Is this correct or incorrect

[lv4dogs]

Not neccessarily.

Which is why I said "Yes you should if you have any dominant issues in your house."
Notice the IF?

[Glacier]

Which is why I said "Yes you should if you have any dominant issues in your house."
Notice the IF?

And I do have dominance issues, just not with the alpha dog. The issues tend to come from the lower ranking dogs who might want to move up the pack order. Ozzy currently is trying to raise his status, but as long as he realizes that he is not my alpha, I'm not changing the way I treat him. Ozzy is spending today in a pen alone because he was a big ol' jerk this morning. If Muskwa had been acting like Ozzy was, he would be in that pen by himself(Punishment in my pack tends to be through isolation. Nothing a husky hates more than being alone)

There are some behaviors I won't accept, even if a dog is trying to move up. Fighting, picking on each other, ect are not ok from any of them for any reason. They can work out the pack order without aggression & without hurting each other--Muskwa is the boss dog and I honestly can't remember him ever being involved in a major fight. I believe a true alpha dog doesn't need to resort to aggression to assert his dominance and that true alphas are rare. Dominance and dog aggression are not neccessarily signs of a good alpha dog.

[.sarah]

Does the alpha dog treat the other dogs differently? For example, a dog that's not the alpha dog but isn't the lowest in the pack, would the alpha treat him better than the dogs who rank lower than that dog?

If not then I don't see a reason why a human should do that with their dogs, because if you're the alpha then it wouldn't matter right?

[lv4dogs]

I understand where you are coming from Glacier. I also do not follow those rules, I do the same as you do. I am alpha in my pack.

I was just trying to clarify that for a less experienced owner or for one with major dominance issues it may be best to treat the leader as the leader.

I guess I should of took more time to explain. Thats why I made sure to include words like if & should. Guess that wasn't enough. lol


(this thread is almost more about grammer, proper wording & the like than anything else) LOL

[WolvesRawk]

With my pets, I'm the alfa so tey respect me and everything I do. If I want to pet Gaia, Mojo waits even though he is a higher rank than Gaia. It really depends on your rank in the pack.

[lizbud]

I guess I never think about who to "treat" as an Alpha. I pet each
when I want to & let them work out their order in rank.
Interesting thread.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

You should be the dominant *dog*, the leader of the pack. Your dogs should be subordinates. I have read this in many, many books and on websites. Dogs should look at their owners as the dominant ones, not themselves. But if you have say, 3 dogs, you are the leader and the dogs are subordinates. This can mean that some are lower in the pack than the other, but you should always be the leader. It makes for better training and a well mannered dog. The leader of the pack thinks he should eat first, even before the humans. I would establish this by feeding my daughter, then my BF and me - BEFORE I feed the dog. That way they understand that YOU are the master! Go here to read about it.

Remember, this is my opinion and there is no need to argue about it...

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

Pssst... Haven't you noticed that *most* of the new members have so called Dyslexia?

[anna_66]

OK, maybe I should stay out of this but oh well...
I think we've made this memeber feel bad enough. This person IS from another country and maybe the grammar isn't perfect, the spelling or capitalization when needed, but who cares? You know the question they are asking don't you? Just answer the question and stop the smart a** remarks.


Now back to the subject...
I don't have issues so it all depends who's closest to me as to who gets petted. I'd say it all depends on how you want to do it but Glacier said it best:

I am the boss of all of them and I don't particularly care how they work out the rest of the order.

[Dixieland Dancer]

I think we've made this memeber feel bad enough. This person IS from another country and maybe the grammar isn't perfect, the spelling or capitalization when needed, but who cares? You know the question they are asking don't you? Just answer the question and stop the smart a** remarks.

Very well said, Anna. I don't frequent PT as much as I use to for this very reason. Too many people are quick to look for faults instead of being helpful and nice. It's always done in the disquise of a "joke". If we all stop to think about it, we all have something that makes us different and if everyone "joked" about it, we could all end up feeling worse instead of better. Kindness and caring go a lot further than sarcasm and rudeness. Kind of like a true alpha dog vs. a dominant or aggressive one (described more below). This particular person isn't even from this country.

About the issue of this thread....

Muskwa is the boss dog and I honestly can't remember him ever being involved in a major fight. I believe a true alpha dog doesn't need to resort to aggression to assert his dominance and that true alphas are rare. Dominance and dog aggression are not neccessarily signs of a good alpha dog.

This statement says it all. Too many people get Alpha dog, dominance and aggression mixed up. They are not the same. Because you have an aggressive dog does not make him an alpha dog. Because your dog is dominant does not make him a true alpha. My Dixie is exactly like Glaciers Muskwa.... a true alpha female but not dominant or aggressive. She's never been in a dog fight because other dogs just know she is top dog. Dominant or Aggressive dogs are either possessive or insecure in something. True alpha dogs are very secure in their position. I never have to worry about Dixie because she is secure in knowing she is the Queen so she doesn't have to defend her status by fighting or being aggressive.

Even though I know Dixie is the alpha dog in the pack, her status is only that in the dog world. As her pack leader, I am alpha over her, always! So it's MY choice who I pet first or feed first. This just helps me solidify myself as alpha over them both. This fact is solidified from the time they are pups because I am the one who gives them everything Great in their life when they listen to me! I am not afraid to withhold something great if they are not willing to listen to me all the time. This is usually kibble during training. Eventually they realize "do what she says and I'll get what I want too"!

However, that being said.... I do not have two dominant (not true alpha) dogs battling. If there are two dogs that are constantly battling and the loser (lower pack rank) is constantly shown favoritism because it always loses and you feel sorry for it, you are creating a very instable pack order. The winner must be acknowledged so the battles will stop. In this situation you can affirm the dogs established pack order amongst themselves by petting, feeding, etc, the dominant or aggressive dog first. Even though I am alpha over them all, I still try to recognize their pack order and honor it so less friction will be in the pack in general. That is also a sign of a good alpha leader!

So in short... if you are not having issues, you chose who you want to greet first. Like others who have posted in this tread, it is usually the dog who responds first or shows up first. If you are having issues with dogs battling then you need to recognize what you need to do to make things more harmonious for everyone. If the dog does not recognize you as the leader of the pack, then you need to train the dog to realize all good things come for you. Only you can answer how this will be handled.

[Corinna]

Catnapper I have the number thing too. I would most likely have a lot of letter problems if I had not been given the love of reading and books. I am also LOUSEY TYPIST too. I'm just learning the key board so I make lots of mistakes, too.

[Cataholic]

Very well said, Anna. I don't frequent PT as much as I use to for this very reason. Too many people are quick to look for faults instead of being helpful and nice. It's always done in the disquise of a "joke". If we all stop to think about it, we all have something that makes us different and if everyone "joked" about it, we could all end up feeling worse instead of better. Kindness and caring go a lot further than sarcasm and rudeness.

It was a joke. And, the irony is....somehow, in your world, you think YOUR comments somehow fly under the radar? You are three times more venomous in your attack on my comments than I was on the original poster. It was a joke. JOKE. What is the saying? Judge not lest you be judged? I always liked this one: It is the pot calling the kettle black.

And, btw, she might live outside the US, however, English is the mother tongue in GB, I believe.