Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of extra homework on how to re-teach my oldest corgi, Rascal, that I am the “alpha” in the house. I keep reading about pack mentality, and how you have to make your dogs understand that you are the leader of the pack. It’s harder than it sounds…Especially because Rascal has a lot of uh…PERSONALITY.
So here’s what I’ve learned so far…I need to start speaking doggie language to Rascal so that he understands I’m the boss. For example, he’s no longer allowed in our bedroom, let alone anywhere near our bed. (As a side note, I rarely let him sleep with us because it takes him a long time to settle down. Both of my corgis sleep in their crates) I have to make sure that I enter every room in front of him, go up and down stairs before he does and I even have to eat before he eats. All of these things show Rascal that I’m the leader of the pack. I go first, period. I also started keeping Rascal on a leash when he’s inside the house, so that he goes where I go.
It’s a lot of little things to remember, but I’m sticking to my guns. It’s just really hard when I have to pretend like I’m not noticing his cute little sad puppy dog eyes looking up at me innocently as I type out this blog post.
