by Tim Rosanelli

Created on: October 09, 2007

How I changed my dog's problem behaviors in one day

I barely woke up on a cool September morning when my wife let our German Sheppard, Sachi, outside. We own an Invisible Fence that surrounds our property. Sachi is a nervous and very territorial dog but we never had problems with her because she stays inside the limits of the Invisible Fence area - at least, until this morning.

This cool September morning, Sachi ran through the fence and after a lady walking her dog. We heard the barking and screams from inside. Instantly, we got Sachi back to house. Thank god, she did not bite the startled passersby.

We noticed the weeks leading up to this incident that her territorial behavior was getting worse. Now, we could no longer ignore the problem. I knew I needed to train her or risk her biting someone or worse

So I read everything on the internet that I could on dog training. Some advice was bad like close your curtains so they would not bark at activity outside and some of it was excellent. Here are the steps that changed my dog's attitude in less than a day.

Respect First
We love our dog and she loves us but that does not mean that she respects me. The key of great dog behavior is demanding respect first. Dogs need leadership and they respect a strong leader. It's in their pack mentality. After the incident, I began the process of becoming Sachi's leader. Being your dog's leader goes beyond bribing them with treats to perform tricks. It's about the dog recognizing you as the leader of the family pack.

Target Specific Behaviors
Instead of a shotgun approach to training, I thought about specific behaviors I desired to change in my dog.

Three specific behavior came to mind.
1. Pulling on her leash typically, my dog would race ahead of me, dragging me behind.
2. Going crazy in the car we avoided driving her in the car because she'd drive us nuts with her barking, whining, and restless behavior.
3. Aggressive behavior - inside or outside the house towards other dogs

The Toolbox
To fix any dog behavioral problem, we need a toolbox of basic dog commands. Sachi already knew some basic commands but we only haphazardly employed them. I used the following commands to change her behavior, sit, down, stay, and heel.

Leash pulling
I worked on the leash pulling with a heel command. Dogs interrupted you letting them running ahead of you as a sign that they are the leader. The Heel command means that the dog walks at your side. The instant that your dog walks even a step ahead you give them a

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