How do I teach my dog that I am alpha? and how long will it take to teach her? Any non-violent ways please.?

Question

I feed her her food, she sits and waits for me to put the bowl down.

Answer 1

The food thing is a great start. But also, you should add to that eating in front of her first. If you don't have time for a meal, just grab a cracker or something and eat it while she watches you. THEN make her sit and wait for her bowl. (Some trainers also suggest you make it look like you took the cracker OUT of her food bowl before you eat it for added effect.) Alpha dogs eat first while the rest of the pack waits, so if she sees you eating and is not allowed to have her food until you stop eating, it reinforces that mentality.

Next, doors. If she goes in or out of the house for any reason, she should be walking behind you. Never let her run out a door first. On walks, she should walk at your side and a half step behind you (hold the leash tightly at your side and just shift your arm back a tiny bit to accomplish this). Alpha dog always leads the way, so never give her that option.

Don't play games with her that let her win, such as tug of war. Play games like fetch, and when you're done, take the toy when she brings it back to you and put it away- never let her keep it afterwards.

Don't let her up on furniture uninvited. It's better not to let her up at all, most especially on your bed. She needs to sleep in a crate on the floor. If you sleep together, you become equals, and that's not good.

Basically, make sure everything she does in a day is done after she gets her permission from you- a subordinate dog does not ever make it's own choices or decisions.

Alpha conditioning should NEVER be physical- DO NOT roll the dog forcibly on his back like some people will tell you! Showing the stomach is a WILLFUL submission, being rolled over does not establish dominance, it challenges the dog to a fight, and you could get seriously hurt. It will also end up empowering the dog's ego, because if you have to challenge him to a fight, it means you're insecure about being the alpha, and he will immediately begin to challenge your authority again.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I applaud your efforts. A well-behaved dog is like a well-behaved child - a true joy to be around. The opposite is just as true.

I would urge you to get into a good obedience class. There, you and Bogo will not only learn the major commands (sit, heel, stay, come etc.) but you will learn how to be the Alpha dog in your pack (home) - in a humane way.

That said, understand that in the wild, dogs are not like our fantasy dogs on TV (who are already trained). They need correcting - which can be pretty stern. A more aggressive or energetic dog, for example, may require a much sterner approach than a more submissive/laid-back dog.

It's a lot like training children. You don't want to stymie the child's creativity etc. but she also must learn that there are rules to be followed and things she just isn't allowed to do. Some children accept that quite handily - while other children are more challenging, requiring a sterner hand.

But obedience is a great sport - it's a great way to spend time with and for your dog.

Answer 3

I have a puppy and you need to tell your dog who's boss by a few things...First, you need to put her food bowl down, but before you give it to her you need to ask her to sit. This teaches her that her food is a privilege. You also need to leave the food bowl there for 15 min. and then pick it up and empty it, your dog is now done eating. By leaving the food bowl there all day,you're teaching her that she can eat whenever she wants. In the wild, the aloha dog tells the pack when to eat and where to eat. So you want to keep your dog thinking that it's your food and you're sharing with her. =] Another thing is, when she brings a toy to you in hope of play you ignore her until she gives up and then you play with her. This also tells her that she has to go by your rules. also when she does something wrong, don't yell at her just turn you back to her and stand there for a little bit. This tells her that she did something wrong and since dogs love your attention, she wont do it again if it means getting your back turned on her.

Answer 4

Just before I graduated from college, I was offered an opportunity to do graduate work with L. David Mech. He and his brother in the late 60's early 70's wrote the book on wolf behavior that is considered the basis for all of the talk about alpha dogs, etc. For a variety of reasons at the time, I declined.

First of all, a dog is NOT a wolf. A dog is a domesticated animal far removed from wolves. Behavior wise, dogs do not react the same way as wolves in many, many aspects.

Second. You and your family are not a wolf pack, nor are you a dog pack. This space is much too limited for me to explain the difference of the dynamics of your family and wolf packs or dog packs.

The one example that I can give you that you might understand is biting. An individual dog is MUCH less likely to bite a human when it is alone than it is when it is part of a pack. Put that same dog into a pack and certain dynamics begin to take over. One of them relates to biting. This same wonderful dog that wasn't a problem before, will become much more aggressive and more willing to bite.

Rather than worry about being alpha to your dog, why don't you simply worry about training your dog well? Well trained dogs are a pleasure to be around and are a LOT of fun.

Talk to your vet, or go to www.akc.org and look for a good obedience school. They should be able to give you some ideas of where to take your dog. Go to the facility and see HOW they train. If you're not comfortable with their methods go somewhere else.

Answer 5

Personally, I am totally comfortable with the alpha roll and it works right for me, but I know many people are not. BUT... that is what the alpha dog does to prove it's alpha...

With that in mind... read through the following information to the end as it contains what I do as well as what you can do that's different.
= = = = = = =
I will share with you what I did to train my pyrs. While everyone can tell you "how to do it", you have to use the suggestions that feel right to YOU. Those are the ones that will work for you. If you cannot be ALPHA to your dog, it would probably be best for both
if you found it a new home. I tell myself "I must be the one in charge; failure is NOT an option."

