Welcome to Heart of the Pack

You just got home to find out that your Rottweiler has ripped up your couch again. Not only that, your neighbours have been giving you dirty looks lately because every time some kids walk past your house your dog becomes extremely territorial and won’t stop barking and lunging at them. The last time the couch incident happened you took the dog back to the shredded furniture, pointed at it and firm voice said ‘No! Bad dog!’

Has anything like this ever happened to you? If not, I’m willing to bet that someone you know has gone through similar problems at some point with their dog. In this scenario people tend to become emotional, often blaming the dog and trying to talk to or reason with it.

What many dog owners don’t realise is that:

Energy will be released in either a positive or negative way

While different breeds will have different levels of energy, it is inevitable that your dog will release that energy in one way or another. If your dog is getting regular exercise and its needs are being fulfilled, then it will be balanced and happy. If these needs are neglected though, that energy will turn into frustration - the cause of the couch incident - and may even escalate into aggression or possessiveness.

It is important to realise that you, as the owner, will directly influence whether your dog releases its energy in either a positive or negative manner.

Dogs need to walk. In the wild, a pack of dogs will migrate often, as a result, dogs will feel a strong instinctual desire to walk with its pack. Not only is the walk a great for exercise and draining energy, it is also an excellent source of happiness for your dog(s).

Missing its daily walk is likely to be the main source of your dogs unhappiness

What happens to excess energy? When a dog rips up your couch, whines when you leave or constantly digs holes in the garden it is communicating with you. It is telling you that it’s needs are not being fulfilled. Without a walk or some healthy activity to drain its energy, a dog will be unbalanced and unable to relax. This is when your dog is likely to engage in unhealthy behaviours as a way to release it’s built up frustration.

Understand; it is your responsibility to ensure that you are fulfilling your dogs needs. As the pack leader you are the determining factor to your packs happiness.

Correction has a very small window of opportunity

Being a good pack leader requires you to be vigilant. If your dog is engaging in an unwanted behaviour that you want to correct, then you must tell your dog immediatlly after it happens. Unfortunately 5 minutes after the incident is too late, dogs cannot rationalise like we can and if you try and correct a dog for something it did in the past it will only become confused.

Effective correction requires that you address the behaviour immediately and consistently. So when your dog misbehaves, bring it back to the spot pronto - this will help the dog understand what you expect from it.

The human lesson

One of the things that excites me so much about dog behaviour is the profound lessons we can learn for our own personal growth. The concept that energy will be released in either a positive or negative way is also true for humans. However instead of ripping up the couch or becoming dog aggressive when we don’t use our energy productively, we turn to drugs, alcohol, gambling or some other destructive behaviour.

There are loads of great websites on the net offering advice for self improvement or changing habits. However, if you’re not having much luck with previous methods you’ve tried, have you perhaps considered getting a dog?

By fulfilling the needs of your pack, you will also be fulfilling your own needs. A walk is not just beneficial for your dog, it is an excellent way to drain energy for humans also. When you demand discipline from your pack, you are also demanding discipline from yourself - by going through the daily motions of being an effective pack leader you will be reinforcing positive behaviours and beliefs within yourself.

Being a dog owner is a great way to release energy - in a positive way. Remember; the pack has the power to rehabilitate not only dogs, but also humans!