This information has been put together specifically to help you make the best transition possible for your new canine companion. Your new canine companion is truly a pack orientated animal, so this means we humans must be very aware to treat them as a pack member within our social groups. The best way to treat your new companion as a pack member is by showing them that there is a set of rules that are easier for the dog to work within, rather than treating them as a human - which really only confuses the bond and relationship overall. Due to the fact the dogs are domesticated offspring of wild predator's which had a very strict pack working order, they much prefer to be shown the rules of the house simplified and precise.

We as humans often get this relationship completely mixed up and treat the dog as a surrogate family member. This type of treatment long-term always causes many behavioural problems that stem from the dog over bonding and becoming dependent, which will cause stress. This treatment will make the dog believe it is more important than all other family members. This makes the dog extremely more dominant which can cause many varied behavioural problems. A dog that has been environmentally enhanced to become very dominant will be a dog that will possess undue stress due to being incorrectly placed in the pack.

Some Suggestions For Handling Your New Dog:

1. Do not let your new companion up on beds or furniture. Reason: to allow your dog up on the bed or furniture gives the dog the wrong message that it is equal or even above you in the packing order. This will cause the dog to be elevated in its dominance, which could present itself as a problem should your lifestyle change and you need to bring in new persons especially children to the home environment. Solution: if you feel the need to have your dog inside, set a place of lower elevation such as a mat on the floor which is a special place for your dog. This will not elevate your dog’s dominance.
2. To have a dog inside the house is totally personal preference and both an inside dog or an outside dog can provide those needs necessary to be a great companion. It does take some effort and training to ensure the dog develops the social skills you require from it, but should you be willing to put in this time, you are dealing with the most adaptive animal on the planet bar none. Note: dogs definitely learn bad habits from both incorrect training and the lack of correct focused training. Most behavioural problems I see in dogs are due to poor training or lack of understanding, and the commitment to setting reasonable life skills and rules for the dog.
   
