THE "NO FREE LUNCH" PRINCIPLE

The "NO Free Lunch" Principle

Have you ever wished you had more control of your dog?

Do you wish he didn't get overly excited for visitors, constantly barking when they come to the door, or jumping on them when they come inside your home?Do you wish he would always listen to you... even when he's heavily distracted or excited?
What if I told you if you changed just one thing in your dog's life, you'd have a more manageable dog who behaves himself ALL the time. 
Would you want to know what to change?
Let me explain...You see, every animal in this world comes from a long genetic background that heavily influences how the animal thinks.  Some animals have evolved to be self sufficient and can survive on their own; where an animal like a dog isn't genetically coded to do well on it's own. Dog's live in packs.And centuries of breeding and evolving have given dogs the tools they need to stay alive in a pack situation.They've learned skills like: How to tell what dog in the pack calls the shots, Who's going to lead the hunting party for food tonight, Social skills at reading their pack members moods, When to leave certain dogs alone.

So thousands of years of breeding has taught your dog a thing or two about the best ways to stay alive in this world and maintain order in a pack situation.  In a VERY real sense this skill set is a "Pack Language" and... all dog's know THIS "Pack Language" And one of the most IMPORTANT principals of the "Pack Language" that your dog is genetically programmed to follow, is the concept of following, obeying & respecting the leader of the pack. So here's the deal... all dogs get confused when their humans, (YOU) don't ALSO know and understand at least a little bit of this Pack language. And if you don't make an attempt to learn a few words and concepts of this "Pack Language" you're probably going to run into some problems controlling your dog.Because you'll be sending him mixed signals! You'll try to use HUMAN words to get him to do things, instead of using "Pack Language" words, behaviors and mannerisms to get obedience.

Here's a few examples of what I mean...

Example #1) The leaders of a dog pack all sleep together, while the puppies and other dog's do NOT.  So just the act of letting your dog crawl in bed with you every night to you means that you're being nice to your dog... but in "Pack Language" it means he's a pack leader too.  Is that what you want?
Example #2) In the wild, a hunting party of Wolves (where all dog's originally came from) will let the leader of the pack lead the hunting party. He runs at the front of the pack. So if you're letting your dog walk through a door, or always pull on the leash, in "Pack Language" you're sending a VERY clear message to your dog that he's the one running the show... NOT you.Again, is this the message you want to send?
Example #3) One of the roles of a leader of the pack is to protect the pack from danger.  He protects the packs territory, and scares off or attacks intruders. So when your dog is barking, snarling, or growling at intruders, in Pack language you're letting him take on the role of the leader of the pack by LETTING him PROTECT your home.

And the REAL problem is...

That by letting your dog be the LEADER of your home, he automatically behaves more defiantly.  Leaders lead, they don't follow orders from others. So what can you do with your dog to start regaining the leadership role in your home, get your dog to let go of his leadership roles and finally let you take the reigns? What I recommend, and the strategy that seems to help transfer leadership of your home BACK to you and away from your dog is teaching your dog "there is no such thing as a free lunch".And I call this the "No Free Lunch Plan"

What is a No Free Lunch Plan?

It means that VERY literally, for your dog to get ANYTHING it wants it has to earn it. If it wants to go outside it has to learn that it CAN go play outside, and even get extra rewards and play time outside... but only if he waits at the door UNTIL you give him permission to go outside. It means that in order to go to the bathroom he has to ask you if he can go outside by ringing a bell. If he wants to be pet, he has to sit or lay down first. It means that you shouldn't let your dog have access to a full food bowl all day long... instead he should have feeding times, and he should have to sit, or hold a stay or perform some other type of behavior to earn the right to eat. I realize this may sound a bit more disciplinarian that you might like, or be comfortable with.  You might not want your dog to be handled this way. You may like being able to greet an excited dog by giving him a hug, or kissing his face or wrestling with him.  You may think it's mean to leave him hungry and not have food all day. But you NEED to remember that your dog does NOT speak ENGLISH as a 2nd language.  He speaks "Pack Language"... and he's not really good at learning new languages, especially ours.So we need to get better at learning their languages. We need to start realizing that dogs will either treat you as a pack leader or they'll BECOME the pack leader.  And you can either leave this to chance, or you can take active steps to determine which kind of dog yours will be. You'll find that some dogs will let you take charge easily, while others will be more defiant.  But just be observant.Watch for your dog taking the leadership role.And do your BEST to learn how to stop these behaviors before they start.

........ with thanks to Chet Womak   For more of Chet's training material and manuals visit
                                                     "Hands Off Dog Training Program"
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