Wanna know how?

The four golden rules:

These rules will help you know how you are doing and what is your role -

then atomically your dog will know who is he and what is his role.

Calm - It’s very easy to say to be calm but it's hard to be calm in a stressful situation … so thanks to Wim Hof I found a way to prove to your dog that you are calm - even if you are not-

Just remember to breathe very deeply..

What will happen is your body chemistry will change and your dog will notice it and get the message that you have a calm energy right now.

I strongly recommend to practise the Wim Hof Method so you will be able to control your energy very effectively.

Assertive-

Being assertive doesn’t mean being tough.

Being assertive means that you keep your conversation with your dog only for affection.

Conversation is not only talking, it’s also making eye contact .

Practise avoiding eye contact when you give education, direction, protection ,boundaries, limits and discipline.

Remember when you make eye contact, you open the subject for discussion and this will make you less authority figure .

keep your eye contact and your talk as something very precious that your dog will want to have and let him understand that to get it he has to behave calmly.

Practice giving all forms of affection ( pet / talk / eye contact) only when your dog behaves calmly and politely or when you are playing together.

Direction:

Your job as “the pack leader” is to provide direction while leading your dog.

Many of the dog’s owners let the dog go where they want and only prevent them from doing something wrong like chasing a cat or running to the road, because they think this is good for him. But the dog is actually looking for someone to tell him where the right direction is, how to prevent danger, who to avoid, who to meet and where he can feel safe to sniff around.

If you do not do it, the dog understands that this is their job and they will lead you and this is something that can create many problems.

Practice Leading your dog without looking towards him, without looking down but rather look straight ahead and be aware of what is happening around you. think about the way you are going and not anything else, and keep your body upright and relaxed ?

Protection :

After you learn how to give directionת now you need to know how to give protection, which is your second job as ”the pack leader”.

In order for your dog not to make any decisions while meeting a new person, dog, cat or bicycle you need to make the decision first .

You need to show your dog that you are aware of the image that’s coming towards you and you react in a relaxed manner, so your dog can stay calm and submissive.

Don’t let any image (Human or dog) come towards your dog in a high or excited energy.

Anyone that wants to get closer to your dog must come slowly, politely and quietly.

Practice when leading your dog, always be in front and don’t let any image meet your dog before he meets you.

This way your dog sees you as an example of how to behave in any meeting.

So remember you need to be calm, which means - breathe deeply.

The right way to do it, is to understand that this is not a game.

This is a matter of survival - in nature dogs immigrate from one place to another to find food and water.

So you need to try to mimic that walk to an immigration of pack of dogs .

The way to do it is to divide the walk into two separate parts:

One is leading when you give direction and protection, and the other is exploring, where you find the right place for your dog to sniff around.

Practice going for a long walk (at least 45 minutes), divided for two separate parts, leading and exploring, and making the difference between them obvious for your dog.

Remember: don’t create or encourage excitement while preparing for the walk - keep silent, don't talk with your dog, breed deeply and be patient.

Unlike humans, dogs learn first from the nose, then from the eyes and only at the end from their ears. That’s why you don’t want to make any sound when you meet your dog, a new dog ,a human or a tool like a new leash, for example .

First and always give him a sniff without using any sound and without eye contact .

Start practice meeting a new person that will cooperate with you:

Ask him to stand quietly and let the dog come to sniff him before talking to the dog or giving eye contact.

Corrections:

This is a very important lesson. Please fully understand the message behind correction before you actually correct your dog.

You don’t want to punish the dog!

When you are angry or frustrated or upset it does not matter the technique that you are using, it will always be a punishment for your dog and the only message your dog gets from it is that you are not stable, which means he cannot trust you, which means you are not the pack leader at that moment.

You always correct the dog when he is excited instead of being calm about something.

If you are angry you are also not calm so you are not a good example of how to behave.

The message to a good correction is: “be like me” - be calm facing what excites you.

The idea is just to get his attention by sound, touch or tagging the leash. Once you get his attention you need to show him how he needs to behave- just like you (calm and relaxed).

After a correction, wait for your dog to get the message. It can take a few seconds- be patient. If he did not get the message, correct him again but don’t make it a stronger correction, don’t ever make it look like a punishment!

When you see that your dog got the message because he calms down, just be pleased, breathe calmly and enjoy that moment but don’t make it a celebration

because then you confused him. Stay calm.

Practice a good correction when everything is in your favour and you are the director. Direct it so you will know exactly when and how to correct it.

You can use food on the floor or knocking on the door or whatever stimulation that makes your dog excited, nervous or anxious.

