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Dog Owner's Manual › Chapter 4: Dog Behavior & Training › Overview of Basic Dog Habits ›Dominance in Dogs
Dog packs are structured around a well-established pecking order, from the leader, or alpha, on down. To enjoy the maximum benefits of this software, you must establish yourself as the dog’s alpha. (See Establishing Dominance.)  Other Resources on This Topic
Behavior & Training Forum Chapter 4: Dog Behavior & Training
Comments for This Page (31) | Post a CommentYou are right Cressida. Dogs do not "conform" to the alpha. They respond to proper training that is correct for that dog. Kindness , love and patience. I strongly agree with Cressida. I find this information misleading to the average dog owner looking for training advice, as it neglects to take into account any aspects of positive reinforcement training or learning theory which have been developed. At the very least, a more balanced presentation of available training methods would provide the reader with a sense that they had options other than dominance-model training theories, which as stated have been disproven repeatedly by reputable researchers. Even if you do agree with Dominance theory, and there are plnety of people and professionals who still do - to include a document that seems to state it is the ONLY method is completely wrong. There's nothing wrong with including dominance theory ALONGSIDE the other methods. The topic "dominance" needs to be replaced with "respect". A well functioning "pack/family" runs on love and respect. A dog will obey its "owner" because it wants to, not because it has to. Please read up on Ian Dunbar and Karen Pryor's methods (Sirius Puppy Training, and Clicker Training). Biljana, the other methods are called positive reinforcment where the owner trains their dog based on getting the dog to want to work for them because their bond to their family and humans is such a positive one, that they'll do anything out of love of their owners. Actually, my dog responds to the alpha/sub role quite well. Cesar Milan is a genious. I've used most of his techniques not only with my dog but with other's I've been in contact with and its amazing how well they respond. if you've watched more than one half-episode of Cesar Millan, you will realize that the show is closer to explaining quantum physics than convincing my dog to go and get the newspaper... in my experience it's become far more fashionable to condemn this man (who grew up on a farm in Mexico around packs of dogs, which you probably didn't..) than to actually view the information with an open mind and blanch at the thought of TELLING (instead of pleading with) your carnivorous animal to stop doing something you don't like (don't forget rewards-only training is just another big fad). Cesar comes into these people's homes and if their ego allows, transforms them in a way more spiritual than agility training and all the Dog Show(ing off..) you could do put together. Cesar Millan is not a dog trainer, he's a tiny Buddha. the Dog Whisperer is about strengthening your spirit, facing your fears, empowering yourself at the roots and flowing with nature... as far as I'm concerned, it's more about technological advances in polyurethane in relation to WW2 than dog training, guys... There are ways to get your dog to do what you want that don't involve pain and fear. I've seen "that show" a few times and each time he uses leash jerks and corrections or puts the dog in a prong collar in order to get it to comply. That's not how I want my dog treated. The point is that the same results can be achieved without hurting your dog. What I have seen is that not all dogs respond the same way to training methods. What worked for Chester when I was training certain tricks may not work with another dog. And any method of training can go too far - the clicker can disturb dogs if used too much or incorrectly, food treats can make some dogs only respond if you have food (or become overweight), spending too much time on training and not mixing it up with playing will make the dog not want to do what you want him/her to do, etc. I think people need to realize they need to find a combination of methods from foods to positive reinforcement to play to see how their dog responds best and work from there. My first dog was quite dominant and allthough I went to dog training and learned all about positive re-inforcement I was unable to establish myself as the respected leader, because in most of these dog training classes you do not get the proper tools to fullfill that part of your responsibility as a dog owner. Since discovering Cesar, I strongly reject the comments that he or anyone following his methods are hurting dogs, I have to balanced dogs that get along well with other dogs and people can enter our yard unharmed when we are around. My male is a good guard dog and will not let people in who he does not know. I believe that there different methods that work with different people, but I believe that Cesar is teaching people to respect canines as animals and treat them how they should be treated. Nothing annoys me more than dogs being carried around in handbags and dressed up like fools. That is not why we should pick dogs as our companions. They are not put on this earth to replace barbie dolls and children. Do people still believe in all that??? Might want