Claiming Your Space

1. Claiming space is a very basic concept in the animal kingdom.  Animals are constantly having "conversations" with each other about space - projecting energies back and forth that say, for example, "That is my couch; I can share, but it is my couch first."  If you have more than one dog, or even a dog and a cat, and there is an area of the house or a toy that one of them likes to claim, sit quietly some time and observe how their body language, energy, and eye contact interact to create a very clear communication.  You can even learn to feel the energy of the conversation.  We have to develop the abitlity to have the same kinds of communications with our dogs that they do with each other.

2.  Knowing how to claim space from your dog is vital if you want to be able to control unwanted behaviors.  It is not about being a bully or "showing your dog who's boss."  Again, it's a very basic communication skill that will allow you to be able to disagree with a dog's behavior without ever having to resort to anger or frustration.  You are claiming a small part of space, not the whole universe!  A couch is a space.  A bed is a space.  A room is a space.  Your dog will accept the rules of how to behave in that space if you claim it.  In the house, is it you or your dog signing those mortgage checks?  Then don't feel bad about setting the rules for how to behave in it.

3.  Claiming space means using your body, your mind and your energy to "own" what you would like to control.  For instance, if a dog rushes people who come to the door, you can keep her from coming too close by standing firm, putting your hands on your hips, and claiming the door.  You create a circle of space around "your door" and between you and the dog.  The way I claim an area like a door is the same strategy a sheep-herding dog would use to claim space away from a sheep that is straying from the flock.  I move forward, and then I go around the dog, lookin g at her at the same time, telling her in my mind to move away from what belongs to me.  If I go and pull her away from the door, I only intensify her need to claim it.  Pulling a dog back makes her brain go forward.  I recommend you watch a videotape of a herding dog.  As she goes around a herd of huge cattle, communicating where she wants the cows to go while never touching the cows, she is saying, "Stay out of this space - go into that space."  Everything she does is psychological.  The cow, sheep, goat, etc, are completely different species, but they all understand exactly what the dog wants them to do.  We are animals, too - we just let words and our big brains get in the way of this instincual form of communication.

4.  When you project an invisible line that your dog is not allowed to cross without your say-so, if you do the exercise with 100 percent focus and commitment, you will be shocked at how quickly your dog comes to understand exactly where that line is.  If a dog barks at the window, you can get her to stop barking if you firmly claim the window.  What you're saying is, " This window belongs to me, and I disagree with you barking at it."  If I yell at the dog and say, "NO, Kane, stop it!  Be quiet!"  I'm expressing weak, frustrated energy and not claiming that space.  Once again, I'm wasting my energy trying to control a behavior with human language and rationality, when I can simply take a page from Mother Nature's time-tested playbook and do what animals do with each other.

5.  When you pull things away from a dog, you're either inviting her to compete for it or you're inviting her to play.  If your intention is to play, then fine.  But if your intention is to stop the game before play behavior leads to possessiveness, you must firmly claim the toy so the animal will let it go.  When you claim objects, your dog will give them to you if you are providing the right energy.  You cannot be hesitant and you must be totally clear about your intention.  You can't be "negotiating" with your dog - "Baby, please give me the toy?" - either mentally or verbally.  Your dog will not take it personally.  She doesn't have a problem giving you what she now knows belongs to you!

Many people worry that their dogs will resent them, or they will break their dog's "spirit" by not letting them have their favorite toy any time they want it.  But letting your dog have and keep anything she wants can lead to obsessiveness, and obsessiveness is not healthy.  Part of your job as an owner/handler/guardian is to set rules, boundaries, and limitations for your dog to keep any frustration she might have from being channeled into obsession.

From: https://web.archive.org/web/20110410021036/http://www.seizetheleash.com/newsletters/volume3issue304072011.html