Do you have a dog who begs for food, whines for Attention, barks and whines while you are preparing his dinner, or constantly nudges you to be petted or cooed at? This is called a pushy, bossy, needy or demanding dog. If a dog is given whatever he wants by simply being annoying, then he has learned that annoying behaviors offer the greatest rewards. They WILL become this way if we allow it.
| "I'm waaaitiiiing" |
Dogs like this are constantly labeled as "dominant" or "alpha" dogs. This is simply not the case. He is not driven by a need to be in control of you, he is driven by the promise of rewards. Of course, he has learned he can control you. Yes, he gets what he wants. This does not mean he is above you in the pecking order (although that's not really important,) it simply means that he is smart enough to figure out how to get just about anything he wants handed to him on a silver platter!
For dogs like this, I always recommend a training program called Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) this means that the dog only gets what he wants when he is obedient, polite, and most of all patient. Fido wants a cookie? Fine, ask him to sit first. Fido wants on the couch? Ask him to sit. Fido wants to play? Ask him to sit. If Fido doesn't obey in a calm manner, he doesn't get what he wants. Period. Sit is the most common command for dogs and it works marvelously, although you can use whatever commands you want. The best to use in my opinion are: sit, lie down, quiet, settle down, and watch me.
Physical or verbal corrections are absolutely 100% UNNECESSARY. All dogs crave attention, and some dogs will even crave negative attention. That means that saying "no" and looking at your dog can actually be a reward to the dog even if you meant it as a punishment. The dog sometimes thinks "hey, the human looked at me. I won!" instead of "uh-oh the human is mad." See what I mean? This isn't always true but in many cases it is. Negative punishment (taking away what the dog wants for bad behavior) is the only punishment needed.
| Pushy dogs pull on leash because it gets them where they want to go. Not only does making a dog wait patiently to greet others decrease stress on you, it also makes it a more positive experience for the dog. Tension on the leash leads to more tense and unfriendly body language, leading to a more tense greeting. If the two dogs are more relaxed then they will get along much better. |
Jealousy
| This is what I like to see! |
Start the NILIF program immediately. In fact, starting NILIF before this problem presents itself is best, but the habit can still be easily broken. Fido wants attention? He has to wait patiently first with all 4 paws on the floor. If he pushes in front or jumps up, ignore him. ONLY give attention to any animal who is behaving calmly and waiting for his turn patiently. Over time, he will learn that being pushy and needy gets him nothing where calm behavior gets him his favorite rewards.
