Dogs are social creatures. While many of their social orientations are instinctual, others are taught by the pack. When you bring a dog into your home, you, your family, and your friends become its pack. There are a few attributes your dog will always keep just because it is, in fact, a dog. There are also many ways you can shape your dog's behavior that will allow him to become a valued member of the household.

The best socialized dogs are those who live inside with the family. The continual interaction of living with the family helps the dog understand the behavior of the pack he is being integrated into. When the dog is able to observe and interact, he will naturally adapt to the ways of the household. He will not only learn important "rules" such as where he is allowed to sit, how to tell you he needs to go out, or where he is expected to go during family mealtimes, but also little things such as not to nudge your had while holding a cup of hot coffee, or which items on the floor are toys and which are not to be played with. That is, they learn to act at least as well as your children. Because of their instinctual social orientation toward the lead dogs in the pack, many times they will behave better!

The key to the level socialization dogs receive inside with the family is that they are communicated with much more often. For example, if your pup has a habit of standing in your path when you are trying to walk, you might find yourself at first saying "move" or "excuse me" automatically as you would to a human. When the animal doesn't move, you gently nudge or push him over out of the way. After hearing you ask him to move, then following the word up with the nudge a few times, he will learn to get out of your way when told. Eventually he will just know to move on his own when he sees he is blocking your path.

Sometimes a dog might have a habit of nudging your arm for attention. This action can be quite disruptive if you are holding a drink. Your natural reaction will be to show surprise and dismay, and usually will accompany a statement such as "Hey, knock it off", "Hey, what are you doing?", or even just a sharp "NO". Your dog will see from your reaction to the spill that he has done wrong. Whatever your exclamation was he will also learn if the same statement is used whenever he causes a problem.
It is in this way your dog learns to be a functioning member of the pack.

Sometimes you will run into a pet who has an "alpha" nature and thinks that he is the pack leader. These dogs can be a nightmare for people who don't understand how to deal with alpha dogs. It is important that your dog knows who is his master if he is going to be trained effectively. There are a few simple steps that make this dog much easier to deal with.

First of all, a dog needs to have one master. While he may be considered the "family pet" by the family, the dog isn't going to understand that social structure as it is not a natural structure for them. It is extremely important that you decide who your dog actually belongs to right from the beginning. Giving ownership to one person doesn't mean that others can't or won't interact, play with, or teach the dog anything, it just means the ultimate responsibility for caring for and training the dog will rest on one person's shoulders. This is the person they will recognize as pack leader, that is, their master. You may call your dog the "family pet" but you may want to take the role of the actual master yourself. As master, it will be your command that the dog obeys above all other commands. Your kids might tell Rover to "sit" when you call him, but once you say "come" the commands of others should not matter. This structure will avoid any confusion in the dog's mind about what he is being taught and how he is to respond.

Never expect your dog to understand something that he hasn't been well taught. Sometimes disobedience is nothing but confusion about a command. If you know for a fact that your dog fully knows the command he is not responding to, you must revert to natural dog pack instinct. What he is doing is refusing your mastery and claiming the lead position for himself.

In a pack a dog will roll unto his back and expose his stomach to the lead dog. This is a gesture of submission. If your dog does not obey you, make him lay down (even if you have to force him to) and roll him on his back, then hold him there with your hand on his stomach. This action is a demonstration that he is subordinate to you. He will understand this action and will respond to it.

Never tease a dog by asking him if he wants something, get him excited about it, then refuse to deliver. It may be cute to watch him get excited, but it will also confuse him about his understanding of a word or command if the result is not forthcoming. Teasing is not only mean, it is just destructive to his learning process.

If your dog has a habit you need to break but he doesn't listen to commands, making him uncomfortable will help readjust his habit. I have heard people say that you should put your knee up if a dog jumps on you. That action usually doesn't do much but teach a dog to watch out for knees. If you want to stop him from jumping, grab and hold his front paws when he jumps up and don't let him back down. He might try to chew your hands, but hold him until he is very annoyed about being held up. It won't be long before he doesn't want to jump on anyone any more.

If you have a dog who wants to chew things that are not his toys and knows are not his toys, you can teach him not to chew by not letting him let go of what he is chewing while telling him "No Toy", "No Eat" or whatever your chosen term is. If he has chewed, or is chewing something that is not his to chew, put it, or keep it, in his mouth and put your hand around his mouth so he can't let go. Keep the object in his mouth long enough to annoy him. These little discomforts and aggravations go a lot further than just a command can go when socializing your pet. He might disobey a command, but he's not going to want to deal with discomfort. Never tie anything in his mouth - cruelty is much different than a quick lesson and will do major damage to your animal emotionally, even when not physically.

Of course, much of a dog's social training depends on the ability for the two of you to communicate. He needs to understand what is being said to him to know how to react and behave. Teaching your dog to understand what you are saying to him will be discussed in the "Training Steps" section.

AGGRESSION AND PROTECTION

Do not ever teach your dog to be aggressive. A dog will naturally protect anyone in its pack. If you want a police dog you can consider taking him for professional guard training when he is older, but never attempt this on your own - even if you think you know what you are doing. Never let anyone teach your dog to "sick em", even when it's playing.

If your dog becomes aggressive when he shouldn't be, you need to teach him that is not the way to act right away. The best way to do this is to put your hand around his muzzle and say "no" very sharply whenever he shows an attitude that is unwarranted. Many heartaches, injuries, deaths, and lawsuits can be avoided if you understand you do not need teach your dog to protect you or his territory.

FORMAL OBEDIENCE TRAINING

I can't recommend formal obedience training highly enough, even if you already know how to teach your dog the basics. Each dog should be taken at least to beginning classes. Do not -- repeat "DO NOT" let someone else train your dog. You do not want to teach a dog that it is okay for someone else to issue commands, you want to teach him to obey YOU. Your dog will still "sit" when your kids or spouse says "sit", but he will build a special bond with you during training and you will be able to control any situation without having to worry about the dog hesitating at your command if someone else is issuing a contradictory command.

The class sessions will be fun for your pet. He not only gets to go someplace, he gets to mingle with his own kind and see that other dogs learn to "behave" just like he is learning to. The structure of the class doesn't leave him much room for confusion either. The instructor will watch the owners with their pets and will help those who are not sure of what they are doing. I neglected to take one of my dogs to classes because I already knew how to teach him, and I regret robbing my guy of this wonderful experience. I also missed out on some socializing that I could have enjoyed with other pet owners. Live and learn. Take your dog to a class. You both might enjoy them enough to continue on to more advanced training.

Classes also help to reinforce your dog's education in understanding language. Learning words and phrases is the core of the dog's ability to interact successfully with his family.