No, you are not alone Tang. However there were moments when we first brought home our last dog - when she tried to stand on my head for example - when I did wonder who was going to end up in charge

It never entered my brain until it was put there, even then I couldn't believe it so carried on the way I always had.

Well, yes. I actually went off last night and googled this 'dominant dog' stuff. Honestly some of what I read on the top result (dogbreedinfo) made me laugh out loud (especially a pic used to demonstrate a dominant dog - one of a little chi standing with one front paw raised) that apparently is a 'dominant pose'. I mean look! Just like Bella! High stepping gait and always raises one front paw when she stops.




I then continued reading the list of 'common behaviors dogs display when they believe they are above humans' (this bit really made me laugh 'Smarter dogs tend to challenge the pack order more than dogs of average or below-average intelligence.') lol! I'm surprised they didn't advise that the best thing to do is to buy a STUPID DOG!

I mean really - just look at some of these 'examples of dominant behaviour':

(Bella is guilty as charged mate - there's hardly anything there she hasn't tried or done!)

and then right at the bottom it said

'We strongly suggest Cesar Millan DVDs and/or Cesar Millan Books to every dog owner, from Chihuahua to Pit Bull. They are excellent guides to communicating with, understanding, and controlling your dog.'

Nuff said!

Now here's a real example of a 'dominant dog' just look at her - head held high and laughing at us mere mortals" BellaZilla!
(Credit to the forum member who made this for me)

Tilly holds her paw like that when she is unsure. Anyone who thinks all them are a dog taking control shouldn't. Have a dog, they are a dog being a dog.

She looks like she is having fun, she is gorgeous

Yes when we are out walking and get to a fork or a side turn Bella will stop and hold up her leg as if to say 'I'm waiting - which way are we going?'

Load of old tosh if you ask me. It also says that dominant dogs look proud and cute and that's why so many people end up with dominant dogs! They mistake them for happy dogs so are rewarding the dominance!

We should go for dogs who hang their heads, slink along low and look sad.

From Dogs Trust Web Site:
Sadly, an outdated, but still widely used, method of treating unwanted dog behaviours by some trainers has been to assume that all dogs want to be ‘dominant’ and to deal with this the owner must be the ‘alpha leader’ or ‘pack leader’ by following particular ‘one size fits all’ rules. These may include things like always eat before your dog, never let your dog sleep in your bedroom, make the dog get up if he is lying in your way and don’t let your dog pull you on the lead – all things that apparently make you ‘more dominant’ than your dog. It is claimed that these rules are based on the natural behaviour and dominance hierarchies of Grey Wolves – however, the studies that were used to base these assumptions on were made using captive wolf packs that showed very unnatural behaviour. Wolves (and other wild canine species) in the wild do not have constant disputes over dominance – they live in family groups and share duties relatively peacefully.
Additionally, it is highly unlikely that dogs think we are dogs or that they are human and so wouldn’t try to be dominant over us anyway – as the whole dominance idea can only be used within the same species, so it can’t cross over from dogs to humans in a group. Amazingly, it’s actually been known for around 30 years that dominance doesn’t actually work in the way that some ‘trainers’ have led us to believe. Instead, what is relevant is something called Resource Holding Potential (RHP) – which we will touch upon later.
Dogs Trust believes that Dominance Reduction Rules can
be detrimental to a dog’s well-being because they are
actually based on negative punishment, negative
reinforcement and in some cases plain old positive
punishment – e.g. you make the dog get up (take away his
comfy position and snoozing), you make him wait when he is
hungry until you have eaten in front of him (increasing his
frustration), you don’t let him in the bedroom at night (take
away his social contact) etc, etc. The use of techniques
based upon punishment, particularly physical punishment,
risk increasing anxiety in a dog’s relationship with its owner
and potentially leading to an escalation of aggression.
Fortunately most owners find it hard to stick to these rules for very long, because they feel like they’re being ‘mean’ to their dogs, but if they do stick to them there are no prizes for guessing what can happen – suppression of behaviour, and in some cases even learned helplessness and depression, which may eventually lead to aggression.
Our approach to changing a dog’s behaviour is very different. Rather than simply using punishment to stop a behaviour, we would identify why it is showing the behaviour, for example what is it fearful of, or what is reinforcing the behaviour and then use behaviour modification techniques based on positive methods to

@Tangutica:

I'm sure not. I'd bet you're also not the only one who has found a lot of this pack leader, dominance, alpha and omega stuff a bit trite and tired.

I've only got 13 years behind me, but I've read a lot, listened a lot, and tried to pay as much attention to my dogs as I can, and they have been the best teachers.

Yes, there is such a thing as a pack hierarchy-- just as there are group structures. Yes, there are natural leaders and followers. And yes, sometimes a dog can get the upper hand on a human. Dogs and humans have been in cohorts for what- 17, 18, 25 thousand years? Who knows, but we do know that we've been living in cooperation for ages.

Dominance-- dominance is not about being King of the Mountain. Dominance is about being that one guy who, after an accident, orchestrates everyone into action to help anyone hurt. Dominance is like a father who puts his arm around his little daughter after she's won an award for a science presentation and says 'That's my girl'. Dominance is oversight, in the older sense of the word: over-seeing. It has nothing to do with aggression. It has everything to do with attention and responsibility.

That's my two cents, anyway.

Apache. That's more like it! Gawd reading on the other site if you followed all their advice it would (in my opinion) make dog ownership a very MISERABLE EXPERIENCE indeed. Who the hell would be happy just basically putting their dog in its place all day every day? Sounds like a rulebook for people who have dogs but DO NOT LIKE THEM!