Sunday, July 27, 2025

Search

Making Life Work — Grooming a Teen for Life: Becoming Alpha

By Judith Coche

“A dog that knows his place in his human pack is a happy dog”
Dog breed information
This is the last segment of the first of a series on The Making of a Therapy Dog. Later segments deal with training the mature dog. But why do a series on Therapy Dog training? The series has great import for you, your family and your community:
1. Raising a pup requires parenting skills used with children. .
2. Therapy dogs enhance healing in settings from intensive care units to public schools.
3. The loyalty and good judgment of the therapy dog is a model of human caring.
Have you ever parented an adolescent intent on being correct despite lacking the good judgments needed to understand the situation? Then you will recognize the parallels as we tell a story about Oakley Anderson, our six-month-old Portuguese Water Dog. Well-meaning trainers have warned “Just wait til adolescence sets in. Oakley will try to be boss.” They were right.
Just as Oakley turned six months old, Godmother Cathy Kalb and I decided to groom her soft black hair. We wanted to create the famous Portuguese water dog tail out of the long stringy banner that waved behind her. Further, her ear hair was too long, making her look shaggy. So, we included a long dried “chewie” for Oakley’s chewing pleasure and began a short grooming session by trimming the side of her face.
“Oakley, this won’t hurt,” Cathy cooed reassuringly. But the scissors alarmed her and her instinct was to fight back. She threw her body from side to side. Her sudden head turns would make the task dangerous, so I placed one hand on each side of her face. Though completely safe, she lurched towards me defensively, teeth flashing and eyes a blaze. I stared into the chocolate puppy eyes. “Guess who owns you, Oakley?” My voice was calm and deep. “I do.”
Her eyes resolutely met my gaze, creating a showdown with my 32-pound pup. My heart beat fast and my face was flushed but I held her gaze until Oakley looked away, allowing me to trim her face. “What a good girl.” My voice turned to velvet. “I am very proud of you. I promise I am here to take care of you.” I breathed deeply and felt satisfied that I had achieved another step in establishing Alpha.
Therapy dogs must be friendly to patients with unusual movements and needs, like schizophrenics and stroke victims. The dogs help heal lives by offering them soft hair or fur to pet, sincere eyes to look into, and companionship. For example, Oakley’s predecessor, Whitby, would light up Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital on Christmas Eve by visiting kids in intensive care and pediatric heart transplant.
To maneuver tricky medical situations, the dog must follow the owner’s lead. “Because I said so,” is often the right answer. “You will sit because I said so.” “You will stay because I said so.” The dog simply cannot question every move.
The challenge, of course, is how to do this with a young pup. Training the pup to trust the owner as the Alpha leader of the pack is crucial in creating the necessary human-canine bond that promotes healing. Fortunately, dogs are social, pack-oriented animals. Each pack has a leader: in wolf society, this individual is called the “alpha.” The Alpha makes key pack decisions. Without this leader, a dog will feel lost and unstructured.
Since nobody wants to frighten and abuse their therapy pup in training, establishing this leadership position requires a combination of behavior and body language. Here are tricky steps involved in becoming the top dog for your dog:
1. Praise the dog confidently, warmly and quickly, with a “Yes!” for good behavior.
2. Reprimand the dog fairly and quickly, then forgive and praise the dog.
3. Give commands only if you can follow through and give the command only once.
4. Teach the dog to look to you for approval and permission instead of making decisions on his own.
5. Be tough, but loving, handling the dog with dignity, confidence, authority, and intelligence.
Your Dog Will be Happier. Since dogs really are unable to live alone in our world, dogs must understand what is expected of him. This firm and loving training is the insurance policy for your dog’s continued safety in his world. Becoming Alpha is what keeps your pup free to grow into the balanced dog that can heal others.
To Consider: How do I assert my leadership within my human family? Do I take the Alpha position gracefully or must I bully my way with my loved ones?
To Read: Karen Prior. Don’t Shoot the Dog.2006, Ringpress Books
Dr. Coche is owner of The Coche Center, a practice in Clinical Psychology in Rittenhouse Square, Phila. and Stone Harbor. She can be reached by email via www.cochecenter.com.

Something on your mind? Spout about it!

Spout submissions are anonymous!

600 characters remaining

Check out the new Spout Off!

Most Read

Print Editions

Recommended Articles