Do you believe in dominace theory?

[Glacier]

Not really. I have 25 dogs who live as a pack. They have a pecking order, but it's not set in stone, expect for the alpha male. He never has to defend his position. He just is the alpha. I have to agree with Twisterdog, Alpha dogs are born. Muskwa was an alpha male before his eyes were fully open! The lower ranking dogs change their positions on an almost daily basis.

I do not reinforce Muskwa as the boss dog. I don't feed him first; I don't care who goes in first; they sleep on the bed and get on the furniture; I let them out in front of me; I step over instead of making them move. As the keeper of all good things--walks, truck rides, sled runs, food, ect, I automatically have great power. I am the alpha female and they all know it--they may test it from time to time, but they know!

Dominance theory doesn't even really apply to wolves, at least not the way it is most commonly interpreted. A wolf who has to be forced to submit by higher ranking pack members is dead. No wolf ever alpha rolled another wolf unless he meant to inflict injury! Wolves submit to their alphas voluntarily. Dominance is not aggression. It makes their lives easier and the pack functions better. It takes too much energy and the risks are too high for wolves to waste their time fighting with each other. Their efforts are better spent on things that help them survive, like hunting.

[Giselle]

Thanks Glacier!! Can I use your post as a reference on other forums? There are just some diehards on other boards who firmly believe you have to roll a dog, you gotta poke and prod them, you gotta correct them all the time, etc. I would really love to use your post as an example of what an alpha really means and how it doesn't apply the way we think it does.

[Glacier]

Thanks Glacier!! Can I use your post as a reference on other forums?

Sure.

There's a researcher at the University of Minnesota whose work I like, Dr. L. David Mech. He's spent much of his career debunking the strict hierarchy/alpha theory in wild wolf packs. Google his name, all kinds of stuff comes up!

There's a great chapter in Tamar Gellar's book, The Loved Dog, about her studies of a wild wolf pack and how they established dominance through play and games. I really like her ideas and training theories. If Cesar Milan's tactics turn you off(as they do to me), you'll like Tamar's!

[Twisterdog]

Muskwa was an alpha male before his eyes were fully open!

Sequoia as well. She came into our home at 6 weeks old, weighing 2 pounds. By the time she was housetrained 2 weeks later, she was well on her way to the alpha female position. She is by far the smallest and youngest of all our dogs, but she is unquestionably the alpha female.

No wolf ever alpha rolled another wolf unless he meant to inflict injury! Wolves submit to their alphas voluntarily. Dominance is not aggression.

Very true. And almost without fail, a true alpha dog will never hurt another dog. I have never seen Keito so much as make contact with another dog in the twelve years I've had him, yet he is unquestionably the alpha male, of not only our own dogs, but the hundreds of fosters and rescues we've had over the years, from one hundred pound malamutes to pit bulls. He doesn't have to be aggressive, he gives off "the vibe". The most he has to do is raise his lip, snarl, and very rarely scream and lunge.

[Glacier]

I have never seen Keito so much as make contact with another dog in the twelve years I've had him, yet he is unquestionably the alpha male, of not only our own dogs, but the hundreds of fosters and rescues we've had over the years, from one hundred pound malamutes to pit bulls. He doesn't have to be aggressive, he gives off "the vibe". The most he has to do is raise his lip, snarl, and very rarely scream and lunge.

That's Muskwa. Dogs he's never seen before just know not to bother! He's never been in a fight and we've had some big ones! He can stop a squabble just by glaring at the other dogs!