"Look at how your dog looks back at you!"

"Look at how your dog looks back at you!"

I've gotten that comment many times over the years.  Watching episodes of The Dog Whisperer on YouTube, I guess I'm left wondering...why aren't your dogs looking back at you?

My dog was a rescue, at 10 months old.  It was apparent from day one, that he had never been walked on a leash, and was discouraged from barking.  Actually, he hadn't seen much of the world, and it scared him like you wouldn't believe.  He didn't trust anyone.  He was in really bad shape, so skinny that you could feel all of his ribs and bones.

The first thing he did when he got home was to run to the sofa and hide his head between the sofa and the wall, with just his butt sticking out; figuratively, he stuck his head in the sand.  He was that scared of the entire world.

We went from having never walked on a leash (that was a crazy experience!) to walking off-leash in a matter of a few months after he came home.  I actually started training him to walk off leash in about a month.  I'm no Cesar Milan, though; he'd probably have my dog walking off leash and well-behaved in a week.

My dog looks back at me, because he knows I'm the alpha.