As many of you know, I adopted a German Shepherd mix in September. I went to the shelter looking for a small dog and left with a dog that was three days away from the needle. But - as you can probably guess - she is not small!
She is a lovely dog when in the house and during obedience training. Yet when we meet other dogs on our walks, she starts shaking and barking like crazy. All the books and videos talk about how being a strong leader will reduce her anxiety and poor behavior. Sounds simple since the same logic holds in a classroom.
There is one major difference - she is a dog. She doesn't respond to a stern look or a deep voice when she starts to get scared. I have to be completely preventative and work on training.
Recently a blog article about space and leadership made me slap (figuratively) my forehead.
With a dog and two birds, I tend to allow animals to have the run of their own areas. The bird is allowed on the counter to shred her beloved paper and the dog has the run of the house. I recently learned though that dogs express leadership through space. So each time I stepped over her, I was inadvertently telling her that she is the leader since I will move for her. Amazing! As soon as I read that piece of information - I immediately thought of young teachers who allow students to act inappropriately in "their space" - the classroom! I immediately started to make the dog move for me the way I would make students move for me in the hallway and it has made a tremendous difference!
Take away tidbit - Own your space with your presence and leadership!
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