on the sofa.  Be stingy with treats.  Don’t feed your dog from the table.  In other words, you will have to go back to treating your dog more like a real dog.

5.  It’s okay to say “No” to your dog.  If your dog is dominating you, then you will have to tell him “No” sometimes and not give in.  You may be used to giving him everything he wants and doing things his way but you have to change your own behavior if you want your dog to stop dominating you.

The most important thing to remember is that your dog doesn’t want to be dominant in his relationship with you.  Dogs are perfectly willing to accept us as the ones in charge. 

They only become a dominant dog in the relationship when they think they there is no one in charge.  You can stop your dominant dog from ruling your life by taking charge yourself.  When you do that you and your dog will both be much happier.

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