Do you know what it looks like to advocate for your dog’s space? Would you feel comfortable stepping in if you had to? Do you know why it’s so important for your relationship with your dog that you get comfortable advocating for her?
What Does it Mean to Advocate for Your Dog?
Advocating for your dog’s space means standing up for her in situations where she’s uncomfortable. It means that you’ll step in and fix problems that arise so that she doesn’t have to. And that’s how you build trust, respect, leadership, and a dog that doesn’t feel the need to intervene when life gets hard. Because she knows you have her back.
It’s so important that your dogs see you as someone that will intervene if she’s uncomfortable:
- Don’t like that stranger? Don’t worry, I won’t let them pet you!
- Afraid of that scary mailbox we’re walking past? I’ll give you some extra space.
- Don’t want to play with that dog? I’ll tell it to stop!
If your dog doesn’t trust you, she’s going to advocate for herself. That means growling, barking, lunging, biting, and doing whatever she needs to do to keep the annoying/scary/frustrating thing away. Which we don’t want!
This means that you need to be incredibly vigilant and aware of your surroundings so that you can catch your dog’s body language and respond appropriately. If your dog looks uncomfortable, help her through it! Stand up for her, create space, and watch her trust in you grow as she realizes she doesn’t need to constantly defend herself. This can be little things or big scary things. The point is, if you’re consistent in showing your dog that you have her back, she’ll start coming to you when she needs help.
See it in Action
Let’s see it in action in a pretty normal scenario: we have three dogs playing, but Copper (the older yellow lab) isn’t interested and is getting grumpy every time the younger two try to wrestle with him. He was giving off really clear but patient signals that he didn’t want to play at first: walk away, turn his head away from the other dogs, and eventually he chose to lie down on the other side of the room.
Now, if we let the dogs figure this out for themselves (which so many owners do), Copper will eventually growl, snap, or chase the dogs away. But we don’t want him to get to the point that he’s so annoyed that he gets to that he needs to take it that far. It’s not fair to him. He’s been very clear and appropriate in his body language that he doesn’t want to play, so why would we let it continue?
So we need to step in and tell the younger dogs, “not today, you need to give him space.” This doesn’t have to be a harsh correction, but it does need to be clear so they understand they simply cannot play with Copper right now.
This does two things:
- It sets a very clear boundary for the younger dogs. There’s a lot they can do in their play right now, but playing with Copper simply isn’t one of them.
- It allows Copper to relax in the space without constantly having to worry about defending his space. He doesn’t mind the dogs’ energy, he just doesn’t want to engage with it. And that’s ok! So let’s make sure he knows that we have his back so he can participate as much or as little as he wants to.
Conclusion
Advocating for your dog’s space doesn’t have to be an intense or overly emotional experience. As you can see in this video, it can be as easy as stepping between two dogs and redirecting them to a different activity. This is essential for building your dog’s trust and showing her that you will take care of her.
Want a strong bond with your dog that can carry you through some pretty tough situations? Stand up for her when she needs help so that she doesn’t have to. Advocate. And watch her trust in you become something you’ve only dreamed of.