When I was growing up, I loved the Marmaduke Sunday Cartoon. It was always so funny to watch that family struggle with big ‘ol Marmaduke. But as I got older, and started to extend my love for dogs past the Sunday Funnies, and into adopting and raising them, I realized that having big ‘ol Marmaduke in real life is far less fun than reading of his antics in the Sunday comic strip.
So what do you do when you have a big (or even a small…because size really does not matter) ‘ol domineering dog at home? It can be hard, frustrating and downright infuriating at times.
Well, one thing that can be done to help is to continually remind the dog who is in charge. This is very helpful with dominant dogs, because they see themselves as the leaders. While in your house you need to set ground rules which serve as a continual reminder of who is in charge. For example, during dinner time as your family eats the dog should wait its turn. Not only should it wait, but it shouldn’t even have a place near or around the table. A boundary should be set, and this will help the dog to remember its place.
For more helpful advice on dealing with dominant dogs, see Cesar’s blog entry on 5 ways to handle that dominant dog.
Have fun, and oh…tell Marmaduke I said hi!
