Bernese Mountain Dog

After 20 years on the job we still get the same amazed reactions from people when we explain their dog's behaviour to them. How often have we heard "Oh really?", "I didn't realize", "I should have thought of it," Very often inappropriate behaviour is the dog's way of reacting to stress. The following on some tips on the kinds of behaviour dog owners may have that stress their dogs. Once you know what they are, it'll be up to you to avoid them. A good place to start is by learning a little about what dogs are and the basis for much of their behaviour.

Before dogs were dogs, they were wolves. Still today, even if our best friends have been tames and socialized to live with humans, they are fundamentally nonetheless an animal with instincts. One of these instincts is protection. Accordingly, like with many animals, horses for instance dogs know that belonging to a group is a question of survival. Even if humans also have this instinct, the rules governing a pack are very different from human rules.

Contrary to humans, there's only one pack leader. The leaders has all the priviledges including delegating to others. He is entitled to procreate, eat first, choose where he will rest and strategic locations. Anyone who disobeys is severely punished. Of course, there are differing levels of punishment: stiff body, growling, baying, nipping and on rare occasions fatal attacks (by the way, dogs never used chocker colars). One thing is certain, the message is clear and leaves doubt as to the leader's intentions.

Whether respected or not, these rules of conduct in the pack is the dog's only known language, which is why it's important to learn how to communicate using their language if we want to have a good relationship.

A person who above all doesn't "lose it." He's always in control, especially when the dog does something wrong. Specifically:

These are some examples of what to do and not to do to be a good pack leader.

We attribute human feelings to animal behaviour all the time and it’s a mistake. The usual reason is simply because we fail to understand their behaviour. The most common one is jealousy.

Your girlfriend kisses you and suddenly your pet is johnny-on-the-spot, stuck in the middle. If you think about it for a minute, it’s easy to see that a dog is incapable of such a complexe motion as jealousy.

For a dog, two people close together is a conflict and its natural reaction will be to resolve the problem by using what is referred to as a calming signal, which in this case would be to come between the two « adversaries ». (see Calming Signals by Turrid Ruggass).

In the second case, your dog is telling you that he’s the leader and as such he is the primary attention-getter. If this is the case, you must re-establish the social rank to avoid problems later.

The leader of a pack is the one who controls the food. He decides when it’s time to hunt, will eat first and force the others to wait and watch. The leader is the only one who reproduces and any attempts from others will be severely punished. Like in dog sledding, the leader comes first, ahead of the others. And in their den, the leader occupies the highest spot.

The oldest stories about man and his relationship with dogs shows them lurking nearby hoping for food. Let to their own, a dog’s life will always revolved around food.

To be a good leader, you must « control » the food. This is why it is so important to NEVER LEAVE FOOD AVAILABLE ALL THE TIME. Control access by feeding your dog twice a day. As soon as you begin to prepare his dish, he’ll recognize the signs and come running. This is a good time to make sure your dog deserves to be fed. You can make him sit for instance. When he obeys, you can feed him.

You might think it’s simplistic, but it is the basis on which you establish your leadership. You’ve just shown your dog that food isn’t free and that he’s got to listen to get it. That’s a golden ruleMême!

Soon long as your leadership isn’t established, it’s better not to let your dog up on your bed or sofa. Doing this is telling him that he shares your rank. When your dog obeys you, as a leader, you can authorize him to occupy these priviledge spaces.

Dogs tugging on their leashes is a common sight. This is dominent behaviour because he’s in front. When this happens, turn and walk in the opposite direction. He’ll have no choice but to turn towards you and be behind you. If he pulls again, and won’t stop, then you can end the walk. Your dog will quickly figure out that if he wants to go for a walk, he’d be better to follow your rules. However, if the dog stops tugging, reward him. At first, the reward should be choice (chicken, cheese) to really make him enthusiastic about obeying. Then, a pat or two will do. Most dogowners won’t bother to acknowledge good behaviour but are quick to punish bad behaviour. If you want your dog to behave properly, praise him properly and immediately.

Another aspect is controlling exits. The leader is the first one out. When you decide to leave the house, make your dog sit and stay. Go out and call your dog. If your dog doesn’t listen, shut the door and start over with the sit-stay. This may seem trivial, but becomes an extra permission for a dog that is not trained. Once your dog knows his place, you can let him go ahead without losing rank.

Only the leader can breed. Since the dogs we sell at La Maison Delassie, are companion dogs, we strongly recommend you get your pet neutured or spayed. The concept of a pack is quite different with a breeding dog. An uncastrated male has little interest in obeying you and you risk running into a lot of problems that can be easily avoided.

A lot of good books on dog training are available.One of them really come to our mind because the author was following the same kind of approach toward dogs than ours. "The dog listener" by Jan Fennell is available at www.amazon.com

One of the most popular reasons for getting a dog is to have something to lavish with attention and affection. Dogs can be the sweetest things, provided they’ve been properly trained. A dog can hunt, track, retrieve, stand guard, herd, but he has no idea how to behave like a human!!!!

This is why our displays of affection are often perceived by our pets as acts of submission and therefore an opportunity to become leader of the pack!.

If you want your pet to learn your language, then it’s not logical to start by learning theirs first. By teaching your dog what is allowed and not allowed in a human family, he will know how to behave in a group, have more confidence, be better balanced and truly understand your displays of affection.

The socialization period, between 12 to 14 weeks of age, is when dogs establish themselves within the pack. After this period and for reasons of survival, any new arrival will be considered a predator.

Socialization therefore consists in acquinting your dog with all the things he’ll have in his environment: people, other animals, accessories, places, objects and noise.

Just remember that introducing your dog to a person doesn’t guarantee that he’ll like him. Each person, whether young, adult, short, tall, disabled, etc. , are all perceived differently by him. And the same applies to animals. Here’s a list of things your dog should be introduced to:

Noise	Accessories	Location	Situations
Car	Dryer	Mall	Crowds
Truck	Dishwasher	Park	Babies
Bus	Vaccum cleaner	Station	Children
Clapping	Saw	Parking lot	Disabled people
Thunder
Sirens
Doorbell
Piano

At about 10 to 11 months, a properly socialized dog will tend to regress somewhat. The second socialization phase is quicker and easier because the dog will remember that there’s nothing to fear.