In June 2006, I brought home arguably the World’s Cutest Puppy. I named my little Welsh Corgi Miles. I worked hard to house train him and he was a really fast learner! Corgis are herding dogs and they are extremely intelligent.
By 6 months old, he was already showing signs of Small Dog Syndrome. Here he is attacking my parents’ Siberian Husky Natasha. Of course I made attempts to stop this behavior, and things got easier when I moved to Brighton, MA and Miles became an only child
Last night Miles was particularly miserable. He spent most of the evening guarding his food bin and growling whenever Jared or I walked by. Jared did some research on DogBreedInfo.com and discovered what I’ve known from the beginning. Miles is a textbook case for Small Dog Syndrome.
First and foremost, he believes he is the pack leader to us humans. He’s been allowed to get away with “cute” behaviors that mean something different to him than they do to us. When Miles jumps on us, it’s amusing. But Miles thinks he’s asserting dominance and forcing us to respect him. Dogs view space as a sign of respect. Each time we let Miles jump on us, he’s invading our space and doing some major doggie disrespecting.
Since Miles thinks he’s the pack leader, he tries to make the schedule. He demands when he wants to be petted and cuddled. Even if I’m trying to work on the blog, Miles will force his way onto my lap. I am a sucker and just let him stay there because he’s my little baby. Whenever he plops himself on my lap, Miles is also claiming me and proving that he owns me. I am completely misinterpreting signs of dominance as signs of love and affection.
There’s a long list of traits that dogs will exhibit when they think they’re above humans: Stubbornness, headstrong willfulness, demanding, pushiness, aggressiveness, begging, sitting in high places to look down on everyone, guarding a human from others approaching, persistence in going in and out of doorways before humans, etc.
Oh no…I am picturing Miles as he perches at the top of the stairs and looks down on us in the apartment!
Overall, Miles is a GREAT dog and I love him a lot. I’ve done my best to train him. He’s really smart, never goes to the bathroom in the house, doesn’t chew things, and is generally a happy dog. But he does have some issues! I’m looking for a dog training book to see if Jared and I can correct these problems ourselves before Miles’ Small Dog Syndrome gets worse.
Do you have any helpful advice on dog training and how I can overcome Miles’ Small Dog Syndrome?
COMMENTS
6 Comments
1. Lisa
November 3rd, 2009 02:47 PM
I bought all of Cesar Milan’s books about bein dominant assertive with my dogs and different tips etc are in there! You might try those. I love watching Dog Whisperer!
Miles is a cutie though!
2. melissa
November 3rd, 2009 02:54 PM
Thanks Lisa! He’s cute but sometimes I swear he’s possessed! Haha.
I’m leaning towards Cesar Milan’s books right now. We thought about nominating him to be on the Dog Whisperer (LOL), but I don’t think Cesar will travel to Boston.
3. joy
November 3rd, 2009 04:08 PM
100% recommend Cesar Millan’s books “Be The Pack Leader” in particular will help with leadership issues – I got it on CD at the library and listened to it in the car!
Also he is doing a show here: Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009 Agganis Arena Boston, MA
4. Jeffrey L. New
November 3rd, 2009 11:12 PM
I am not sure what you are looking for but there are a lot of training products at For dogs http://tinyurl.com/yk4lodl
5. Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)
November 3rd, 2009 11:39 PM
I don’t have any advice but I wanted to say, Miles is so so freaking cute!
6. Natasha
November 6th, 2009 07:42 PM
Take it from one who knows! you should rush to the book store right away to get the Cesar Millan books…as many as you can carry and read them immediately. Teach that beast to calm down and be civil. I can’t stand him when he visits me and eats all my food. He is also a pain when we go walking. I’m not being mean just honest. Good Luck!!!
Just be consistant when you decide to work with him.