Exactly June, perhaps I misinterpreted Losos, but I thought he was suggesting that Ben is an alpha, and he most certainly isn't! Re-reading his posts, I can see that my interpretation was definitely wrong! Shaun Ellis absolutely hits the nail on the head with his "rankings". Ben is the classic Beta Enforcer, the sergeant major of the household - and Ben's household extends out into the wide world when we are out and about on walkies. He will not tolerate any intransigence from any dogs, which up to press has always made life rather difficult but very, very interesting! Diesel is a low ranking sentinel and nanny (in a wolf pack, he would be left behind when there was a hunt to look after the cubs, and the sentinel role is self-explanatory. Diesel is a barker, and he takes his role very seriously. Gucci I am not sure - I used to think he was an alpha, but he is not, and he is not an enforcer, so I think he is just a lower beta than Ben.

As for walking through doors first, I debunked this very quickly after getting Hal. As soon as he was big enough to knock me over I very much wanted him in front of me so I could keep an eye on the little git, protect my nether regions from his wet nose and keep on my feet! Hal was an alpha through and through - it would have been fascinating to have seen Hal and his son Ben together - I know who would have been the boss!

Well done to you bothGreat to hear Ben is doing so well,you clearly adore him

I've never been a military man but many in my family have been and they've all told me that to be a succesful member of the Army, Navy, or Air Force, the one thing you must be able to do is take any punishment handed down without rancour or malice. Just like Diesel.

So different from the civiliean world we live in now where the compensation lawyers comming flying out of the undergrowth the minute there's an accident trying to 'prove' that someone else was to blame.

It's not easy on a forum to have a complicated debate and that's one reason why I don't very often do it

Ben may not be an alpha male, I'm not experienced enough to truly know about such things. He does sound to me like a dog who is a true example of a good cannine.

OK, my dogs have no wolf blood, and are are 'only Beagles', but I insist on discipline when we go through doorways. This does not mean that I go through first, but rather that they wait until I say OK before they go dashing through - and don't scratch the doors as they go. They have the same type of discipline at mealtimes. I don't eat before them, but they do have to wait for a 'Yes', before they begin to eat - this saves the food being knocked out of my hand as I try to put it down.
I am puzzled why your posts appear to suggest that this may be the wrong approach. To me this is just doggy manners, but there again, I don't subscribe to alpha theory in a domestic setting. Honestly, I'm not being critical, I really want to know what is the difference between your dogs and my hounds.

O yes!! He is such a git but i do indeed adore him 😆😆

I think he probably is a well balanced canine! I mistakenly used to think he was vicious and unreliable with other males ... but that really is not the case. As i say he is a true soldier, a beta enforcer through and through! As you say, diesel and gucci accept this and take their punishments on the chin! We couldpandeed do with humans like Ben ... i dislike this namby pamby politically correct airy fairy elf and safety that prevails in todays society!

Having owned a beagle, they are delightful dogs ... lead by their noses with a tendency to be destructive but gorgeous! However, wolf crosses and northern breeds in general are very very different from any dog ... pedigree or cross ... i am typing this on my galaxy so terribly slow but will answer in detail when i am back home 😆😆

Carole, what I mean was that people have this idea in their heads that IF they walk through the door in front of their dogs, eat before them..then they have the mistaken impression this will PROVE to their dogs that they are 'Alpha' .
So what you do is have a strict code of practice that they have to adhere to, so therefore you have nothing to prove, because you have things organised to suit you and they naturally follow your requirements, you have nothing to actually prove anyway as everything you have in place is for your convenience.
Think of the Queen, President, etc. Do they go first in a procession, no they don't. First in front is the Household Cavalry isn't it, she is in the middle surrounded by her guards, front side and rear. Any ceremonial occasion she does not open the doors, she does not process first, someone is in front of her, in past times they would be holding a bluddy great mace or sword to bonk anyone on the head who made a visible threat to her. She doesn't go first to prove she is the Queen, she IS the Queen, knows she's the Queen, acts like the Queen and looks like the Queen, so whatever requirement she has for behaviours towards her she puts in place. She would probably not have eaten first years ago, a food taster would, to ensure there was no chance of poison.Etiquette demands differently nowadays, but in the animal world the leader has nothing to prove, they just ARE, therefore they do nothing to justify their position, unless threatened, in which case the Beta Enforcer sends the ranks out to sort it, if the threat becomes such that the leader is threatened and the ranks have been destroyed, then the Guard, Beta Enforcer and higher ranks steps in to negate the threat.
Anyone who WANTED to be Queen and tried to act like the Queen, but quite visibly didn't act as a Queen would, is then exposed as a fake and no one would be that bothered what they said or did, because they would know by the persons behaviours that they weren't what they pretended to be.