Is Your Dog Really Dominant?
I think what you mean when you say your dog is dominant is their personality leads them to have a more forceful, rambunctious approach to getting what they want…. it does not mean they are dominant and thus justify their behaviour or using punitive techniques to combat it, and here is why……
What is Dominance?
“In animal behaviour, dominance is defined as a relationship between individuals that is established through force, aggression and submission in order to establish priority access to all desired resources (food, the opposite sex, preferred resting spots, etc). A relationship is not established until one animal consistently defers to another.” (Dr Sophia Yin, 2014).
For Example:
According to Yin (2014) in species where strong hierarchies exist, this hierarchy is important evolutionarily because having a high rank confers a greater ability to pass on one’s genes.
For instance, if you put four bulls or roosters together, they will fight and establish a rank order of 1 through 4. The highest-ranking bull or rooster will have access to the most females that are available for mating. The other males may have little chance or much lower chance to mate. In fact in the wild, for many species, most males never get the chance to mate
Like Dog’s and Wolves?
In the 1940’s it Dr Rudolph Schenkel, essentially proposed that Dogs are descended from wolves. That Wolves live in hierarchical packs in which the aggressive alpha male rules over everyone else, like with bulls. Therefore, dogs probably act the same and humans need to dominate their pet dogs to get them to behave?
…but this is Wrong!
Why is it Wrong?
1. Dog’s are not descended from Wolves they are descended from a common ancestor, probably some kind or proto wolf.
2. Even so Wolves do not behave like hierarchal bulls and Roosters. It was thought they did by Schenkel & later in the 60’s his supporter Dr Mech; because in captivity, when forced together, with non family member’s both scientists observed that those packs wolves do engage aggressive & violent social struggles. However, when Mech, went to study Wild wolves he in fact discovered they do not behave this way. They actually have a father and mother who are the breeding pair of the group. The rest of the group members are their offspring and siblings. No one has to 'win' their position in the pack. The family work as a unit, resources are shared and the secure and experienced mother and father, do not need to show aggression to negotiate with their family. In fact, it is likely an aggressive wolf would be forced to leave the pack.
3. According to Yin (2014) On observation of free roaming dogs, they have shown to mate with multiple members of the opposite sex and virtually all males have the opportunity to mate. Consequently a rigid hierarchy and high rank does not create an evolutionary advantage for dogs compared to, say high rank in a group of bulls or chickens.
4. Priority access to resources changes with dogs just as with humans. They are not born ‘alpha,’ wanting priority access to all resources. They may want X resource at X time and some may have a natural tendency to try to use force to acquire it and that may have succeeded, so they may make use of that technique more often. However you can control all resources and they can learn that demanding or forceful behaviour does not win it. Instead polite behaviour like a sit, paw or watch me wins the resource.
5. Whatever you believe, we know forceful punitive methods are dangerous as they can make the behaviour worse, lead to anxiety, fear and phobia and put you in harms way. They are also unproductive…
Look at it this way shall I force you, beat you to make you paint my house or tempt you with money, food and praise? If I force you are you still going to do it when I’m not standing their watching over you?
Solution
Work out what your dog wants. Is it food? A Toy? Touch? A Location? Is it you?
How is your dog currently trying to get it? Whine, bark? Prod, scratch, bite? Lunge and attack another dog to keep them from getting their resource such as you? Run away and hide?
Therefore instead teach them the unwanted behaviour loses their resource!
For example, whining, barking, jumping up loses them the walk, the lead goes on the ground, you sit down.
Teach them instead that a desired behaviour wins the resource. For example sit, watch means the lead goes on, the door opens and walks are granted.
To learn how to teach these wanted behaviours book and appointment or check out some videos.
Further reading
Dominance Theory from the PPG
It is the position of the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) that dominance theory is an obsolete and aversive method of interacting with animals that has at its foundation incorrect and misinterpreted data which can result in damage to the animal-human relationship and cause behavioral problems in the animal.
Rather, the PPG advocates for effective animal training procedures focused on the use of behaviorism, the natural science of behavior which emphasizes natural science assumptions and avoids speculation and theoretical constructs for explaining behavior.
