There are a couple of basic rules I have when it comes to being good with dogs – one of which is being able to control your space.

This is something that people understand very easily when it comes to interacting with other humans –  we don’t sit on the laps of strangers, we don’t hang all over strangers, and most of us don’t excessively hug or kiss strangers.

In fact, getting into another human’s space is such an awkward action, we came up with a standardized way of getting into each other’s space so it doesn’t come off as hostile or awkward – the disarming handshake in our culture (in Europe and other cultures they have a similar, but still easily understood social protocol for entering a person’s space).
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However, this basic concept that is so intuitive in our day to day lives with other humans is oddly difficult to apply to our dogs. 

We all have the goal of having the perfect dog. We saw Lassie or Rin Tin Tin when we were growing up and we thought to ourselves: That looks cool. I could do that.

For some of us, we look at the dog in front of us and we don’t see Rin Tin Tin – bold, confident, and ready to serve his humans. We see a nervous, aggressive, or rowdy and uncontrollable dog.

Comparing your dog to what you see on TV is a recipe to make yourself feel bad. It’s kind of like me comparing my abs to The Rock or the male cast of Grey’s Anatomy.

That being said, if great abs were my goal, I would put a photo of the Rock up somewhere and do everything I could to get there. Nothing bad can happen from setting lofty goals IF, and only if, you keep things in perspective. ​

In the world of dog training, “leadership” is a complicated word. To most people, the word “leadership” conjures up images of alpha dogs and the military men who shout commands at them on the training field.

That is one type of leadership – unfortunately it’s not one that every person can authentically pull off. Some people have a softer touch than these obvious “alphas,” but can still lead dogs with expert precision.
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When I am dealing with softer human personalities, I ask one simple question to help them understand leadership with their dog: Who is adjusting to whom?