It's important to start when the pup is YOUNG. It's also important to
remain consistent and not get lax about not allowing inappropriate behavior. If you appear to be giving up your place as ALPHA PACK LEADER, the dog will step in and take over the position of alpha OVER YOU.

Have you ever watched a mama dog with her pups? If they do something she doesn't approve of she may bite them... she may roll them... depending on how serious she considers the infraction to be.

Have you ever watched two dogs battle for ALPHA position? They growl, lunge, bite! But their main aim if they're fighting a member of the pack is to roll the other dog on it's back, pin it and growl to threaten it till it gives up!!! If you're not alpha, your dog thinks it's allowed to growl at you, bite you, do anything it can to make you indicate YOU GIVE UP !!! Do you want a dog ruling your home??? Do you want your dog disciplining you???

BASIC DISCIPLINE:

#1) two quick fingers to the nose with a sharp NO! Doesn't hurt much but it DOES get the dog's attention. Makes him sneeze too!

#2) grab the upper jaw in your hand and wrap it around the upper jaw. This presses The skin of the dog's mouth against his teeth so he knows they hurt. He doesn't know it hurts you when he bites but is treating you as he would another dog.

As I hold his jaw, I calmly tell him "You DON'T REALLY WANT TO DO THAT" NoooOOOOOOO!!!!


THE ALPHA ROLL:
There IS a right way to do the alpha roll... you do it like the dogs do it, and you do it INSTANTLY UPON INFRACTION.

The pack leader rolls the other dog onto it's back...by surprise and quickly...

The pack leader then pins the other dog on it's back till it shows physically that it GIVES UP. The pinned dog often sighs, but you must feel all it's muscles relax as it gives YOU all the power over it. You then wait a bit before releasing the dog.

ALPHA ROLL ALTERNATIVES:
Now that my dogs are 3 and 4, I simply grab the head so the dog can't turn away from me and stare the dog down. Sometimes I growl at the dog when I do this. When my dog averts it's eyes, it's acknowledged that I am the Pack Leader.

Making the dog sit before you give a treat verifies that you are Pack Leader. Pack Leader always controls distribution of food.

Make the dog wait while you prepare meals.

Make the dog sit and wait while you go out doors FIRST also establishes your dominance.

When you teach a dog that you are Pack Leader, there will still be times as the dog grows up where it may choose to challenge you to see if it can take away the position of Pack Leader. I had to roll my dogs regularly the first year and occasionally till about age 3 but even now, if one does something I disapprove of, I still occasionally have to intervene and do a stare-down.

Answer 6

Has she tried to show dominance over you? The best way to show her is to stand over her with your legs on either side of her body (straddling her back)...don't sit on her, just stand over her, then gently but firmly grab the skin of the back of her neck and give a little growl. This shows that you are the alpha. Should she try to establish dominance over you, repeat the procedure. Make sure you eat your dinner before she eats...the alpha ALWAYS eats first. Do not let her walk in front of you...make her walk to your side. Enter the house before she does. These are all little things that shows her that you are the boss.

Answer 7

Here is what I do before you feed her tell her to sit and act like your eatting her food then put the floor. Before he does anything i make him sit. I make him sit to go outside, I walk out the door first. If he walks out first i pull him in and i walk out first. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 8

Leader of the pack is a position which is bestowed upon you by the pack - a positioned earned, not taught, assumed, or negotiated for.

The way to rise to the top is to conduct yourself as a leader, one that the pack can always trust, one that never lets them down, one that can maintain and sustain the pack.

Probably the best way to present yourself as this leader is to take charge of your dog's training, his feeding and his daily maintenance. The dog has to see first that you are a ready, willing, and capable leader, then he'll submit.

Now here's where folks get into trouble, they treat their dogs as equals. That is to say that they treat their dogs as children, and dogs [ultimately] do not respect that. So, in the absence of any real leader in the home, the dog begins to act like there are no rules.

Dog:
"I'm not eating that, buy me a different brand."
"I'll pee right here, thank you very much."
"I'm not ready to come in yet, chase me."
"I'll bark at whomever I please."
"Oh look, best friend Jenny has come to visit and she's wearing white pants, this is going to be fun."
"Get out of my face, kid, you're bothering me."
"Your going to clip my toenails? - I seriously don't think so."
"Broadloom carpet - the perfect place to poop."
"Yo, FiFi, how-ya-doin baby ..."

So how come they act like this when you "treat them and love them like your baby?" Because they're dogs, and they want the respect they are due. Treat them like children and they will treat you like dawgs.

Probably the number one reason folks lose control of the family dog is that they try to raise and look after it like a furbaby. Want to become 'alpha?' Then understand that the troops will only follow a strong leader type - be that leader.

Answer 9

Obedience training and Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) will help you to be a good leader.

http://www.goof.com/~pmurphy/NILIF.html
http://www.k9deb.com/nilif.htm
http://www.geocities.com/rnienhui101/NILIF.html

Answer 10

when he or she does something wrong ,roll the dog on it's back and then they will know that you are the alpha. good luck .