Being an alpha means being a leader.

Sure, some guys are born leaders, with good looks, natural charisma and the ability to inspire the masses, but not as many as you might think. Most of us have to figure out for ourselves how to take charge. How to command a room. How to get people to follow us.

And the best way to learn to do that is to get yourself a dog.

When I say a dog, I mean a real dog. It doesn’t have to be a pit bull or a Mastiff or something mean and huge, but don’t get one of those wind-up ankle-biters. You’re going to give off the wrong impression. It needs to be at least thirty pounds or so.

A dog can be a lot of responsibility, but the benefits far outweigh any of the negatives. For one thing, nobody’s ever going to rob your place. It just isn’t worth the risk. And obviously they’re great for picking up chicks. Seriously. They come right to you. You don’t even have to try. I can’t even count how many phone numbers my dog has gotten me.

But the coolest thing about dogs is that they force you to become a better leader. See, like people, a dog will do whatever you let it get away with. And if he feels like he gets away with whatever the hell he wants, he’s going to believe that he’s the one in charge. He’ll walk all over you. You’re just the guy who gives him his food and picks up his shit. And that’s probably who you’ll be in your social and professional life, too. But the truth is—just like people—a dog wants to be led. He’s just not going to follow someone who doesn’t know how to take charge. So you have to step up.

Now, I’m not going to give you a bunch of dog-training tips. That’s not what this is about. You can take a class for that or figure it out for yourself. But once you’ve mastered controlling your dog, once you’ve been able to establish that you’re the boss in the relationship, that skill set doesn’t leave you and you’ll start using it in other aspects of your life without even realizing it.

Now, it should go without saying that beating a dog into submission doesn’t make you a leader. It makes you an asshole. You’re trying to improve your interpersonal leadership skills, and violence isn’t going to help you with that. You’ll also learn just how ineffective the “yelling and screaming” school of leadership is. We’ve all had bosses who prided themselves on being dicks. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t follow those guys anywhere. Trying to lead through fear and intimidation is never very effective.

Obviously, I don’t mean you should treat your friends and co-workers like they’re dogs. That probably won’t get you very far in life. So don’t take this too literally. But it’s true that a dog teaches you the right way to lead. He teaches you to be confident, decisive, consistent and clear about what you expect. He teaches you to punish disobedience and to reward a job well done. He teaches you to be an alpha.

And remember, he’ll also get you chicks.