Here's a problem hitting close to my home: a pet that accepts you as the "alpha" but considers himself to be your household's VP! North definitely listens to me better than anyone, and often gives me a glance if someone else tries to get him to do something.
Last night's episode of Greatest American Dog featured a challenge where the competitors tried to get each other's dogs to misbehave while the owner attempted to hold their pooch's attention and sit-stay. Hmm, this is quite the dilemma. While it's important for our pets to respond to us, what happens when someone else is calling your dog to do something either good or bad?
Is it possible to strike up a balance between obeying you, but knowing when to heed warnings from strangers? On behalf of all pups involved (and my second-in-command at home), how would you recommend training a pet to listen to others . . . as well as yourselves?
I didn't like this challenge on the show. I didn't know what exactly it proved. In my opinion, Andrew would have lost since no one else can get him to do anything. But to answer your question... I think it is important that your dog listens to others but knows what to listen to. For example, if my dog gets out of the backyard and is running in the street, I would hope she would listen to someone to get her to stop.
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