Dominance
in Dogs: The Good the Bad and the Downright Ugly Truth.
With all the new reality shows about dog training and “dog
whispers’” its hard for anyone to understand what the truth is about dominate
behaviors in dogs. Is it good? Bad? Just dogs being dogs? According to some
trainers its an unfixable problem and euthanasia is the only option, others go
with a more proactive approach using training tools such as the prong collar
and remote training collars to correct these behaviors, while still others will
agree that the only way to “fix” the problem is to use the “show the dog whose
boss” method. I for one, have yet to understand how it is I am to tell my dog
I’m the boss by physically causing harm to him, seems a little hypocritical to
me. It is as though the old dog training proverb proves true; “There’s only one
thing two dog trainers can agree on, that’s what the third trainer is doing
wrong.”
First I would like to point out that there is a difference
in a dominant dog and a dominant aggressive dog. Owning a dominant dog is not
something to be concerned about as long as precautions are taken to ensure his
behavior is not allowed to turn aggressive. A dominant dog will not need to
fight to ensure his place on the totem pole so to speak, a dominant aggressive
dog however will use aggression in order to get something he wants or to not do
something he doesn’t want to do.
All this I’m sure is causing just as much confusion as all
those other articles you have already tried to twist your brain around. But,
think about this, if the human world were full of all passive people nothing
would be accomplished, if we were all an A type dominant personality we would
live in a constant state of war. In the same sense the dog world operates with
both dominant and passive dogs. A dominant dog will very rarely use aggression
or force to ensure his sonority he doesn’t need to result to those behaviors, a
“look” is usually all it takes for other dogs to not feel the need to challenge
him. Kind of like as a kid when you got the “look” from your parents, no
explanation was needed you knew perfectly well what that meant.
Dominance aggression is a little sneakier about rooting
itself in the most innocent looking of dogs. The progression of dominance
aggression can start at anytime but is most likely seen in puppies as early as
the age of 4 months. Puppies displaying acts of violence towards liter mates
and even handlers can turn into a very big mess if not corrected before the
ugly monster of dominance aggression hits in full force. Problem is as tiny
puppies nipping and growling is a adorable and oh so cute, however it seems as
pet owners we often forget that this tiny puppy will quickly mature to an adult
dog who calls the shots in the household you thought was your own.
Dominance aggression is a self reinforcing behavior, meaning
we inadvertently reinforce those exact behaviors we thought we were correcting.
For example you go to move your dog from the couch, after all it is your couch
your living room right? The dog growls at you informing you he does not want to
move from your comfy spot on the couch, instead of correcting this behavior,
you decide to just sit on the other end that way he doesn’t have to move, your
dogs just having a bad day he won’t be as grumpy tomorrow about having to move.
The dog just learned he calls the shots he sits where he wants in the comfy
spot you get the left over’s. As time goes on, you again, a week later decide
you want to sit in the same spot your dog is occupying, again you go to move
him, he growls, you ignore it because well it was funny at first but now you
really want your spot, the dog then resorts to enforcing his new rule about he
sits where he wants by biting at you to leave him alone. Now you have a problem
Most owners of dominant aggressive dogs do not realize they
are creating monsters that every second of every day grow stronger, not
physically per say, but mentally. Owners will often wait until they have a
terror of a dog biting, snarling, and snapping to ensure he never has to do
anything he does not want to, before they look for help from a trainer, at
which point be ready to take a crash course on correcting unacceptable
behaviors from your pet.. A good example would be to think of dominance
aggression as a small tropical storm, it starts out small with a gust of wind
that may cause very minor damage, however as the storm moves across the ocean
it picks up speed and continually grows as there is nothing but open ocean to
fuel the fury of the growing storm. Before you even realize it you have a
full-blown hurricane storming through your house and destroying whatever it
sees in its path.
In order to properly diagnose and treat a dominant
aggressive dog, one should employ the help of a dog trainer who is also knowledgeable
in dog behavior modification and analysis. Once determined the trainer will set
up some sort of training plan that will become a part of the everyday life of
you and the dog. The only way to rehabilitate a dog is to ensure the whole
household is willing to comply with the new rules established by the trainer.
The basis of correcting this behavior is making the dog work for whatever he
wants in a safe controlled environment. For example the dog may be asked sit or
down before he receives his food, or offer some sort of positive behavior in
order to be petted. The overall goal is to reestablish yourself as the pack
leader. All good things, food, toys, treats, affection, all must come through
you. Once the dog understands he no longer can use aggression to get what he
wants you will have established a much happier, healthier, safer life for the
both of you.
