How to Tame Your Dog
To tame your dog, try teaching it a few basic commands, like "sit," "stay," and "lie down," so you can show your dog that you're in charge when you need it to do something. Training an unruly dog can be tough, so use lots of treats and praise whenever it does something right to reinforce the good behavior. Besides training your dog, you can help tame it by making it follow a strict schedule, which will make it rely on you more. For example, feed your dog, take it for walks, and let it out to go to the bathroom at the same times every day, and be consistent. Additionally, ignore your dog whenever it acts out, like if it jumps on you, so you're not reinforcing bad behavior by giving it attention.
Teach it a variety of simple commands. One of the best ways to show your dog that you're in charge is simply to make it obey you on a regular basis. Getting it used to following your orders will quickly teach it that you are not to be disrespected. To start, try teaching your dog the most basic, simple commands. When it learns the commands below, you can move on to more complex commands and tricks, which will further reinforce your dominance. Sit Stay Come Lie down Use your body language to ensure dominance. Humans use words to communicate. Because dogs can't do this, they use their bodies instead. Many humans have a hard time recognizing the body language dogs use to show dominance, so they may not put much thought into the way they act around their dog. A good guide to this sort of behavior is available here. A few ways you can show dominance include: Refusing to let your dog walk through doorways before you. Use the "stay" command to keep it still until you are on the other side. You can also use baby gates to control its movement in the house until it learns to obey. Refusing to let your dog pull you when you are out on walks. Pull your dog near you (without whipping it or violently jerking it) and force it to walk at your speed. If it's too strong for you, use a head halter or another control device until it learns to heel. Refusing to let your dog jump on you or mount you. Ignore it and reward an incompatible behavior (see below). Reward incompatible behaviors when a dog tries to show dominance. Most dog trainers (though not all) now agree that punishing a dog's bad behavior with pain is a bad idea. Besides ethical reasons (many believe this to be cruel), it is thought that this can be confusing and anxiety-inducing for dogs. A more effective idea to discourage shows of dominance in your dog is to reward activities that it can't do at the same time as the display of dominance. For example, if your dog tries to climb all over you when you come home, first, ignore it, turning your back on it when it jumps on you. Grab a small treat and order your dog to sit. When your dog sits, reward it with the treat and lavish praise, but ignore it as soon as it starts jumping on you again. Repeat this and, over time, it will learn that it gets the most attention when it doesn't try to dominate you. Make it obey a strict routine. Forcing your dog to jump through hoops to get its daily needs met is a good way to establish dominance. Once it knows a few basic commands, have it perform one before each of its daily tasks (like going for a walk, getting fed, getting let out to go to the bathroom, and so on). In addition, try to have it perform each of these tasks at roughly the same time every day. These actions will teach your dog that you are responsible for its basic needs, encouraging it to obey you. Teach your dog an "off" or "no" command. Once your dog knows this command, you can use it when it is showing dominant behavior or when you notice that it is about to. You can also use it to discourage rudeness. A single, sharp, clear command will get the dog's attention and communicate your message instantly. See our article on teaching the "no" command for step-by-step instructions. Make sure it's getting plenty of exercise. This is one of the most common causes of bad behavior in dogs. A lack of exercise will leave a dog with lots of excess energy, which it may "act out" to expend. If you can't be personally present to ensure that your dog gets enough exercise every day, hire a dog-walking service to ensure that its needs are met. Most dogs will need at least half an hour of walking per day, but many larger or more energetic breeds will need much more. This site has information on many breeds' exercise needs. Don't force it to endure boredom. Dogs are like people — to avoid restlessness, they need to use their minds in addition to their muscles. If a dog doesn't get regular chances to play and expend a little mental energy, it may start barking or trashing its surroundings. Over time, it may even develop depression or anxiety-like symptoms. Playtime with other dogs is great for this. Dogs are social animals and enjoy frequent play dates with neighborhood dogs or new friends at the park. If you can't arrange a date, try giving your dog a new toy to play with. For example, toys that allow you to put a small treat at the center of a durable plastic puzzle can provide a satisfying challenge. Don't accidentally reward unruliness. Often, the aim of a misbehaving dog is simply to get attention from its master. This is especially true if boredom is the root cause of the misbehavior. The dog doesn't care as much about what kind of attention it gets as it does about whether it gets attention or not. For this reason, reacting to bad behavior with yelling, gesticulating, and so on can actually be rewarding the bad behavior. Remember: dogs can't understand your words, so yelling something like "Why did you chew up my slippers again?!" will just seem like barking to them. Instead, punish unruliness with your ignorance as noted above. Dogs that want attention hate to be ignored, so this is a great way to teach them that their behavior is not okay. Use positive reinforcement to encourage calm behavior. The best way to to stop a dog from misbehaving is to encourage it to do the right thing instead. In this case, the "right" behavior is being calm and quiet with all four paws on the floor and without displaying any dominated behavior. When your dog is misbehaving, wait for it to stop and exhibit proper behavior naturally, then give it a treat and praise it. Be consistent with your positive reinforcement and your dog will learn that acting "polite" gets the most pleasurable outcome. Use healthy treats to reward your dog without giving it a huge amount of extra calories. Small vegetables like peas or bits of baby carrots make healthy choices. A tough rawhide treat can also be satisfying for a dog to chew on. If you use meat, use very small pieces without an bones in them to reduce the risk of choking and keep calories low. 
Teach it a variety of simple commands. Use your body language to ensure dominance. Reward incompatible behaviors when a dog tries to show dominance. Make it obey a strict routine. Teach your dog an "off" or "no" command. Make sure it's getting plenty of exercise. Don't force it to endure boredom. Don't accidentally reward unruliness. Use positive reinforcement to encourage calm behavior. 