Behaviorism has two main branches: experimental analysis of behavior, which identifies basic principles of behavior, and applied behavior analysis, which applies basic principles of behavior to changing problem behaviors in real-life settings. Further, it is the position of the PPG that the general pet-owning public should be educated by organizations and associations on dominance theory and the many problems it can create for animals. This position statement is consistent with leading animal behaviorists
· Definition
Dominance theory, or “social dominance” as an ethological construct describing features of a social relationship, - addresses the management of social conflict including but not limited to the allocation of limited resources- through the exertion of control and influence. This takes place in a way that minimizes the risk of overt aggression by the use of conventionalized ritual display behaviors. This minimization of risk involves a cost–benefit evaluation of the benefits of seeking to win a particular social conflict versus the likely associated cost of losing the conflict (O’Heare, 2004).
This definition describes only interactions between beings of the same species; - it is never used in science to describe or label inter-species interactions. Instead, the American Society of Veterinary Animal Behaviorists notes in its 2008 position statement against the use of dominance theory in the behavior modification of animals, “most undesirable behaviors in our pets are not related to priority access to resources; rather, they are due to accidental rewarding of the undesirable behavior.” (AVSAB 2008)
· Foundations of Dominance Theory in Animal Training
The idea that humans should exert physical control over animals was first widely-popularized in the 1970s in the book “How To Be Your Dog’s Best Friend" by the Monks of New Skete, which recommended the “alpha roll” to deal with undesired behaviors. The alpha roll, in which a human flips a dog onto its back and pins it until it showed submissive behaviors, was founded on 1960s studies of captive wolves kept in an area too small for their numbers and composed of members that wouldn't be found together in a pack in the wild. These conditions resulted in increased numbers of conflicts in which one wolf would appear to pin another wolf. However, current scientific knowledge have recanted the findings of these studies, acknowledging that this behavior is not typical of wolves living in the wild. (Mech, 1999). Despite these findings and the great disparity in behavior between wolves and dogs, dominance theory became popularized and remains a widely-propagated training style for pet dogs.
· Application of Dominance to the Human-Animal Relationship
Ethologists agree that while dominance theory does not describe interactions between different species, it is frequently applied to animal training in a way that promotes adversarial relationships between the animal and human. The term is often used to label an animal’s counter-control behaviors, often as a result of aversive stimulation and coercion. In short, dominance theory is a counterproductive construct that distracts from the functional relationship between behavior, and the environment, which actually causes and explains behaviors. (O’Heare)
Conclusion
It is the position of the PPG that all training be conducted in a manner which encourages animals and focuses on the use of behaviorism, and that all PPG members encourage and use functional analysis to identify and resolve problem behaviors. Further, the PPG and its members actively eschew the improper use of the term “dominance” and all training methods employing dominance theory.
Articles
Using 'Dominance' To Explain Dog Behavior Is Old Hat, Science Daily. Click here to read the article
Canine Dominance: Is the Concept of the Alpha Dog Valid? Current research challenges the idea of the alpha dog. Published on July 20, 2010 by Stanley Coren, Ph.D., F.R.S.C. in Canine Corner Click here
The Dominance Controversy, Dr. Sophia Yin. Click here to read the full article
Scientific Articles
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) Position Statement on The Use of Dominance Theory in Behavior Modification of Animals. Click here to read the full statement
Steinker, A. (2007). Social–Psychological Dynamics in Dog Training: The Power of Authority and Social Role Designation and its Possible Effects on Dog Training. Journal of Applied Companion Animal Behavior, 1(1), 7-14. Click here to purchase this article
Steinker, A. (2007). Terminology Think Tank: Social dominance theory as it relates to dogs, Journal of Veterinary Behavior 2, 137-140. Click here to access this article
John W.S., Bradshaw , Emily J., Blackwell , Rachel A., Casey. Dominance in domestic dogs -- useful construct or bad habit? Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, May/June 2009, Pages 135-144 Click here for the abstract
L. David Mech (1999) (PDF). Alpha status, dominance, and division of labor in wolf packs. Click here to access this article
Educational Videos
Dr. L. David Mech talks about the terms "alpha" and "beta" wolves and why they are no longer scientifically accurate.
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