Has anyone told you that you need to be the leader of your dog?
Or maybe you read an article somewhere that said you need to make your dog submit to you,
and you need to dominate him?
This advice makes me cringe!
I don’t even want to share with you all the bad advice I read out there in the world.
But I want to talk about how it is just that..
BAD ADVICE.
Today I’m going to share with you why that advice is NOT going to help you build a relationship
with your dog,
and what you CAN do to make this a loving, lasting relationship that meets both canine
and human needs.
Michele here w/ HTTADD
Before I dive right in be sure to hit that subscribe button, I don’t want you to miss
another training video like this one.
Ok, I hate that people are still using and even teaching that outdated training theory
Let me just say a few things.
You do NOT have to assert dominance or be the alpha.
You do NOT have to make your dog earn privileges.
You do NOT have to make your dog submit to you.
You do NOT have to withhold attention or affection.
You do NOT have to walk through doors before your dog, eat before your dog or keep your
dog strictly at your side for the entire walk.
Not only do you not have to do these things, you should not!
Nope nope and nopety nope!
I can’t say that enough… just NO!
And let me just do a really quick mention of Alpha Rolls.
This is an outdated and seriously damaging practice.
By rolling and pinning your pup on her back, you make an association that people can be
scary and hands coming towards her are likely not something she is going to enjoy.
This can lead to fear and aggression towards people.
Instead, we should be focusing on building trust and bonding with our puppy.
I’ve got a great video on that one for you.
And I’m going to dig a little deeper into that today too.
Since I’m not going to talk any more about this horrible advice - and believe me there’s
a lot more that I didn't mention,
I will talk about where these theories came from and why they are all so wrong!
I’m going to get very science-y on you right now.
I usually try to keep my Youtube videos light and fun, but for right now it’s time to
get serious.
This is a serious topic!
I want you to know why these things are such a bad idea, so stick with me through the science
and I think you’re going to learn a lot.
Don’t worry, I’m not JUST going to tell you what NOT to do.
I’m going to give you some sound advice and tips on what you SHOULD do, so hang on
for that part.
That’s what we always want to do for our dogs - teach them what we DO want them to
do, so I’ll do the same for you!
Ok here goes...The dominance theory - the one that says your dog and you have to compete
for the alpha role - is based on a study of wolves in captivity.
Let’s break that theory down a little bit more.
For one, we’re talking about wolves here, WOLVES.
Not domesticated dogs
Take a look at your pup.
Does she seem like a wolf to you?
Not only that, the wolves being studied were in captivity.
This is not natural!
Wolf packs are actually not led by a dominant leader.
They are more like a family, and that includes a mated pair (the adults) and offspring.
That sounds familiar, right!?
Yep!
More like humans.
Adult wolves spend time caring for and teaching their young,
And vying for dominance is not a priority to them.
In natural wolf families, hierarchy is generational.
Similar to a healthy human family where parents take care of children, and children listen
to, watch, and learn from adults.
So you can see that we were basing a whole lot of advice on a very flawed study.
The man who did it even says so!
His name David Mech.
He even went so far as to retract his entire study and rewrite the theory to better reflect
the true dynamics of the pack
We all live and learn so we don’t blame him for some missteps - we are glad he’s
spreading the word that his study was not supposed to be used for dog training concepts!
Unfortunately a whole lotta people haven’t continued their education and haven’t changed
their methodology when it comes to teaching and training so alas this myth still lingers
out there
Another reason why this study was so flawed is that it was taking information from adult
wolves from various locations and lineages forced to live in close proximity.
This resulted in unnatural behavior from wolves.
This would be like taking strangers to a deserted island with limited food and water and telling
them to fend for themselves.
Things are going to get hairy and scary pretty quick.
Unfortunately, this information stuck and somehow translated to dogs living with humans.
Comparing dogs to wolves is like saying house cats are lions or basing human behavior off
of apes.
We may have similar behaviors but that doesn’t mean we are the same.
Can you imagine getting advice from your pediatrician based on how apes care for their young?
You’d say “no thank you, I’ll consult another doctor”.
Ok, without really giving any more lip service to bad advice, maybe you’ve heard the advice
that you need to act like the mama dog.
Or maybe you were wondering if your puppy sees you - or your kids - as their littermates.
Nope!
To both of those!
There is no evidence that dogs see humans as their own species
Let’s face it, us humans are not the best at recognizing the nuances of canine body
language, let alone able to replicate it.