to look at this... I have a beagle that digs. how can I stop him before he digs up our new lawn. The key to utilizing Cesar's Way is the energy you project. Use whatever method helps you to project calm assertive energy with your dog. For some, it's playing the alpha role, for others it's clicker training, for others it's reward based training, for others it's the tool (e collar, prong collar, harness, whatever). However you slice it, unless your dog receives calm assertive energy from you, you will continue to have behavior problems from your dog. S/he just doesn't see you as fulfilling the role a pack leader should be able to fulfill. It's a true fallacy to believe that one method works for every owner or for every dog. Our brains are wired differently - from owner to owner and from dog to dog. What causes a reaction in one owner/dog may be meaningless to another owner/dog. Cesar works these miracles for people because he helps them to find that calm assertive side of themselves and to fulfill their dog's needs as they promised they would do when they adopted/purchased/rescued the dog(s). Subsequently the owners see their lives change in many other respects, simply because they have been able to tap into that vast reservoir of calm assertive energy. If you want to know how it feels - meet Cesar in person. Then you will know the confidence the dogs have in him is not unfounded. In the meantime - do what works for you and your dog, and stop criticizing what may work for others. Cesar Milan's methods work, period. It's not about mistreating your dog. To the contrary. It's about rewarding your dog at the appropriate time and not treating them like a "human member of the family" first. As a shelter volunteer, I see far too many small dogs (mostly) who have never had one iota of rules, boundaries, and limitations given to them. As a result, they are unbalanced dogs. Cesar is all about giving your dog WHAT IT CRAVES, both physically as well as mentally. They need exercise first and foremost; this satisfies all dogs' needs to walk. They need to look up to their human(s) with respect—not fear. Anyone who thinks Cesar's methods teach a dog to cower with fear and, thus, obey are just plain ignorant or have somehow fallen into the treat-your-dog-like-a-person-and-it-will-love-you-forever trap. (How many times have you gone to someone's house and had a dog—usually one of the toy breeds—barking uncontrollably? The owner, in order to restore peace, picks it up and continues their conversation. This is a classic example of the "tail wagging the dog." Pardon the pun. This is simply empowering the dog by giving it affection at the inappropriate time. Whether you like or agree with Cesar, give your dogs what they need FROM DAY ONE...rules, boundaries, and limitations. And when they do even the smallest thing correctly, give them affection. Make sure everyone in your household follows the same training; this is important so that the dog looks up to everyone in the house as its pack leader. And to the lady whose Beagle digs, please exercise your dog extensively. I don't know if she does, but too many people think "a big yard" is exercise. A yard can be the size of a small room or half an acre; to a dog it's the same. They will get bored just as fast. Dogs want to be with their humans...walking, walking, walking. If the lady is walking her Beagle, I would recommend longer and/or more frequent walks. Beagles are high-energy dogs.Good luck to all! People on both sides of the debate need to be a bit more open minded, because both sides establish good points. As a professional trainer myself, I try to keep as up to date as possible on current training methods and take everything with a grain of salt, so to say. If you ask 10 people how to train, you will get ten different answers. First off, when it comes to Ceasar, I agree with many of his methods and don't agree wih some of his others. I don't think you should ever have to resort to prong collars, especially since they can be dangerous. Before I was a trainer I was attending vet school, and worked as a vet tech at my local vet hospital. You would not believe how many dogs we had to treat that were injured from aversive training procedures, and I've seen two dogs die from prong collars being used as they are supposed to (in both cases, the dogs jerked ahead, and the prongs pierced their throat). Anyway, Yes, there is credit to the dominance theory. This does not mean we need to resort to throwing our dogs into alpha rolls and such. In a pack, dogs are not equal, and they need a leader. This is where Ceasar is great, he focuses on the owner asserting calm, assertive energy which transfers to the dog. When the dog is in an unstable mindset, they will look to you for support. This is just the basis of being a leader, if we don't practice any leadership for fear of practicing that "horrible dominance stuff" it would be like a sports team without a coach. You are your dogs coach. Training should never be abusive or neglectful, and unfortunatly "dominance trainers" have created a bad rep because they don't understand what a delicate balance there is and end up causing devestating behavior problems. Clicker training works wonders. I fully support it and use it with my clients and when done correctly the dogs learn quicker and the behavior is more reliable than with traditional training. If you question