Owning a dog, especially a Jack Russell, is not as easy as bringing him home, feeding him, and playing with him. Having a dog involves a commitment on your side. As such, one of the first things you will need to prepare for your dog is that he participate in dog obedience training.

However, to make it easier for you to train your dog in obedience, you will need to establish this role popularly known as the “Alpha Dog” role. In this role, you are assigning yourself to become the leader of your terrier’s pack. It is important that you adopt this position because you can adjust your perceptions to be more like your dog, and not the other way around. Dogs also cannot understand the consequences of their actions.

In the role of Alpha Dog, you will need to perform a specific set of tasks on a daily basis. This set of actions established the control and structure necessary to shape your dog’s life. Ideally, you should start implementing these strategies as soon as possible.

I would like to share with you some of the strategies that I have used with success.

Alpha leader strategies

It is important that you do these things on a daily and consistent basis so that it becomes a part of you, your dog, and your family’s lifestyle. You should come up with a set of “rules”, as then it is easier to enforce them if something is not in accordance with those rules. The rules could be something simple, like not yelling at your dog when he barks excessively, etc.

As an Alpha leader, you will need to make sure you observe and practice the following:

• Organize and make the whole family understand the rules

• Implement and enforce the rules immediately, as soon as you bring your dog or puppy home.

• Be consistent in applying the rules

• Never apply the rules when you are angry or tired.

• Never yell or hit your dog

• Never reinforce aggressive or fearful behavior

• Always reward good behavior with affection and treats.

Your Jack Russell is a very intelligent dog. Even with the established rules, he will always challenge you for the position of Alpha Dog unless you establish this domain first. Here are some important factors to consider in the process of establishing yourself as the Alpha Dog.

• Be calm and assertive – As a leader, you must be calm and confident at all times. You must always be consistent and persistent in your actions. On your dog’s side, before you allow him to do anything, you must demand that he remain calm and submissive. This is especially important during leash training and feeding time. Training your dog to be calm and submissive will also make it easier to avoid the symptom of anxious behavior commonly known as separation anxiety.

• Reward your dog – like all of us, dogs can be conditioned with rewards. For example, when you train your Jack Russell to sit and give him a treat the first 10 times he sits, it will be associated with the fact that sitting is a good thing. Later, you can replace the treat with praise, and chances are, you still sit around because you expect your positive attention. Eventually, simply responding to your command will suffice.

• Body language is key: dogs respond to many stimuli and body language is one of them. Stand tall, keep your head straight, and don’t back off when addressing them. You don’t need to look into their eyes or yell at them, and you should always maintain confidence and complete control.

Understand how to be an alpha dog to your Jack Russell and you will find that your dog will respond to your commands and will also be easier to train and obedient. On top of that, the dog problems your friends are having with their dogs are strangely no longer present in your Jack Russell when you become their Alpha leader.