In part one I discussed the origin of the dominance theory of dog training and how it has lead to misconceptions about how dogs learn and behave. The notion of wolf packs as a strict hierarchy of individuals who are constantly fighting for dominance is a misconception based on a flawed study of wolf behavior in the 1940’s. Normal wolf pack behavior is relatively peaceful and highly cooperative with various adult animals taking on leadership roles when their particular talent is needed for pack security and survival. They are quite like human communities in which we defer to different authorities in different situations such as the police, our doctor’s recommendations, a lawyer’s advice or other individuals with an area of expertise for the matter at hand.

Although dogs are ancient descendents of wolves, they have undergone 15,000 years of evolution under the guidance of mankind. Humans have selectively bred dogs for the specific tasks, physical appearance and behavioral traits we desire in our companions. We have profoundly changed them from the wild wolf.

When it comes to living and working with dogs, the concept of dominance is largely irrelevant.

Let’s bust some myths about dog behavior and examine some of the behaviors that have been misidentified as dominance messages from our dogs. Contrary to what you may hear in the media or read in older training materials, your dog is NOT expressing dominance toward you when: 1. He runs through the door first, 2. Sleeps on your bed, 3. Jumps up on you during a greeting, 4. Steals unattended food from the counter or 5. Fails to come when called. Rather: 1. He knows fun things happen for dogs when you take them outside so he is in a hurry, 2. Your bed is a very comfortable place to nap, 3. Jumping up on you is fun and joyful when you come in the door because you are awesome and they have been alone, 4. Dogs by nature are opportunistic scavengers for food and you just played right into their hands (paws), and 5. He failed to come when called because you have not adequately reinforced the “come” command or, worse yet, when he finally does come, you punish him.

Dominance is NOT a personality trait. It is primarily a descriptive term used to characterize the relationship between two individuals of the same species when one dog, for example, wants first choice of an available resource such as toys or sleeping areas. Even between dogs dominance is not achieved by force but by one individual acquiescing to the other. Furthermore, the status between individuals is fluid so that one of the dogs may have first call on the toys and the other gets to have the preferred sleeping area. I had two small, male dogs and they both thought they were in charge of everything in the universe (yes, they were Yorkies). When they reached psychological maturity this presented a bit of a power struggle. After sorting things out for several months, they came up with a perfect, peaceful solution. Jiggs was in charge when they were indoors and Jelly Bean got to be the leader when they were outdoors.

Aggressive behavior in dogs is not an expression of dominance. Using aggressive behavior to get what they want is actually an expression of anxiety in which the aggressor is insecure and frightened. A good example is the dog who barks ferociously at a stranger passing by. He is motivated by fear and is doing his best to get the scary thing to move away from him. The barking is usually effective and the stranger moves on by. In this case the aggressive behavior worked (the scary thing went away) and therefore is self rewarding making it more likely to be repeated in the future. Proponents of the dominance theory will say to correct this behavior you should grab the dog by the neck, yell and pin him on his back. But meeting an already frightened animal with human aggression will only serve to increase the dog’s fear of the stranger and of you. Rather, the goal is to decrease the dog’s fear and show him that when strangers pass by good things, like treats or play time, happen for dogs. This replaces the dog’s fear of strangers with a positive expectation. It allows the frightened individual to relax so that he now has the cognitive space to learn a new response to the sight of a human he does not know. It also replaces the damage of human-on-dog aggression with a technique which does not damage your relationship with your dog.

Modern, educated trainers now present concepts that focus on building a caring and cooperative relationship with your pet. They use terms like leadership to suggest our role is one of teaching and understanding rather than force and coercion. Dogs lack the ability to use human speech and language putting them at a significant disadvantage when it comes to understanding our rules for living with us. It is incumbent upon us to gain a better understanding of dogs and to provide them with the guidance they need to learn how to live in our world. Just as in our human community, we have more harmonious relationships and can thrive in a world where the rules are clear and consistent.