the clickers, you probably don't have a full understanding of how it works. And to the person that said it was a fad of the 20's, "clicker training" wasn't established until the 70's. This "fad" you are refering to is Pavlov's theory, I presume? And be careful if you're going to say his theory is incorrect, because ti was very well documented, proven, and is one of the fundamentals taught in human and dog psychology today. And some dogs are fearful of the clicker, I agree. These dogs aren't untrainable by any means, we just just have to adapt around it and change the training to sccomidate them, you can use positive training without using a cllicker. Most dogs who are initially "clicker shy" can be introduced to it later once they're confidence has been built through positive training methods regarding both obedience and behavior modification. Medical reasons being the only exception, (brain tumors, etc.) no dog is untrainable or unchangable. Just keep it positive. Happy training guys! :) The nutshell: Doesn't it all come out to the same on the end. Don't all of you accomplish that your dogs have respect for humans and other animals. I also beliefe that each theorie has it's place. I also never saw at Milan's show that a dog was frightened. The come all on there own without calling and where looling for his protection by sitting beside or behind him. There is just one difference, most people, including me do not have the time to give enough exercise to there doggies. That is where everything starts but I do not see that mentioned enough. All the sweet doggies out there that need help. America is overrun by it do to people that have more there own interest in mind. A lot of dogs come with a package (the sad life they had before). They need to overcome that first. Building trust as Cesar does is not a wrong thing to do. The trust comes from him showing the dogs he cares and will protect them and they do not neet to protect him. That is where the alpha role comes in. I think all methods just have to be looked at from the right perspective. To clarify, this comment Clicker trainers such as oh let's see, veterinary behaviorists may disagree with your assertion that dogs unable to be trained by clickers are untrainable as they are the ones that end up with the behavior cases. is supposed to actually say, clicker trainers would know that you are totally full of it as veterinary behaviorists in many cases are actually clicker trainers and do end up with behavior cases. I like the alpha establishment that comes with being the resource provider. Our dog will listen BEST to those who feed him, play with him, take him for a walk. Also, since my son has become more assertive/confident with the dog, the dog does not challenge him with rough behavior as he used to. Though I did have a dog that the vet suggested giving dominance assertion with. He was a chihuahua, and, though I didn't feel he was testing us, the vet was concerned about his level of aggressiveness. He had us hold the little guy, four paws down, to the ground gently until he would relax. When he was fully relaxed, he was allowed up and A LOT calmer and did not seemed scared or upset in any way. But THIS dog does very well with "working" for food! Sorry to be redundant in posting, but dogs are like people. Some kids learn through hearing things. Some learn more efficiently through seeing things. SOme kids are naturally very non-challenging. Some kids are nuts! It is no different for dogs. Where our current dog is very headstrong, he is also VERY eager to please! My old dog was laid back, but wouldn't do anything for a treat. He just wanted to hang out and be loved. He didn't even play much. He was a cuddler. Dog Whisperer (the TV show / Caesar Milan) is about "the person becoming personally centered and developing an understanding that a dog is a dog and not a person" and that anmimals (humans included) react instinctively to body language. His successful subjects (humans) learn and practice relating to their dogs from a personal position of calm & confidence & assertiveness (that means working on getting what you expect by repetition and reward not pleeding and shouting) Hint: break a wanted behavior or reaction into its smaller parts which can be more easily rewarded and eventually combined into the desired ULTIMATE RESULT i live with a pack of dogs (6 of them) and THEY decided which one is the pack leader (the calm assertive one). He is the dominant dog, but only over the dog pack. he realizes the ranking order between his pack and the pack as a whole. of course now and again he'll try to see if it still stands, but he is a dog after all. while i might not agree with prong collars, i highly respect and admire cesar. it's like everything a book, take what works for you, if it doesn't, set it aside. we are using a lot of cesar's techniques with the dogs, they are not mistreated in any way, shape or form. they know they must respect the alpha dog, and alpha must respect us. you can have a balanced dominate dog. many people confuse dominance with aggression... a subject i might discuss later. ;) the snapping of the leash can look a little harsh but what we do is pull UP on the leash, just a little, this way it brings the dog out of the negative frame of mind. sound aversion works well too, whether its clapping, snapping your finger, or just an "eh!". what i think is cool