There are certain times when you should ignore your dog. The thinking behind that is the behaviour of dogs and their pack behaviour which will be explained more in this article. It is important that you do not ignore your dog all the time, because your dog is more than just an animal that co-exists with you.

Why You Should Not Ignore Your Dog

People tend to overthink dog behaviour and they try to add human features to a dog such as that they have human feelings and they believe that their dog can feel unloved, jealous, hurt or left out. A dog’s affection towards us is something that many dog owners live for. That moment when you get home, and your dog is so excited to see you. There is much more to the story.

When your dog gives you the sad puppy dog eyes and you instantly feel guilty or the need to fuss over your dog, then you have just given him power over you. That look is not something that they do to get attention, they just know that they will get a certain reaction from their human when they use it.

What Does Your Dog See?

From your dog’s perspective, you are a part of his pack. You want to establish yourself as the alpha early in the relationship or you will have a dog that does not listen and does a lot of naughty things including sleeping on your bed. Pack animals stay in their territory because if they are alone outside of it, they may encounter an enemy. When you return home from an absence whether it is a short one or a long one, your dog will want to sniff you to ensure that you are ok and all in one piece. Your dog is checking you to find out your overall condition and make sure that you are unharmed. Some dogs take a more aggressive approach and seem extremely worried when their human returns.

Once you return to the home territory, your dog will want to re-establish the roles of the pack because the hierarchy may have changed since you left. Your actions will dictate whether your dog still sees you as the alpha or if they are now in charge. As the alpha, you will give your dog attention when it suits you, not when you are asked for it by your dog. Instead of ignoring your dog, you will need to time your greeting. You will be greeting your dog, but you need to do it when you are ready. This signals to your dog that you will greet him, but you will do that when you are ready.

In doing this, you are providing your dog with communication in his own language that you have every intention of caring for your pack and he does not need to take on the responsibility.

What Happens When You Ignore Your Dog?

When you return to your home base after being away at work or wherever you may have been, your dog will check you out and see that you are intact and unharmed. They will understand that you have returned and will care for them. This will allow them to relax and not be anxious or stressed out. Once your dog receives this message, it will calm down and probably lie down and relax.

When you notice that your dog has relaxed you will then want to invite them to you for an interaction on your terms. Now that you have established that your dog has nothing to worry about then you can offer them your affection. This will make your dog happy.

What Happens if you do not Ignore Your Dog?

When you arrive home and your dog is all worked up and you interact with him, he is stressed and the fact that you acknowledge him in that state solidifies that he has a reason to be stressed. You are also showing your dog that you are not caring for him properly. You have effectively put your dog in charge, and he will become the pack leader with all those responsibilities. This is when behaviour problems occur. Ignoring your dog when you return home is not the answer to all the problems that you may be experiencing, but it is a very important step.

Today’s society has humans looking for circumstances and events around we to associate with happiness. We do not need animals or situations to make us happy, we just make the choice. A dog is a pack animal that needs certain things from you, and you must know how to provide him with what he needs, or he will be very anxious and develop serious behaviour issues. Ignoring your dog is part of what he needs, and you need to learn how to do this effectively.

Paws Claws Tails provides dog training in the Sunshine Coast