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3. Enforcing Discipline - Pack Instinct and Behavior

A dog’s behavior is influenced by certain basic instincts that you must be aware of if you would like to understand your dog.

The protected life led by modern pets has altered their instincts drastically since the dog as a species seems to be undergoing an important period in his evolution since never before in history have so many of them been bred exclusively as domestic pets.

Like human beings, dogs are susceptible to mob psychology or pack instinct as it is sometimes known because it usually brings out the worst side of their nature. Most dogs want to please their owner but once they become a member of a pack their old instincts take over and the owner is forgotten.

It may take no more than another dog’s presence for this psychological phenomenon to occur. It is therefore very important never to let your dog run loose where he can get into bad company.

In their wild state, dogs instinctively seek and accept leadership as well as a strict social code. While most owners provide protection, food, and shelter just like wildlife pack leaders, it is also important to offer leadership, enforce discipline, as well as maintain their prestige and authority.

Psychological superiority is more important to them than physical size or strength and moreover, the modern dog’s dependence on his owner is as much emotional as it is physical. Your dog will love and respect you more if you live up to his leader image of you by being dependable and consistent so that he can trust you.

Being Fair and Reasonable

You must strive to be reasonable and fair in order to avoid offending his sense of justice. All the same, it is vital that you don’t make the mistake of thinking that ‘kindness’ is to let your dog always have his way.

In fact, discipline and obedience come more naturally to them than indulgence, which they have experienced only as modern pets – something they were not familiar with in their wild days.

Territorial instinct has a major influence on a dog’s behavior, as it has on ours. It is closely related to survival instincts and is therefore very powerful and vital to their existence.

Even puppies as young as 2 or 3 weeks old display their sense of territory by being possessive about a certain corner of the room, a bed, cushion, or chair as their personal domain.

Their territory grows bigger and in adulthood they transfer their territorial instinct to their owner’s home boundary and their pack instinct to their human family.

Subtle Hints - ‘Who’s the Real Boss’

Establishing your superiority can begin from your pet dogs’ early years and in the mildest of ways. For instance, if you come across your dog while he is sleeping on the floor then you can reinforce your position as alpha dog by making him move so that you can pass by.

Of course, you should not go out of your way to disturb your sleeping dog but if you want to maintain your alpha position and he is sleeping in a doorway or walkway then you should take the opportunity to enforce these values.

This would help arouse its wild instinct of the time when dogs were living in the wild as pack animals and any dog that was superior to the sleeping dog would demand exactly this.

As another example, when you and your dog are walking side by side you should never let him go through a doorway first. It is a good idea to make him sit or wait while you walk through first.

The superior dog (in this case, you!) always has the right to lead and you must use this ‘right of way’ at all times. Again this is an extension of pack animal instinct that you are trying to reinforce as in the wild the alpha dog leads the way and everyone else follows.

At meal times you should ensure that your dog eats after all the members of its human family have. Another good way of reinforcing this is to not greet your dog straightaway when you arrive home, instead make sure that you have greeted all of the humans in the household first and only then call him to you.

Finally, considering that dogs possess instinctive loyalty that is much stronger than our own, once a dog has accepted someone as his master, it is very difficult for him to switch his devotion to another.

Better food, greater comfort, kindness and understanding usually do not succeed in swaying his allegiance even from an unworthy owner. On the other hand, if you adopt a dog who has been happy in his previous home, giving him plenty of time to transfer his loyalty to you is the best way to have a friend that would never fail you.