Training and conduct of dogs
Even though it is sometimes hard to imagine, the truth is that a dog pet that has been brought up as a member of the family, still conserves a lot of the things his forefathers, the wolves had. It's very important to learn to communicate with our animals as it results very useful. Ever since a dog is a puppy he should be exposed gradually to the most amounts of people, places, and new experiences as possible so that when he grows up he is not an afraid and shy dog.
Social structure and hierarchy of a dog pack
Dogs originally came from wolves, but thousands of years of selective breeding has transformed the way they look as well as the way they behave. Wolves live in packs of at least two and of different ages. The social organization of these is based on a well defined hierarchy structure, with different levels of power for the males as well as the females. Wolves socialize with each other through certain types of codes that express dominance or submission. The strongest male and female wolves dominate the rest of the pack. They have certain rights and privileges above the others and they are respected, some of the things they have rights over are, reproducing, eating before the rest, picking out the best place to sleep in etc. This authority also requires for them to protect the rest of the pack. Another ritual that is always respected is if the pack needs to go through a very narrow place, the male and female leaders always go by first. Wolves do not have to fight to maintain their dominating status; the socially inferior wolves just respect them by instinct.
"Human packs": When a dog lives within a family, he considers them his pack. From the very first moment that a puppy enters the house, he is observing what is going on around him and trying to define who the dominating male is or female and what place he occupies inside the hierarchy structure. Teaching a dog what place he belongs in takes time. During this time, the dog must learn what his social position is inside the family. Once the dog or puppy has learned where he belongs and what role he plays, you can begin to give him other privileges. Remember though, that the hierarchy inside a pack is not always permanent, and on certain occasions, if you treat the dog too aggressively, he may try to take over and become the leader.