If we are running into trouble with our dog, it’s not because they think you are another
dog.
Believe me, you do not smell like any dog they have ever met!
So now you’re thinking “Ok Michele, we get it.
No more on the crazy outdated theories.
But if we are not the “Alpha” or “pack leader,” then how do we teach our dogs?
“
What will work better will be to create an open line of communication between our pups
and humans.
I like to use the term Guide.
You know when you show up somewhere new and there’s a big historical site or museum
to explore?
What do some people do?
Hire a guide!
Is this person going to dominate or become the alpha over you?
Nope.
They are going to teach and educate you.
And you’ll probably, hopefully enjoy it and learn lots of new things!
As mentioned in this video *How to Correct Unwanted Behaviors,* puppies don’t come
equipped with an understanding of human behaviors or expectations.
Our job is to teach our pups the rules for living in our home and build the behaviors
that we want to see from them over and over.
Of course, it is also our job to understand how our dogs thing and work and to let go
of the notion that we need to control their every move.
We already have a lot of control over our dogs.
We control when they eat, what they eat, when they go outside, what toys they play with.
The list goes on!
What time they can play and with who
Dogs must be enriched and healthy in order to thrive and there must be a diversity of
behaviors offered and encouraged in order to have a healthy dog.
Now, some things are out of our control and that is a good thing!
There are a number of species specific behaviors that we can’t take out of our pups.
These are behaviors like digging, chasing, sniffing, shredding, chewing, jumping, foraging
(OH MY!)
But wait, don’t those sound like behaviors that we don’t like?
If a dog is only limited to a short, set list of behaviors (sit, down, stay, come) and not
encouraged to engage in a variety of those species specific behaviors in appropriate
ways,
we see these behaviors pop up in destructive and potentially harmful ways later on.
When we provide things like pits to dig in, flirt poles to chase, and decompression walks
for sniffing,
then we cut down on the chance that our pup will do those things when we don’t want
them to.
For more information on decompression walks, check out this video here.
*Insert How To Exercise Your Dog*
We also speak frequently and in more depth with our students of the 30 Days to Puppy
Perfection course on how to be a good guide for your puppy.
We talk about and provide training games that encourage the behaviors we want to see more
of.
We discuss management of the environment to prevent reinforcement of behaviors we don’t
want to see.
We also explain more about providing an enriching environment that allows your dog to still
be a dog while remaining safe.
And keeping your house intact!
Let’s use counter surfing as an example.
Practice saying yes and tossing a treat to your pup when they have all four paws on the
floor in the kitchen.
Use baby gates or pens to block access to the kitchen when there is food or other items
on the counter that your dog may be interested in.
When your dog is physically sound and old enough, provide an acceptable outlet for jumping
like agility obstacles or objects out on walking and hiking trails.
Now, you have a pup that has learned that staying on the ground produces treats and
positive attention, has not practiced jumping up on counters for food, and has the opportunity
to jump in appropriate contexts if they enjoy it!
There’s a little more to properly address counter surfing than that but you get the
idea.
I’m going to do a lightning round recap for you, just to make sure you really take
away the most important points of this video.
But before I strike, hit that subscribe button so you’ll be notified when the next video
goes live.
Alright, ready for lightning round?
Hang on, I’m going to go fast but I know you’re with me!
Your dog is not a wolf
You are not a dog
Dogs are not pack animals and do not behave according to a linear dominance hierarchy
Dogs are members of the family
You are your dog’s guide through the human world
Reinforce what you want to see more of
Prevent reinforcement of the behaviors that you want to see less of
Provide enrichment - consisting of the things your dog loves.
That’s all!
It doesn’t sound so hard once I break it down, right?
But maybe you’re thinking “OK, but where do i begin?”
Well, you’re in the right place, you are on my Youtube channel.
That’s a great spot to begin!
If you’re just starting off with a brand new puppy, begin with my New Puppy Starter
Kit.
That’ll teach you how to get off on the right paw with potty training and what to
do as a new puppy parent.
From there, we’ll start to work on other things like the crate training, chewing and
biting, then jumping and leash skills!
Thousand other skills you need to teach your pup are covered in great detail inside the
online puppy training course, 30 Days to Puppy Perfection
I’ve got you covered between this Youtube channel, my free resources and then my online
course.
There’s no need to guess, or listen to outdated theories.
Stick with me and you’ll be fine!
In the comments below, tell me your puppy’s name, if you have him, and what he loves to
do!