If I Were an Alpha Dog, I'd be King of the Hill

Hey Bloggy Friends. I'm in a French mood today. The closest I'll get is talking about Cody, my Border Collie/Aussie mix dog. Cody sings with my Granddaughter (below) when Ashly plays Parisian street music on the accordion. It's hysterical. Guess it hurts her ears. I've had dogs all my life and Cody wins the smartest dog award. She chose me at 7 weeks. Runt of the litter, she sat between my feet and wouldn't budge. She takes commands so well and I've never had to train her. She trained herself!!!

I took Cody to an agility practice course and WOW, Wonder Dog, Star Attraction. She ran through the whole course with me running after her. Funny sight. Except the poles (I don't know the names of any of the equipment.) She didn't get that but I know she'd have it in little time. Below she's on the board that was 5 feet high. She ran straight across but I had to back her up for the picture. She would be a natural at agility but I don't have the time. Poor Cody. There goes her chance at stardom!!

Seventeen years ago , my son got his first dog, a Border Collie named Patsy. Zonnie was a winter guide at Vail so I said I'd spend the winter at the ranch and keep 9 month old Patsy. She thought she was alpha dog and ignored my instructions, in fact she'd actually nip and snarl when I gave her a command.

I thought the gentle method might work, but no, she needed a firmer hand. OK Patsy, I've trained dogs before. I'm going to show you I'm alpha dog. I put on winter jacket, stocking cap, heavy gloves and gave her a command that I knew she wouldn't obey. I wrestled her to the ground, belly up, with her snarling and really trying to bite me. I wanted her in the submission position as the under dog who had lost to the victor dog in a fight. I got on top of her, held her on her back with her paws on the floor by her head. It was a big struggle but she was not yet fully grown and I was younger... tee hee. She kept fighting, biting, snarling at me. I went as close to her jugular as I could and I growled like a dog. We kept locked in this position for at least 5 minutes. Gradually I could feel her giving up the struggle. Thank god. I was sweating and getting very tired. Finally I felt her body completely relax and I let her up. I walked away and called her. She came immediately and flipped on her back and bared her belly to me. Submission. It worked. I became alpha dog and for the rest of her life, she showed submission whenever I called her.

I didn't need any of that with Cody. She recognized me as alpha dog from the start. That absolutely has to be established before a dog can be trained. When you see the dogs that pull the owner on a leash, RIGHT, you know who's the alpha dog. (And it ain't the human!!!)

Do you have any dog training experiences for us?