Salvador Dali once said, "Act like a genius and you are one," and I believe if you act like a pack leader you are one. As Bob Dylan said in the song, "Trust Yourself." It's what's in your head as it manifests itself in your body language that gains the respect of your animals. As long as you're clear in your own mind about the behavior you want, and have the patience, love and firmness to guide them toward that ideal of good citizenship in your pack, you can rule your household or kennel with a very light hand.

I've always hated bullies, and I think bullying a dog is about the ugliest thing a human can do, so I've been alarmed in recent years with all this talk about "alpha" behavior - forcing animals into submissive postures, etc. Good leadership is never about bullying, and I've never once done anything like that to a dog. Good leadership is simply about providing loving, but firm guidance.

Conversely, dogs are not hairy little people. They don't speak English (or even Australian), and they have no concept of, or desire for, democracy. They understand pack hierarchy, tone of voice and body language; and owners who allow their dogs to walk all over them are doing no kindness to their animals. Instead they are denying their animals good leadership and ultimately endangering their health and well-being.

Exercise, discipline and love -- in that order - is the mantra of famed "Dog Whisperer" Cesar Milan, and it's a good one. But also: be the initiator. Don't just react to your dogs; make them react to you.  When I clean my exercise yard, for instance, I don't give a lot of directed attention to my dogs until I'm finished. I may speak kindly or give a pat to one or another while I'm working, but until I'm finished I don't even look at them much. I let them take their signals from me, so they start watching me. And then, when I'm through, I sit on one of the doghouses and invite them to join me, being careful to interact with each one in turn. Everyone gets touched, scratched, spoken to, and I don't let the youngsters dominate my attention, as they would like to. And when they come inside, as they all do from time to time, they get a good scratch and tummy-rub, and then that's enough. I don't let them nag me for endless attention.

Then, in any training - whether it's the first "no-biting" lessons, crate training, grooming table training, lead work or whatever - I am slow, reassuring, measured and patient, using both my hands and voice as cues. But I NEVER LOSE AN ARGUMENT because that's a precedent I don't want to establish. Lose an argument with a Siberian and you're done. From then on, everything will be an argument.  So I never give a command I can't enforce. Generally, for instance, my youngsters have the run of my exercise yard until they're about a year old, when I expect them to go into individual pens to be fed. When I decide that day has come, I go into the yard with a couple of empty 5-gallon, plastic water bottles. I then put the other dogs in kennels, and invite the youngster into a pen of his own. Sometimes they comply immediately. Sometimes they're hesitant but will comply with a little coaxing or clarification of what I want. Very often, however, they try to make it a game and run in the opposite direction, at which time I hurl one of these big plastic bottles in their direction. It goes boom, boom, boom right behind them, and they tuck tail and scurry into their run. I've found that is usually the last argument we have about almost anything. They've realized I can reach them no matter how far they are from me, and that has a profound and almost magical effect. They decide, quite simply, that their life is better when they do what I say. And isn't that the point of good leadership?

I'm generally very quiet with my dogs. I enjoy that quiet, wordless space, and I think they do too. But I don't hesitate to use my "big voice" if there are serious issues - gates or doors that they try to scramble through after I've said "no" and waived my hands demonstrably at their eye level, aggression amongst themselves, and the like. These are ABSOLUTES that I establish early on, and that I reinforce vigorously if necessary because they come down to issues of safety and well-being.

None of this is rocket-science, and I'm certainly not a professional trainer with a specific methodology to sell. This is just the way I've found to live happily with my Siberians over the last 36 years. It's up to you to decide the rules of your particular pack, and then have the patience, firmness and confidence to reinforce those rules. A dog trainer named Katz, who wrote a book called KATZ ON DOGS, said quite wittily, "Dogs are stuff-shirts; they like rules." And I believe even Siberians, who take delight in a certain anarchy, and who seem hard-wired to push the envelope whenever possible, appreciate rules (even if they wouldn't admit it). Rules set boundaries and limits, reducing anxiety and uncertainty in dogs' lives and making them happier. So make the rules that make you happy, stick to them with the clarity of conviction and confidence of body language of a wise old wolf, and your pack will be happy.