Three Alphas is stretching dominance theory a bit, don't you think?

I don't believe dogs/wolves are born Alphas, my understanding is that dominance is relative.

O yes they do Dawn ! Ask any breeder of high % wolf crosses or pure wolves, and they will tell you the same. You must take the pups off the female before 3 weeks when the eyes open, else you will have an animal who is indelibly imprinted with a fear of humans.

I don't want to start a row about the rights and wrongs of wolf crosses and wolves as pets, I am merely stating fact.

I never said it did ! Where did that come from !!

They are ... and I do not consider that I am dominant, nor my husband.

An interest concept, dominance. An alpha male or female in a wolf pack is clearly also dominant ... or are they?

The word "dominant" to me implies force. I am an alpha female over my dog, Tai, but I do not apply physical force. I do not need to "pin" my dog, I do not need to apply any physical force whatsoever to him, except to put him on a lead when walking along the road, or around livestock. Neither does the alpha male and female in a pack of wolves apply force to the point where they inflict injury. In a wolf pack, it is a real no-no to draw blood on a fellow pack member. The beta enforcers put down any usurpers or insurrection with an awful lot of noise, and pinning, and posturing, but no blood. The only time blood may be spilled is when a lone male wolf tries to stage a take over on a pack, or tries his luck with a female wolf behind the back of the alpha male and female ... this may well end in the death of both lone alpha, and the female involved in the fracas.

I think I prefer the simple words of alpha male, and alpha female, when referring to a pack of wolves.

Humpty Dumpty took the book and looked at it carefully. ...and that shows that there are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ...
There's glory for you!'

`I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. `Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'

`But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'

`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master -- that's all. Impenetrability! That's what I say!'

`Oh!' said Alice. She was too much puzzled to make any other remark.

Are you serious? Have you looked at my profile and what I do with my dogs? Using your terminology, I go out of my way to choose the hardest, most strong willed, dominant, aggressive animals I can find.

It's exactly that reason why I gave the equivalent terms of what I thought were euphemistic terms. I've never met a disobedient dog that was also trained. Or a difficult dog that wasn't the fault of the trainer.

i think i can safely say if he has a working lines mally he knows about what to do with strong dogs!!!!

Yes I am serious ! And what do you do with your dogs? I know nothing about you Promethean ! but I like what you say ... that you choose the hardest animals you can find.

And I agree with you entirely that you ALWAYS blame the trainer, never the dog. For whatever reason, if the dog is, for want of a better word, naughty, then it is the fault of the trainer. And this is what I am saying about Hal. It was MY fault that he developed a fear of fireworks and thunder, it was MY fault he was disobedient. I have never said otherwise.

I know, I KNOW C & D. I am confused too ! I am finding it so hard to EXPLAIN in goddam bloody words that I don't know how to use !!

I wish I could just SHOW you !! A picture paints a thousand words and all that !!

Your post suggested (to me at least) that Hal having SA was in some way related to him being "Alpha"

So you're "Alpha" but not dominant?

You're confusing the hell out of me.