• Once you return home, hold back as much affection as you can at first. Do not encourage overexcitement. Change your clothes, grab a snack to tide you over, and take your dog out again. This walk can be a bit shorter – a half hour – since you're going to be in for the evening together. After the walk, once again reinforce your mealtime rules, and then allow your calm submissive dog to be your best friend after dinner.
• Sleeping arrangements for a dog should be clear and unambiguous. A dog should have a regular place to sleep, and should not be able to choose it on his own. When your dog first comes to live with you, put him in his crate or kennel every night for the first week. This will get him accustomed to the new surroundings while providing limits. After the first week, replace the kennel with a pillow or dog bed. That is now his resting place. If you're a person who wants your dog to sleep in bed with you, fine. It's natural for dogs to sleep with other members of the pack, and it's a powerful way to bond with your animal. But don't let the dog take over the bed. Keep the rules clear. You invite the dog into the bedroom. Get in the bed for a few minutes, and then signal that your dog can come up. You choose the portion of the bed that the dog sleeps on. Sweet dreams.
• Every human in the household needs to be a pack leader. From your toddler to your elderly grandparents, your dog needs to respect everyone in the household as higher up on the dominance ladder than he is. This means that every human in the house has to live by the same set of rules, boundaries, and limitations. Discuss these together and make sure everybody considers them law. Remember, intermittent reinforcement creates an unpredictable dog that’s much harder to condition in the long run. So your 10-year-old can't sneak Max treats under the table if the family rule is no begging. You can't allow your dog to jump on the furniture when you're at home but not when your husband is in the house. Inconsistent leadership leads to an inconsistently obedient dog.
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Excerpted from Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems, copyright 2007 by Cesar Milan and Melissa Jo Peltier. Excerpted with permission from Random House. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
