I think many are still confused about what a dominant dog is.

Because a dog pushes past you through a doorway or sleeps on your bed, doesn't mean it is dominant.

Many dogs sleep on their owners beds, because through early confirmation they already know their place and therefore don't need to vy for leadership, therefore creating a perfectly hapy dog.

Pushing through doorways doesn't mean a dog is dominant either. Most pushy dogs are dogs that aren't sure of their place, or simply pushing boundaries or maybe just over excited.

A dominant dog is often the one happy to wait last until he gets fed, becuase he is confident of his position and therefore doesn't need to keep displaying his position in the pack.

You'll notice I don't say that dogs think we are dogs. It would be silly to think that. However that doesn't mean we don't make better leaders than a dog or wolf because we can offer more than another dog, i.e, logic etc.

Alphas aren't physical, they don't need to be, I think this is where people get confused.

An Alpha in a pack is usually the most laid back and the most quietly confident.

Pushy dogs are not dominant as they obviously feel the need to push, to get something.

Most pushy dogs are 'potentially' dominant because they feel the need to assert themselves.

Nope! Dogs may need 'hierarchies', but it doesn't mean people have to get involved.

I'm quite happy to let my dogs get on with it and I follow whichever order they choose to work in. It's quite clear that Takara can wind Eddy up as much as she likes but Eddy is boss.

No matter what either of them think to each other, I'm not a dog - so I don't get involved, they do as I ask because the things I ask for are associated with a reinforcement history, not because they respect me as such.

Eddy doesn't, but Takara waits for me to go through doors, why? Because otherwise I get dragged out for a walk. They wait til I say they can have their food, why? Because it's a great opportunity to train 'leave'...

They're not allowed on the sofa because they're hairy so and so's. They don't get on the beds because they're not allowed upstairs because that's the area the cats live in (they don't hurt the cats but the cats hate them anyway).

I think dominance comes into play between dogs sometimes, but often there is far too much emphasis on dominance in training when there's just no need!

I've been told that Takara was snapping at other dogs because she's dominant! They clearly failed to notice the high pitched yaps, with her turning away and getting close to the floor and the obvious insecurity that was causing her to snap in the first place!

Pack theory between dogs- yes.

Dogs and humans - no.

Lottie I agree with you. I'm Alpha to my dogs only in the sense that I lead and guide them (i.e training)

I have 2 potentially domnant dogs here that have both tried their hardest to get the better of me.

They never have and never will, and now that they know their places, mine are allowed on the sofa, and on my bed with no problems, but had I allowed this from the start, it would have been hell trying to telling them otherwise.

I will say though, that I strongly think it is breed specific within certain breeds. More instinctual breeds are more prone.

Also watching a litter of puppies is a very good experience, watching them interact with eachother, you definitely see the potentially dominant ones stand out like a sore thumb !

Nope we don't 'do' dominance in this house, the dogs sleep on the beds, go on the furniture, eat before us, go through doors before us etc etc. Yet they are perfectly well behaved and a joy to live with. My relationship with them is based on love, understanding and mutual respect. I do not feel the need to be the 'alpha', we all live together in harmony. Plus at the end of the day i'm a human, not a dog so they have no need to form a pack with me

Shona I often explain the same thing to people.

It's the difference between the post room boy and the Managing Director ...lol

I'm Managing Director and my job never stops and it's stressful, my dogs are post room workers and have minimal responsibilities to conform, yet if I gave them my job, they would be nervous wrecks in a week ...:smt042

A dog who's allowed to take charge is a worried and stressed dog.

I think different people on here have different understanding of "pack order", "heirarchy", "dominance" etc

I don't spend every waking minute watching over my dogs..

They have a pack order, Cruiser, Seiko and then Lola.. They are all comfortable with their positions and are harmonious 98% of the time.. and I don't need to do anything...just sit back and enjoy my dogs.. I only feed them in order or treat them in order to reinforce the positions.. Lola sometimes gets "uppity" as she is so playful and when Cruiser has had enough he will tell her off.. with either noise and then walk away and lie down whereby she knows thats it... if she doesn't take the telling and keeps on at him he will pin her to the ground and "tell" her enough.. there is no damage or fighting.. We do not step in at any point.. until I think its getting too much or too boisterous and Lola is the one removed from the situation.. whether she started it or not.. she is the lower pack member..

So.. as pack leader.. I am above Cruiser..because he listens to me.. but 98% of the time I am redundant as Cruiser runs his pack very well.. and without agression..Malamutes are very talkative animals and play very rough.. what peope think of as growling and fighting is merely an arguement and playing..

Sort of, but only when it comes to feeding them and going out for their walks.

Firstly you have got to remember that I have got five large dogs and believe me if I don’t stay on top of them at certain times then all hell can break out.

Firstly all of there food gets put down in the same order and in the same places. So Ruby is always the first to be fed followed by Onyx and then the others, so I’m just following the rank order they have set themselves.

Secondly my wife or I always go through the door first, that’s got nothing to do with rank or status, but common sense. Just try to walk through a door with five black ‘n’ tans barging past you at the same time.

Yes I am the boss in my house, but that said they still sit on me whenever I watch TV, I get my daily wash (which is really gross by the way), but they also know that when I tell them to do something or to stop doing something which ever the case is, 99% of the time it gets done.

I treat my dogs the same way I treated my children when they were about 12 years old. Obey the rules of the house and everything is fine, and believe me the dobes do know what the rules are. Its just Skye the Rottie who has a problem with a couple of them, like going into my daughters bedrooms when they have left a door open or trying to come into the shower room when I’m in it, (she paws at the shower door and whinges).

So yes I do have some rules in my house, which the dogs must obey, but at all other times they do as they wish.

I'll agree with you there :smt042

I once had someone ask If we needed a hand seperating the dogs, when they were bouncing all over each other outside, grumbling and bearing teeth

As soon as I said 'enough' they stopped and sulked because they were having fun, but the person didn't believe they were playing until they stopped dead and sat next to eachother