We have all heard it, most dog people see it, and dog trainers say it all the time. Dogs want to please.  That is true, dogs do want to please but there is something that dogs want more. The most important thing that a dog wants to do is reproduce. The second most important thing dogs’ want is please the pack or family. So a dog wants to please, how do we know that is true?

I normally do not take much time talking about pack dynamics but if we really want to understand dogs and dog behavior we need to look at what is important to dogs. If dogs are away from humans they form into packs. These packs are family or family like groups of dogs that stay together for companionship, protecting, and to acquire resources. For a dog to reproduce under these conditions a dog need to become the alpha male or female of the pack.

In the simplest terms an alpha is a decision maker in the pack. The alpha will be an adult dog of breeding age. The alpha in a pack is one who starts the hunt, and ends the hunt, they often start play and bonding sessions, they decide when to head to the water source, and they decide who gets to reproduce. They do not run around pinning other dogs to the ground all the time.

For a dog to become alpha the dog needs to get the other members of the pack to follow them. They do this by the use of many tricks, or things to do which cause them to get their way. As for human family members, it is not necessary to spend time pinning dogs down. We have many other options to get our get our way and be the decision maker. To do this we need to learn how to identify our dog’s tricks and how to nullify them.

A dog running off can be caused by any experience that she had in the past.  Maybe in the past she ran off for a short while. She found the situation of being on her own pleasing to her and never learned that it is not pleasing to you. That signifies there is a break down in communication between the dog and the owner. If you communicate to your dog that her running of is not pleasing to you she will stop running off. The easiest way to get your way, learn your dogs’ tricks and how to nullify them, and to learn your dogs’ body language signals is to practice obedience training with them.

Please contact Argos Dog Training if you are interested in learning more about how to practice obedience training with your dog. If you have question or comments, please add them to the comment section below.

Thank you and Enjoy Your Dog!!!