Reinforcing Your Dog’s Role in the Family

Family Time

In the family every family member has a defined role. This same principle applies when we bring a new dog or puppy you’re your home.

Dogs make wonderful companions, playmates and justly so. However, just as each member has a role; your new puppy needs to understand what role he or she plays in the family. Since dogs are pack animals establishing this right away reduces confusion as to who is the ‘pack leader’.

Defining the Pack Order

Unfortunately, what some dog owners may neglect to realize is that by not giving a dog clearly defined roles, they are communicating a ‘lack of leadership’ which can lead to anxiety and causes for behavior problems. Dogs have a definite social hierarchy. Within the normal dog pack, there is a distinct order in which some members have dominant roles and others subordinate.