THE ALPHA DOG MYTH

OK, here we go.

For years now we have been told through books, television and dvds that we must be the ’Alpha’ to our dog. We must be superior, dominant and let our dog know he is inferior to us. That this is why our dog is not behaving perfectly.

We have been told to eat a biscuit before feeding our dog, to go though doors first, to ignore our dog when we have been parted from him. Some even advocate the ‘alpha role’.

Where it all began:

This all started with a wonderful man called L. David Mech who studied wolves and then started writing in 1968. However, these wolves were in captivity and a false environment, where there was a vying for leadership and an 'alpha pair'. When he went on to study wolves in their natural environment it turned out and natural pack consists of parents and their offspring. 
Quote: “I conclude that the typical wolf pack is a family, with the adult parents guiding the activities of the group in a division-of-labor system in which the female predominates primarily in such activities as pup care and defense and the male primarily during foraging and food-provisioning and the travels associated with them.”

Sound familiar? To me that sounds just like humans.

If you wish to read more from David please go to http://www.wolf.org/wolves/learn/basic/resources/mech_pdfs/267alphastatus_english.pdf

When we look at the things we are told to do to be a ‘good’ pack leader we have to stop and think. How rude am I to ignore my dog when I have not seen him for a couple of hours and he is pleased to see me. It is true I don’t want to be jumped all over, but I have found a calm and quiet “Hello sweetie” seems to be enough to keep him happy, I will then ignore him if he is over excited, just like you would with a child. Once he is calmer we can have all the loves in the world. This means he does not have to jump around or bark to get my attention. He feels secure and know I am pleased to see him too.

There is no way on this earth that one training method can suit all dogs and solve all problems and anyone who thinks this has obviously not truly learned about dogs. Dogs are not wolves, we humans are not Bonobo chimps! Even though we too are closely linked by dna. We have been living with and breeding dogs for thousands of years now. We have bred them for their different abilities and looks. Each dog has his own individual personality. So I ask again, how can one method work for every single dog?

So, where do we go from here?

We treat our dogs with the love, kindness and respect we would treat all our family members.

We give our dog positive feedback when they are getting things right. We ignore unwanted behaviour, that way we can’t be giving them the wrong message.

We use our intuition. Trust yourself! If it feels wrong it probably is.

Behaviour problems don’t stem from us not being good leaders. They stem from different things such as: Pain or ill health, stress, over excitement, fear or not understanding what is required. How do we as humans learn to make the right decisions? We learn because we are allowed to make decisions for ourselves. If we are constantly telling our dogs what to do how can they learn to make decisions for themselves, let alone the right decisions.

A dog pulling on his lead does not mean he is leading a hunt, he is excited and probably has the wrong equipment on. Who is the walk for? We don’t need to prove ourselves when we are walking our dog. Get a lovely long lead 2.5 - 3 metres, lots of dogs are more comfortable in a soft padded harness, walk slowly and calmly allowing your dog to sniff and check out who has been about. Walk him in interesting places where he can sniff around, like grass verges and on grassy areas. He doesn’t have to be right next to you, as long as the lead is relaxed that’s fine. Slow movement relaxes the brain and sniffing reduces adrenalin and stress levels in dogs.

You do not need to ignore your dog, if he wants to play and you are in the mood and have the time, then play. Allow him to win some games, what’s the fun otherwise?

Snuggle up on the sofa or in bed together. Enjoy your dog and let your dog enjoy you.

If you want to learn more about dogs and why they behave the way they do, have a look at my ebooks Understanding Your Dog and Understanding Your Puppy.

 

Founding member of

intoDogs The Association of Intuitive Natural Training for Owners and Dogs 

 
 
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