Welfare in dog training.

I found this website today, and although its not really ground breaking news to many on here I thought that it was worth a share.

http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/why-not-dominance.php

I dont have time to read the link just now.

but............in all my years of training dogs, I can hand on heart say.....only once or twice have I came across a truely dominant dog,

so the term is not true 99.9% of cases its used in.

Hi Chaz thank you. The article cites among other things the paper produced by John W.S., Bradshaw , Emily J., Blackwell and Rachel A., Casey of Bristol University, '' Dominance in domestic dogs -- useful construct or bad habit?''
p=1722378&highlight=Bristol#post1722378

..and discussed in a number of threads on Dogsey .

A lot of people still cling to the concept that most unwanted behaviour in dogs stems from a dog 'being dominant', this isn't helped by TV entertainers perpetuating that idea . At least on Dogsey we can help to dispel the notation.

I could certainly introduce you to one

Yes thanks for that link ~ it's a well-written & concise reminder of why dominance as a concept in canine behaviour is so misunderstood.

Yes, that's a good site isn't it

Also another good article relating to "dominance"

http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/why-wont-dominance-die

Why won't dominance die?

"The “pack” and “dominance” theory of domestic dogs is a harmful meme. It prevents many owners understanding their dogs, causes untold misery for both and is perpetuated by well-meaning but uninformed dog trainers around the world. It is proving extremely resistant to extinction."

"The final and probably most important reason for the persistence of “dominance” is because the debunking of the myth is relatively new. It is generally said to take twenty years for new science to permeate the public conscious, but now its time has come. More and better research is being conducted and more practitioners are, like Keynes, changing their mind as the facts change. More members of the public are actually seeing that there are better alternatives, and more and more people are realising that whilst the meme might be “catchy” it isn’t actually very satisfying."

Wys
x

It`s laziness, I think. Instead of retraining the dog you label it `dominant` and give up. It`s an excuse, isn`t it? There have always been biddable or strong-willed dogs, but before the `dominance ` theory, you just got on with it and managed them.