Ditch the Concept of Dominance
I still remember, it was 1986 and my vet told me to “alpha roll” our male puppy so he would know who was boss. It was also the vet that recommended I use a prong collar. I trusted her deeply but didn’t know where this concept of dominance came from and why it was the best way to help our dog be his best self. By the way, Larry was a 115 lb enormous goof ball with the sweetest disposition – dominance was never in his make-up.
Almost a hundred years ago, animal scientist Rudolf Schenkel concluded that wolves in a pack fight to gain dominance with the leader of the pack being top dog. It wasn’t until much later when another scientist David Mech questioned Schenkel’s findings which were based on a captive group of unrelated wolves in an artificial environment prompting unnatural behaviors. In the wild, Mech highlighted wolves live in family packs, primarily of the breeding pair and their offspring; the parents “lead” the pack just like human parents guide and teach their children. There is no need to exert dominance or to affirm being top dog. While many recognized the erroneous conclusions of Schenkel, sadly many dog trainers and the general public continue to perpetuate a debunked myth as a rationale that one must assert authority over a dog. Here is a link to an article in The New Yorker on David Mechs’ research.
Perhaps the biggest fallout of this myth is its promotion of aversive approaches. These approaches are especially good at shutting down behaviors, in other words, convincing a dog that it’s not safe to do anything unless commanded to do something. I’ve worked with many sensitive dogs who quickly shut down and become fearful and mistrusting of the humans in their world.
Research now demonstrates the fallout from using aversives, e.g. a literature review (Ziv, 2017) found that using aversive training methods (e.g., positive punishment and negative reinforcement) can jeopardize both the physical and mental health of dogs. This led to professional organizations like the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists to advocate for teaching animals through the reinforcement of desired behaviors and their position statement declares “The ACVB stands against training methods that cause short or long lasting pain, discomfort or fear. Aversive training methods can be dangerous to people as well as animals and pose a threat to animal welfare by inhibiting learning, increasing behaviors related to fear and distress, and causing direct injury”. Note there are no exceptions to this standard, even for dogs with aggressive behaviors, according to their statement. The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants recently ruled out the use of aversive methods by its members.
I’ve worked with households where one adult tends to use positive reinforcement and the other tends to focus on saying “NO” and use leash corrections. Each adult reports a different experience while walking their dog with the one who uses positive reinforcement sharing that their dog pulls and lunges when they see another dog while the other says those behaviors don’t happen with them. Often the couple will attribute this difference to the dog acknowledging that the handler who constantly says “NO” and or uses leash corrects has exerted dominance hence the dog behaves while I’d argue that their dog is more comfortable expressing a natural fear reaction (e.g. lunging) with the one handler while demonstrating a shut down, frozen response to the situation with the other handler.
The bottom line is dominance is an outdated and debunked myth that needs to be tossed to the wayside. It’s okay to let your dog go out the door first, eat their meals in peace or go on the sofa or bed if you want to let them up there. Dogs don’t have to perform a behavior in order to get a treat, as if they can only get a treat by following your command. I don’t know if you’ve ever gotten a surprise gift, an unexpected bonus, or verbal recognition for something, doesn’t it feel great? If you are interested to develop a fabulous relationship with your dog, then why wouldn’t you give them an unexpected treat just because you care about them and want to communicate that to them?
Cheers, Tracy
Reference
Ziv, G. (2017). The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs—A review, Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 19 (May-June), 50-60.
