Have you ever been told you’re not “Alpha” or dominant enough? Are you facing challenges with parenting you dog? You don’t need to change to parent a great dog, there is another way.
We’ve heard variations of this from many women over the years. Whether your dog pulls on the leash, plays inappropriately with you or other dogs, jumps up on the kitchen countertops or is showing displays of growling, snapping or biting. All these problems are related to your dog being dominant or your failure to be Alpha.
We want EVERY woman to know, you DON’T have to be Alpha or dominate to get GOOD behavior from your dog! Not only is it unnecessary, but it is also in the better interest of you, your dog and your dog’s emotional well-being. Emotional well-being will carry the greatest effect on sociability. Today our dogs are living social lifestyles; therefore it is of the highest importance we choose our parenting style carefully.
The Carrot or The Stick
There’s a common misrepresentation among those that refer to a Carrot or Stick approach to changing behavior. The Carrot is known as used to reinforce behavior we desire. The Stick exclusively used to punish undesirable behavior. The Carrot and the Stick rely on both reinforcement and punishment. When we opt for the Carrot, we change behavior through giving or taking away things that your dog likes. We use treats for remarkable rewarding behavior and think time-outs for punishing the naughties. We give the Carrot for behavior we’d like to see more and take away the Carrot for behavior we’d like to see less. In the 21st Century, The Carrot Approach for changing behavior is what we use in parenting children, managing people in the workplace and governing of our laws.
The Stick path is as it sounds. It’s using things your dog finds scary, painful or intimidating to change behavior. The very things used on the Stick path are even outlawed in our schools for children, our workplaces and our government enforcement of law.
This can be EXCELLENT NEWS for women, who tend naturally towards the use of The Carrot. It’s often for many many against their very nature to use the Stick effectively. Women tend not to be alpha or dominant in any other relationships, and you don’t need to change that to parent and raise a magnificent dog.
Benefits of The Carrot Approach:
- A happy & emotionally healthy dog
- A loving relationship with your dog
- A dog that enthusiastically listens to you
- A well-behaved dog with great social manners
Tools and Tricks of The Carrot Approach
The Carrot Approach for dogs involves yummy snacks, toys, fun & play. All the things that dogs love! When you reward your dog for doing the right thing, your dog will do the right thing more often.
A Treat Pouch
Wearing a treat pouch in the presence of your dog while teaching appropriate household behaviors and social manners will keep you from falling into the “show me the money” trap. Many believe your dog won’t do what is asked unless you have a treat. This isn’t the fault of the methodology; this is an easily overcome hiccup when you know how to effectively parent your dog.
Tuna Fudge Homemade & Economical Dog Treats
Tuna Fudge is our #1 go to in puppy & dog training school! The dogs are crazy about it and it’s not messy on my fingers. Hey, as women this matters! You can get the recipe here, along with a cooking show for best practices in cooking, cutting up and storage between uses.
Squeezy Cheese Tubes
Our students rave about the convenience and effectiveness of squeezy cheese! We reserve the use of the powerful squeezy cheese for recalls, walking nicely on leash and fear & aggression issues. It’s doggy motivation on steroids! You can get the squeeze tubes at your local REI or on Amazon. The easy cheese canisters can be picked up at your local grocer or ordered right along with your tubes on Amazon.
Women, stand proud of who you are. You gravitate towards a more loving and kinder approach to parenting, leading and collaboration. More and more men are coming around to this approach too. We welcome those men with open arms. How you teach your dog life skills and manners is a choice, both approaches work. The Carrot Approach hands down is best and comes with no risk to our dog’s emotional well-being which indeed affects sociability. For your dog, you love dearly, choose The Carrot and stand proud ladies.
Blog by Jody Karow. Jody Karow is the Resident Pet Expert for PetChatz. She is also a dog life coach and founder of DogSenseOnline.com. Jody specializes in dog behavior, off leash
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