Dog Training: Become the Alpha

As many of you know, I have a puppy and her name is Zoey.  She is an English Cocker Spaniel in black.  At the time of writing this she was almost 4 months old, and had started developing quite an attitude.  I have been doing some research on how to establish the Alpha Role in the pack.

I found an amazing website with the information.  Here is the link:

Dog Breed Info Center: Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position

I’m going to place a basic summary of the page below (some Do’s and Don’ts)  You will have to go to the page to get the details of How’s and Why’s.

1. DO: Lead the walk when you walk your dog.
2. DON’T: Allow the dog to eat before all humans have eaten
3. DON’T: Feed the dog scraps during a human meal
4. DO: Feed the dog on schedule
5. DON’T: Allow the dog to walk in front of you anywhere
6. DO: ignore the dog for a few minutes upon entering a room
7. DO: make the dog work for any thing from you (even affection) a simple command like “Sit” is better than nothing.
8. DON’T: Lie on the floor when the dog is around – always remain taller than the dog even when playing.
9. DO: Always greet newcomers before the dog and make sure newcomers greet you first – the dog is the last to get attention.
10. DON’T: Walk around the dog.  Step over or force dog to move.
11. DON’T: Hug the dog when you are still establishing pack position.
12. DON’T: Look away from a dog once eye contact has been established, the dog must look away first.
13. DON’T: Allow the dog to sleep on your bed.
14. DON’T: Allow the dog to mouth or bite anyone – even during playtime.
15. DO: Only give attention when you want to give dog attention.
16. DO: Start and end the games played with the dog.
17. DON’T: Allow dominant dogs to lie on any furniture.
18. DON’T: Play tug-of-war – if you loose you loose power over your dog.
19. DO: Teach the ‘Drop’ command as one of the first commands.
20. DO: Reinforce that everything belongs to the human, the dog has no possessions.
21. DON’T: Allow the dog to pull on the leash.
22. DO: Make the dog wait for the food dish until you say it is OK to eat.
23. DON’T: Allow small dogs or puppies to be picked up whenever they want to be picked up.
24. DON’T: Leave a dog unsupervised with anyone who cannot maintain leadership over the dog.
25. DO: Make your dog lie down and stay regularly.
26. DO: Avoid “weak” emotions such as fear, anxiety, harshness or nervousness – dogs sense these.

At the time of writing this, I have been attempting to follow these rules for only 24 hours and I cannot believe the change in Zoey.  Even now she is sleeping quietly on her blanket beside me and she has been well behaved all day.