What if I told you that your dog would be happier if they weren't accidentally tripping you everyday?

And you would be happier, too. Over the last three weeks, I have focused my newsletters on spatial respect and boundaries. Why? Because this is what I am hearing back from clients about most frequently. "Okay, we've got a good structure of exercising and socializing our dog. But how do we help them learn boundaries in the house?" Boundaries are to a dog what schedules are to a person.

They need the structure of rules and limitations, and you need the sanity of knowing they will respect those rules when you enforce and reinforce them. Do yourself the favor of teaching your dog these two words: get out. The thing about dogs understanding of body language is: the most dominant dog is the one who the other dogs move around.

Why am I so passionate about this topic? Because by tripping over your dog as they lie or walk in your path, you are basically telling them in their own language, "I want you to tell me where I'm allowed to go. This is your space, after all." The problem with this is that your dog will begin to enforce their own spatial rules if you don't enforce yours. Sooner or later, someone will set the rules. I want you to be as happy as you can be with your dogs behavior, which is why I recommend that it be 1) sooner, and 2) your rules.

Teaching your dog the command "get out" is simple: send them out of your space, and reward them for giving you space. You can throw them a toy, toss them a treat, or simply say, "good job". You can either start with teaching them how to back up, and build on that from an obedience standpoint, or you can simply make it less convenient for them to be under foot by sending them out with your body language and then rewarding them for doing so.