Deb
Posted : 3/11/2006 6:28:35 PM
ummm.... leash him and tie the leash to a piece of furniture?
put him in a crate?
in another room?
Sarcasm aside, it's really important to control your dog's behavior and access to anything, and it's really easy to do so. We think of dogs as having so much agency--they tear things apart, get into the garbage, bolt out the door... but that's not really a good relationship to build with a dog.
Dogs don't need this kind of agency, and don't know what to do with it when they have it. They don't know about cars and electricity and poison, so obviously it's important to keep them safe. More importantly, when owners make the mental shift away from giving dogs so much freedom, then *everything* you allow your dog access to comes from you and can be taken away from you. This makes you a powerful leader, and that's where you want to be.