Who is the Alpha Dog?

In our Schnauzer family ( between us we have six) I always felt the male was the alpha dog, however in our son's dog family it seems the female has taken the role and protects the male. In our family our male is the alpha and dominates. Can either dog be alpha in a family?

The alpha dog can be either gender - the first dog in my memory was Sheba, who was female and the alpha dog of the whole neighborhood - we had no other dogs at home, and she knew my parents were alpha, but out and about, she ruled!

Hannah is definitely the alpha, but Tucker lets her go only so far before he says "enough" and then they get into it. Fortunately he has an extremely high tolerance level.

Between Hannah and me, well in our own minds we are each the alpha. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif It really works out better this way, rather than my asserting my dominance in all things. She gets to get up when she wants to and go potty when she wants to, items that were real issues for her!

Dominance is a personality trait rather than a gender specific one. Many people imagine that the dog will always be alpha but this is a misconception and the girls more than hold their own!

Perry is definately the alpha between him and Miss Daisy. However I believe Miss Daisy believes she is the alpha between her and I.
She will go to my husband but sometimes I can call her and she first will pick up a toy and then come to me if she feels like it. She sleeps in our bed every night and if I'm not there she will crawl up on my pillow and curl up. Not sure if its dominance or the scent. She is getting a little better about coming to me with lots of patience.