I know I'm harping on this, but then – it's soooo damn important. I never cease to be amazed at how so many people seem to miss this with leadership, and also actively chooses to misunderstand the concept so that it becomes something other than what it actually is. Today I thought (again!) address this and see if I can shed any further light on this.
We take the opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas while we're at it. ♥
In my world leadership always comes before dog training. Why? Because without the leadership, it is so much more likely that you will fail with the training. Why? Because without leadership, it is not at all certain that the dog will take you seriously and decide to do a little how and what it wants, just because it can.
I think that all dogs are the same?
No. I think some breeds are more difficult to work with than others. Not because they are dumber or more dominant, but because they are wayward, stubborn, independent, or have more energy, hunting instinct, will and drive than their human is capable of handling. I also think there are different ways to handle this, regardless of what is involved.
Men – i think also that some dogs have a greater need for leadership than training. Why? Because they need to learn that in the end it is the man's word that counts, and that it is not reasonable or ok to behave in any way just because you feel like it.
Of this the reason, I believe, is that not all dog breeds are for all people. Low energy people like myself are not best suited to have high energy dogs (and the only reason me and Ella worked so well is because – the leadership), as well as the fact that a distinctly urban person might not have the most stubborn hunting dog there is. If you choose a dog breed and individual based on who you are, the issue of leadership is not quite as important (however not completely unimportant).
I know that many still believe that leadership is synonymous with Cesar Milan and his television series The Dog Whisperer, where he handles enormously tough dogs in a very raw and, in the eyes of many, heavy-handed way, where the humans have failed for one reason or another. My personal opinion is that if you have sensible leadership from the start, then you should never have to come there. If you do, it's not the dog's fault, but man himself who has erred in one way or another.
Sensible leadership does not involve violence. Sensible leadership, on the other hand, can include physical corrections – but not violence. Sensible leadership involves being consistent, to give consequences when the dog does something it shouldn't, to give praise when it is deserved, to be straight and clear in communication, to act as a guide more than anything else, and to also make sure that you yourself are safe and stable as a person, not to let the mood take over. It is because when the mood takes over that it is easy for a physical correction to become violent and everything goes wrong.
It sounds like that damn good when i say all this, but am I so perfect myself? Far from. I have a rather short patience, I can be easily irritated and irritable at times, I am extremely dependent on having slept somewhat and having a relatively even blood sugar to keep me balanced. I don't always succeed, because I am human and also a woman (with associated pms, mens, now menopausal symptoms etc).
You already know that I don't belong to the group of people who train my dog every now and then. My dog is doing quite well though. He certainly has ideas of his own sometimes, like, for example, that he likes to stand on his hind legs and lean against one for hugs and kisses for a while. He wants to do it on everyone, which is not always appropriate. He can also be quite verbal in certain situations (both German Shepherd beeps/whins and barks) which can be extremely annoying. But he is still a good and sensible dog who, even though he is still quite young, have a pretty good grasp of how to behave.
For some reason it is also often the case that the dogs who hang out here with us enjoy themselves very well. It's not at all unusual that they don't feel like going home at all when their people come to pick them up. It's not because I train them with lots of candy, or never say no to them. It's because I set boundaries, makes demands, giving them frameworks to operate within, that I am persistent and stubborn, that there are consequences when you transgress the boundaries that exist, and that I also give them love and praise when they are in the mental state I want them to be in – calm and composed.
For some reason they seem to enjoy it quite well.
Because it is something I have learned, both by Ella, Boyo and several other dogs I have had to deal with, that's how it is with persistence, persistence and consistency more important than basically anything else when it comes to how to raise a dog. It is more important with some dogs than with others – missing a session with such a dog can mean having to start all over again. I believe that you have to take care of certain things as a preventive measure in order not to have big problems later. Not doing so is not nice to the dog, and does not benefit oneself and personal peace of mind either.
So why think I believe that leadership comes before training? Already, because when you have good leadership you have a dog that listens to you and more importantly; takes you seriously. I want to remind again that the dog can take you seriously without you being violent or mean.
This is situations where I believe leadership is more important than training; if/when you have a dog that easily gets too high energy and therefore becomes a pain in the ass to spend time with, and where the off button is more or less impossible to find. Such a dog needs a leader to lean on, and a person who can help it get down in energy level and relax. Teaching the dog to sit or lie down is not enough here – the dog may still be excessively high in energy and stress, and the sitting/lying down therefore serves no purpose. Another example could be a dog that jumps and nibbles on hands/arms. It is not at all a given that training will produce the results you want, especially not if/when the dog is too high in energy due to stress. Again; the dog needs help unwinding, and there training is not automatically the right method.
Last but not least at least I want to remind you of a couple more things. My experience with dogs consists for the most part of breeds/mixes with a tougher psyche, large measure will, driv, stubbornness and so on. I realize that there are many races that do not have the same need for leadership in the way that I personally find fun and challenging. But please don't compare pure companion dogs with the dogs that are of the tougher and tougher kind. The mentality is not the same, and they require little else and more from their human than the softer races. The likelihood that I myself will ever get a dog of the softer kind is not very great, because I would probably be extremely bored.
Having a dog should be enjoyable. If it is not enjoyable and the dog behaves like an ass, something is wrong. I know that many people recommend a visit to the vet to see if something is physically wrong with the dog, and you can certainly do that. But I think you earn smallest just as much, if not more, on looking at yourself and thinking about what you yourself need to change in order to achieve other results.