I have found that training the family dog has very little to do with the dog! It has a lot to do with the emotional baggage humans put on their pets. Intentional or not this human behavior can have a dramatic effect on the pet. Examples of this are: the crate is prison even though it will help prevent the house from being destroyed or the family dog is the baby therefore the owner treats him like a baby by carrying the pet everywhere or partaking in very long "goo goo ga ga" hellos and goodbyes which can create separation anxiety. In order to effectively help the dog I have to weed through the emotional baggage. I also try to relate to pet owners and their baggage. I relate to pet owners concerns and beliefs. This help them feel comfortable and brings defenses down. Then I can get everyone on the same page. I can't walk into a family training session and say this is the way it's done and that's that. Poor dog doesn't have a chance. Also by modeling training techniques everyone can see the techniques work. Once they see it work, they want to try and the training power struggle dissipates slightly. So yes, I think we have to understand Freud and all the rest of them in order to help the pet and the family. I have found it very important to be direct with my clients. It's important to help them see this isn't about them, it's about the dog and not take peeing on the rug as a personal vendetta! Maria Ryan, CPDT Dog Gone Positive

As a psychologist and psychoanalyst I believe a knowledge of Freud can be helpful in understanding a power struggle between family members in training the family dog. Freud offers us a way of looking as our human development issues that is insightful in helping us understand our effect on others both humans and other living beings. Be sure that I am not suggesting anyone run out and buy “The Complete Works of Sigmund Freud” in order to train the family dog. As far as being a dog trainer, Freud was not too great considering the fact that one of his Chows bit his biographer Ernest Jones on the tush - a fact Jones never forgot. In dealing with training the family dog, power struggles often appear in the guise of a lack of consistency in actions and use of training words by family members. As with training kids it is imperative that there be a consistency in the use of words and method.

The major power struggles I see in my practice are: I am the better parent The dog loves me best I understand what the dog needs better than all of you. The best way to understand any power struggles in training the family dog is to help each person remember back to their own childhood and explore the issues that might still be getting in the way of the real work of dog training.

I was invited to be on a local TV call-in pet program. A woman called to report that she recently adopted a bitch from the local family shelter. She described the bitch as very pretty, very gentle, very smart, very attentive and very playful. (notice the excessive use of 'very' in this description). She brought the bitch home and her older bitch ignored the new arrival. Some time later the older dog was becoming increasingly hostile and aggressive toward the new dog. There was a two year difference between the dogs and both were neutered. She said she probably should just return the new dog and then admitted, with some embarrassment, that she liked the new dog more than the older dog who was being so mean and jealous. I asked the woman if I could ask her a few questions and she agreed. Was she an only child? "No, I had an older sister" What was she like? "She hated me from day one we never got on she was always mean and jealous." (Notice the use of the same words in describing the older dog) What is the age difference between you? "She is two years older." (Same difference between the dogs). We explored how her parents handled the situation which of course was not very well. The woman started to make the connections concerning her real issue here. She had no trouble replying "I see what's going on and need to get help I need a really good dog trainer here to help me. Thanks very much." Joel Gavriele-Gold, PhD. Private practice: specializing in human/pet interactions. Author: "When Pets Come Between Partners: How to keep Love- and Romance - in the Human/Animal Kingdom of Your Home.