These days a person can hardly read anything pertaining to dogs without being subjected to the arrogant declaration that "you, as a dog-owner, must establish yourself as the 'Alpha Dog' in the eyes of your pet in order to have a successful relationship with that animal." Somehow I think that dogs all over the world would be laughing at us if they had any understanding whatsoever of the popularity of that idea.
First off, I think it's pretty damned naive to suggest that dogs see us as other dogs and not a separate and distinct species. If the term "Alpha Dog" was metaphorical as it pertains to a human it wouldn't seem like such a joke, but it's undoubtedly a literal reference. The Alpha Dogma, as I call it, instructs us to behave like a wolf or dog that is the head of its pack...right down to biting and growling at our insubordinate pet.
Tell me this isn't funny.
I'm a firm believer in the human enforcement of a pack hierarchy in multi-dog environments, but a dog pack traditionally consists of dogs...not dogs and people. One huge problem I have with the Alpha Dogma is that it doesn't account for the fact that a dog pack contains only one Alpha male and one Alpha female; the remainder of the pack is made up of Beta dogs and Omega dogs which aren't required to show the same respect for each other as they do the Alpha leaders. If a pack should happen to include a small human child, where is this child's place in the social structure? It's certainly not at the top if the child's parents are filling those positions. Following the logic of the Alpha Dogma, when the child growls and shakes the neck of one of the other pack members who happens to be a real dog, the kid is liable to be bitten in the face.
What about neighbors or visiting friends? In the wild, if a dog or wolf pack wanders upon the territory of another pack it's most often followed by a battle too bloody for many humans to comprehend.
Some supporters of the Alpha Dogma will argue that, in the wild, the Alpha leader decides which fights are fought and with whom. Mom and Pop, as Alphas, can dictate to the dog or dogs in the pack that's it's not okay to bite little Junior. But in reality, lesser ranking dogs of a pack fight amongst themselves quite regularly without the consent of the Alphas.
The recent urging to integrate humans into dog packs is not only absurd, but it's potentially dangerous. Dogs that interact well with humans do so because they recognize us as a species with which peaceful interaction is beneficial to life. It's much more conducive to a successful human-dog relationship when the dog is integrated into the social structure of humans --a family structure-- instead of the other way around. Dogs need to be taught to respect the children of a household just as much as the parents. They need to be taught to understand that humans in general are a friendly species that must be respected at a higher level than that which is required by any Alpha Dog.
But of course, if you were on your hands and knees pretending to be a dog, biting my nose and growling like a damned fool, I wouldn't have much respect for you either.
I take a holistic approach to resolving behavioral issues, and strive to balance the needs of each dog with those of his or her owner. I specialize in:
- Behavioral consultation and evaluation.
- Temperament testing.
- Obedience training.
- Cruelty Investigation
- Working with new owners of APBTs and related breeds on issues such as containment and dog aggression.
- Integration of former fighting dogs into pet homes.
- Guardianship in animal neglect, cruelty, and dogfighting cases.
- Exercise/conditioning programs
- Education of animal welfare workers and law enforcement.
- Pre-inspections for breeders applying for kennel licenses.
- Advanced training techniques, including agility, tracking, dock-jumping, weight-pulling, and catch work.
2 comments:
this is so interesting. i admit, i've wondered whether the alpha thing was meant literally. i think i interpreted the alpha dogma to mean that dogs were wired to understand hierarchy and that's all. so do you think dogs can have relationships with humans that don't fall into any semblance of hierarchy or pack order?
Fourteen thousand or so years ago dogs began to realize that if they were friendly enough to humans they stood a better chance of being allowed to hang around their dwelling places where food was much easier to obtain than it was in the wild. Dogs essentially domesticated themselves as a means of survival. They learned what was acceptable behavior in the human world, or they had to fend for themselves out in the forests.
Pack instincts serve a dog well in the wild. The pack works together to hunt and kill food, defend its territory from other packs, and so on. The dog pack exists because of natural necessity. However, things are different in a domestic environment. Dogs are provided food, shelter, water, and all other essentials for a happy life with little or no effort on their part. While the domestic canine has preserved its pack instincts, the necessity for these instincts isn't as significant as it was centuries ago. Dogs have developed positive associations with people, and positive associations most usually result in positive behavior. If dogs were pre-programmed to function only within an hierarchical structure, then I doubt there would be so many who interact as well as they do with complete strangers.
Most people preaching the Alpha Dogma don't even seem to have a clue what an "Alpha Dog" really is or does. These folks claim that 90% of behavioral problems in dogs can be fixed by "letting your dog know who's boss." I'll tell you, 90% of behavioral problems aren't from dogs who think they are Alphas. Alpha leaders are calm, quiet, and confident. They aren't constantly challenging other members of the pack. They aren't barking and growling and biting everything that moves. They aren't tearing up the den. They aren't demonstrating negative behavior in order to receive a little attention.
Furthermore, they don't rule a pack with force; they don't roll their pack members onto their backs and pin them to the floor because they want to walk first in line (Alpha Dogs don't literally lead the pack). They don't send their pack members to the den for a "timeout", for God's sake. And they don't make them lie down and "stay" before they can eat.
Dogs will behave well for you if they like and respect you. If you make life good for them, then there shouldn't be much of a problem. Some dogs can get a little pushy sometimes and may need a behavioral adjustment, in which case I'm more than happy to help:)
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