Hi, (again)

I've been reading some training literature and it would appear that my GSP perhaps thinks he may be the Alpha in our 'pack', or at the very least, second to me, but 'above' the other family members.

How do I go about re-structuring our 'pack' so that he knows where his position is, for his benefit and ours?

Thanks

You train your family members to treat him like a dog, if they do as you do you should not trouble. Never let you GSP forget he is a dog & not a child or your mate.

Could you expand on what you mean please?

As far as I'm aware, he is treat like a dog.

Wondered why you thought he was below you but above the rest of the household, if everyone treats him as you do then he will not think he is more important than the other humans. But if, say the kids treat him as an equal he will think he is and expect the same status.

He obeys me more than them and doesn't jump up/bite as much me as he does others.

But all they do is pet him and play with him, talk to him etc. Is this overboard, should he be locked away from the family so he knows he is not "one of us"?

Could you give us a few examples of his behaviour? Is he being agressive, or just not listening to commands from other members of the family? :)

It doesn't sound as though he's got a problem with his rank, just a problem with training.
Dogs learning is irritatingly context specific! A while ago I found out that my dog only understood 'sit' if the command was given when I was standing up. When you consider that, it's no wonder he only obeys one member of the family, if that's the only one that trained him.
The rest of the family need to do some training with him, and going back to basics as though he knows nothing. Everyone needs to be consistent with jumping up, fold your arms and turn you back on the dog and don't even look at him until he's on the floor. You may need to step away so that he can't lean on you. Make a big fuss of him when he's on the floor, it might be easier to teach him to sit when he greets people. Jumping up is not dominant behaviour, it's totally natural for him to want to be close to the people he loves. When he's sitting, bend down and greet him so he learns he doesn't need to jump up to get attention.
Your dog isn't being bossy or trying to take over, he just doesn't understand what is expected of him. Don't be too hard on him. Make sure everyone behaves consistently around him, and enjoy him.

regards,
Jo

Hello Talizman we have 4 kids plus new dog and always ensure the dog eats after us, no begging around the table, nobody is allowed to have the dog on a bed, chair etc and if the smallest kid issues a command say sit she has to stay withthe dog until he does it. On coming home my husband greets us all in order - me first then kids in age order then the dog - who will be going nuts for his atention. His access to the house is controlled by a stairgate and he NEVER gets to walk in front of a human through a door. Sounds a bit tough but it works for us. Keep at the pack until they demonstrate correct behaviour

Take a peek at www.dog-dominance.co.uk for an interesting viewpoint which i must say i share :)

Good luck with your GSP
:)

Lindsay

Lindsay,
really interesting link. I'd heard before that wild dogs don't form packs as we refer to them, so it's good that research has been done to prove it.

I look at my own dogs, who have a definite structure. Charlie is the boss, there is no doubt. However, when I throw a ball, if Len gets there first he will pick it up and run off with it, despite plenty of dog-swearing from Charlie! He knows what the 'alpha' dog wants, and ignores it anyway. There is no pattern with who goes out of doors first, or who eats first or anything like that. Len will not eat anything that Charlie is eating, even though Charlie isn't in the remotest food aggressive (Len's companion dog in his old home was though). I tend to view their relationship as not a hierarchy, just a combination of two individuals. Charlie is bossy (only with Len though) and Len is a wimp (only with Charlie). Interestingly, the roles are reversed when they meet other dogs, Charlie is submissive and squirmy, lies down then rolls on his back, you know the routine, where Len is confident and stands tall (he has no aggression in him though, the first sign that the other dog doesn't want to play and he backs off). I can only assume that as Len came to live with us when Charlie was already here, the psychological advantage was Charlie's, and that's never changed.

I think dominance is going to be a pretty controversial topic for a long time yet!!

Jo

Some good points Loreli, thanks.