3. Have a place set out for your dog as its den. This should be a smaller room or area where the dog can go or be put to have some quiet time away from the normal daily running of the house, if it is a house dog. Should the dog be strictly an outside dog, it is also suggested that the dog have an area where it can be put. This can be it’s own denning or safety area, so the dog can get time out or be put away if children are rough housing, or should contractor's be brought in or new people need to come in and work around the house. Reason: In the wild dogs have an area that they go to lay and rest in which is referred to as a den. This is their safety area or their own personal space. Whilst I am not saying your dog should not be sociable, it should be totally reliable and sociable but it should also get time away from people or to give you a rest from it, should you spend a lot of time in the backyard. Note: The area you should pick should be out of the direct sun. A cool area that receives some breeze and affords shelter should a storm or rain come throughout the day whilst you are not in attendance. You must provide plenty of cool freshwater, and ensure the dogs safety from hazards such as toxic plants, electrical wires, sharp objects, household chemicals, and any thing that the dog could get tangled in and injured by.
4. The dog should have a place where it knows it will be fed and can acquire clean fresh water. This spot should be away from areas where children will play or people will enter and exit the house or yard. Reason: Many dogs will guard or become protective over an area where they are fed, so to have their feeding area away from entries or exits or places of high traffic can be a way of limiting this problem. Note: There are two trails of thought here, the first is that should the dog have the natural guarding instinct or a propensity to develop a natural guarding instinct it is better to control a possible problem than to have an accident. The second trail of thought is that with some dogs that do not have a high propensity for guarding or possession to have their food in high traffic areas will only desensitise them to ever developing possession or guarding. I have included both ways here so that you as the individual with your individual living environment and dog can correctly assess and choose the best possible outcome for your situation.
5. The dog should not be allowed to beg for food from the table or from any particular family member. If food is to be given from the table it is far better to have the dog do something for you such as a sit or drop to work for that reward in a learn to earn manner. Reason: This is a great way to teach your dog through repetition to work for you to gain attention or food or any other reward. It teaches your dog that compliance to your wishes is pleasant and will result in the dog also gaining a positive outcome. Note: Dogs are very adaptable and will learn quickly to try new behaviours in order to control you and the reward coming quicker. Be very aware many dogs will learn to bark or cry to try to elicit the reward, you must not ever give in to this ploy or you will be rewarding a severely unwanted behaviour.
6. As soon as the dog is brought home, this is the best time to start teaching the new rules of the household. These rules should include which rooms or areas the dog is definitely not allowed into. The rules should also point out to the dog when it is allowed inside and when it is not allowed in regardless of whether doors are left open or not. Reason: Should you let the dog settle in to its own routine, there will be definitely things it will learn that will need to be retrained at a later date! It is much easier to teach a new behaviour than it is to extinguish a bad or unwanted behaviour. Any change of environment or ownership or even to be split from the litter will definitely result in some level of stress, so it would be far better to have the dog coming in and deal with the stress once, it can learn all the new things slowly and sensibly right from the start and it will deal with the stress much better. Have a clear direction and correct pack structure that allows it to have lots of freedom and fun but to work within the set of family rules.
7. It is highly advised that the feeding regime should consist of the family members eating their meals before the dog eats. Reason: This technique emulates the wolf pack leader eating first in the Wolf pack giving the dog a clear message that the humans of the family are placed higher on the packing order than it. This mostly results in the dog being more pleasant to have around as a companion and showing far less dominance. Note: The recommended technique for feeding would be to have the dog sit and wait while you put the bowl down and the dog is only to eat once you have given it a release command from the sit position. I highly recommend not leaving food available all day for your dog. Have a feeding regiment in place, as this is the best subliminal message for your dog that you control the food, and that you are a great pack leader who shares once you have eaten. If there are children to be around this dog, it would be greatly advised to also never leave food out readily available as this often leads to guarding and food aggression.
8. A very important and powerful structuring tool is to control all doorways entries and exits; this should also count for entry and exit into motor vehicles including boarding boats. Method: Have the dog on a lead and collar or some sort of head control equipment whilst doing practice scenarios at doorways. This is done by having the dog walk up to the door with you and giving it a direction to wait or stay, then slowly opening the door whilst the dog is in a day or wait position and not trying to rush out the door. The dog should be praised for a good response and using the lead and equipment gently can be coerced into not going through the doorway until invited or told. This should be taught on both entries and exits to houses, cars, yards, rooms and any other place or situation where control is necessary and there is a definite point that the dog can readily identify.
9. For the first week of the dogs life in your new environment it would be best to have the dog on lead as much as possible, you can then control and shape the wanted behaviours you decide on as easily as possible. Reason: A dog that is off lead can easily avoid your directions by not coming, not going, or any other displacement behaviour that it chooses to not comply or totally disobey. I believe to have a lead and collar on will give far greater ability to correctly direct the dog and place the dog in the best learning outcomes to quickly and correctly teach the new rules. Many people will argue that this does not allow the dog to have free will; I am not advocating total control and no free time. I am clearly saying that this is the best way to direct and help the dog to quickly learn and achieve its ultimate freedom. This also does not allow the dog to learn as many bad habits by neglect or accident that later have to be corrected. Naturally as soon as the dog is learning the rules and receives several good repetitions with the correct amount of praise and reward it will be easier to maintain those behaviours, making both the dog and owner's lives far more pleasant. Note: The dog must receive free time or what we refer to as dog time, so that it gets to be a dog in a normal dog situation to explore and play. Remember: If you give your dog free time and you try to direct it to do something off lead and under too much stimulation, it will probably not comply or comply incorrectly and you will have allowed the dog to learn not to do as you ask, or that when it is a certain distance away from you, your ability is diminished and you can do nothing about its behaviour. This is why I'd choose to gently teach the dog straight from the beginning of its new life with you. I would also choose to teach these rules on lead, so there are no misconceptions or mishaps, which may arise to cause later problems.
10. If there are any staircases in your home or round your home it is advised to teach the dog to walk up or down those stairs behind you or in the heel position to your side. The dog is not to rush past you or try to beat you up or down the stairs, as this is very dangerous. Note: The dog can be taught to wait at the bottom whilst you go up or to wait at the top whilst you go down and only when you reach the top or the bottom can the dog use the stairs. Don't forget to reward the dog if it waits correctly at the top or the bottom of the stairs whilst you traverse the stairs. This will maintain the wanted behaviour correctly.

Remember
Never ever praise or reward any unwanted or bad behaviours, this only tells the dog that you are happy with that behaviour and that you would like to see more of this type of behaviour.

L U C K
Labour Under Correct Knowledge