For example, go somewhere without your dog and put on the floor some good smelling food that your dog likes and then go with your dog to that location waiting for his response when you are ready and with the leash on him .

The second your dog responds to it, correct him while you give all your intention towards the food and breathe calmly, so you show your dog how he needs to behave right now .Wait and see if your dog relaxes or he continues to respond.

If he continues- correct him again without looking towards him but towards the food.

You can use your leash or a touch or a sound to correct but don’t use any word’s or your dog’s name (which are used only at affection times)

Keep looking towards the stimulation and breathe deeply .

If your dog gets the message and becomes calm, you should become relaxed and pleased but never excited.

Never take the stimulation away from him or take him away from the stimulation.

He should give up the stimulation.

Only then you know you succeeded with that correction.

In order your dog to feel safe he need’s to know what are the rules and where is the boundaries.

You need to decide with your family what are the rules and always keep on them.

For example if you decide the dog is not allowed on the sofa , this rule must be respected by all of your family .

Your dog need’s to know that at all times he can not go on the sofa..

make it easy and very clear and be consistent about it.

If you don’t mind your dog will be on the sofa or on your bed it’s OK as long as he understand this is your sofa and this is your bed it means he can get on it only with a permission .

A good example of indoor boundaries is not giving an access to the kitchen or the bedroom .

If this is what you decided then the kitchen/ bedroom should be out of his reach at all times !

Practice new rule ; waiting at the door- your dog should not decide to get in or out from an open door .

The decision is yours, so put the leash on your dog, stand in front of the door and slowly open it.

Look straight ahead.

If you feel tension on the leash it means your dog makes a mistake and gently but I assertively correct it and wait for him to wait for you and only then get in or out from the door. Practice it in any door anytime.

Practice boundaries:

let your dog explore with his nose , use a long leash and decide till where you want him to go .

When he goes over the place you decided , give him a very light correction with the leash so he understand that this is his boundaries and he cannot go further.

People practice meditation for years just because they want to live at the moment. For dogs it's a natural thing- they just live at the moment and they don’t care about the past or about the future.

The problem with human that most of the times they are thinking about the future or the past which makes them concerned or tense.

The dog of course, feel’s the tension of the human but because

he lives at the moment, he understand that the problem is right now and he reacts...

Practice-Living at the moment:

Go with your dog and be focus on everything that is happening right now: your deep breathing ,the “conversation” through the leash and any image that you see on the way in any moments : a dog , a cat, a boy riding his bicycle entc ..

Be aware of any sounds ,vision or smell’s that you get from your senses every single moment and enjoy it

If you want respect from your dog you should provide physical and mental stimulation before you give affection.

It means that in the morning, before the walk, it is not a good time for affection.

Remember that affection is not only petting your dog but also talking with him, using his name and making eye contact with him. Same thing when you come back after long periods of time .You start all over again - don't give affection.

First provide physical activities then mental activities and only then give affection. The easiest and the most effective way to get physical and mental activities is going for a long pack walk.

After you come back from the walk and your dog is relaxed, this is a great time to give as much affection as you want.

Remember to give affection only when your dog behaves calmly and politely.

Never give affection to calm down your dog, because when you give affection you are agreeing with the state of mind that he is in right now.

A good dog owner should provide his dog everything he needs and meeting with other dogs is one of its needs .

If you avoid these meetings your dog will not be fully satisfied.

The quality of a good meeting is upon you.

You should decide which dog you want to meet for your dog and you should arrange the meeting itself in a very quiet and peaceful way. Remember to respect the nose of both of the dogs, which means let them smell each other first before they hear you or the other person's voice and keep both of the leashes very loose.

Look for the right dog with the right energy before you decide to meet him .

Look at his body language and don’t make any meeting if you feel that he’s tense, anxious or excited.The energy that you are looking for is: calm, calm and friendly ,calm and curious.

Talk with the other person ( the other dog’s owner ) and explain to him what you want to do -you want to make a calm and quiet meeting .

Ask him not to talk with the dogs while they sniff each other and keep his leash very loose.

Come quietly and slowly towards the side of the other dog when your body is in between them and see what is happening.

If the dogs start sniffing each other's rear, this is very good and don’t disturb them.

But if you feel that the dog’s trying to make eye contact with one to another before they smell -you must stop it by blocking with your body and gently guide your dog towards the other dog's rear and let them sniff each other .

Only after they finish sniffing each other, then you can raise the energy, talk, laugh and let the dog’s make eye contact with each other.