about cesar, he makes humans take responsibility for their dogs behavior instead of blaming the dog. Sheyna... Yes, I really am a professional trainer with nearly 30 years of experience in rehabilitating "difficult" dogs and not an "uneducated fraud" or a "liar." I have successfully trained hundreds of dogs that owners had given up on. No one training tool works for every dog out there and I find it sad that dogs are euthanized every day that could be saved if only someone would get them appropriate training. I never asserted that dogs unable to be trained with clickers are somehow untrainable and end up as behavior cases. In my decades of experience, clickers do not work with every dog and they can be abused as can any other training tool. The clicker, when used properly, is an excellent tool when used as part of an individualized training program; so is a prong collar and an e-collar. Because I do not agree with you, does not mean that my methods are inhumane or stressful to the dogs. As sometimes happens when trainers disagree the conversation turns from education to personal attacks. I would hope that we could keep this professional and learn from each other. To any of you so called pet owners out there that doubt Cesar Milan's work are in need of therapy and probably humanize your dog. Sometimes its really hard to see the truth in ourselves but if your dog has aggression towards you or anyone in your family, or has anxieties then you definitely need to to be trained in dog leadership. Dont have them if you cant be a leader. Humans tend to want to know "the" party trick that works every time on every dog in every situation. I was a one-dog person for most of my life and that relationship was much different than what I have now - a pack of 5 rescue dogs. The pack has taught me much more about dogs. The pack establishes its own hierarchy among the dogs themselves and humans should observe and respect that dynamic. The human can and should be the leader of the pack. As Cesar says, the dogs are more comfortable with that anyway. Dogs will respond to kindness and consistency, but firmness is necessary, also sometimes...that does not mean cruelty! It is the same as with raising kids. In a word, it is consistency - what is it that you want? Cesar is right about energy being the language of the dog. Dogs live a life of order and the humans that pay attention to energy levels, consistent boundaries, and plenty of exercise will see an amazing transformation in their ability to communicate with their family canine(s). "I have no time for all this" is the excuse that explains most of the trouble we have with our canine family members. Dogs pay attention to us for guidance and they need exercise. Even past problems from other abusive humans can be overcome if we pay attention to what the dog is telling us he needs. It really is just like raising kids. Even the child rearing theory of the day gets trumped by Mom knowing her child and acting accordingly. As an oldster and an obedience ethusiast... there are many ways to get to the same place. We used to be all about harsh correction. It worked. Heck, it worked well. I now use almost 100% positive with my GSD. Heck, it works well too. The difference for me is that I feel better about the human and I got the dog to the same place. Ok people, heres my opinion it doesnt mean much but its what I think. here we go. AHEM, ALL dogs are DIFFERENT, just because your dogsd breed is Black lab, it does NOT mean he will be loyal or nice even if your other Black lab is the perfect nice loyal dog. what im saying is, ok EXAMPLE: i bought a black lab, i heard their nice loyal dogs. he's turning out to be very loyal and nice, I think im going to purchase another BLACK LAB, oh this new Lab is HORRIBLE he's mean unloyal unattentive, and just nasty, but i got him frm the same breeder.... whats wrong???? END EXAMPLE) so as you can see what im trying to say is NOT ALL DOGS ARE NICE. IT DOESNT ALWAYS DEPEND ON THE BREED OR THE BREEDER. ALL ANIMALS HAVE THEIR OWN PERSONAILITY. thank you for reading my opinion ~Justin The thing about Cesar that everyone seems to forget is that he isn't a dog trainer. He rehabilitates dogs. Obviously the owners of the dogs on that show didn't train their dogs effectively. I'm all for the clicker training and the rewards and such. Cesar just helps owners with out of control dogs. Honestly could you see yourself going up to some of them with a treat and asking them NOT to bite people Post a Comment for This Page
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The Dog Owner's Manual is a basic guide to dog care.
Please get more up to date information on dog social structure. As popular as that guy on the National Geographic channel is, this top-down alpha theory wherein you must become your dog's "Alpha" and exert "dominance" has been rejected by actual professional canine behaviorists, as well as scientists who study wolves. The original information about pack structure in wolves was the result of a highly flawed study involving captive (not wild) wolves who were not all members of the same family unit (which is what wild wolf packs are) and thus were set up to be in conflict with one another. Meanwhile, PhD level canine behavior experts like Patricia McConnell and Ian Dunbar have long ago rejected this "alpha theory" behavior model for behavior modification in pet dogs.