TurboK9
New Member
You hear a lot about dominance behavior, and how one must work to be Alpha in the home over the dog, and how improtant that is to a healthy family 'pack' based on the behavior of wolves.
Prior to 1972 the basic belief about dogs was that they are born wanting to please man. That theory had worked for a few centuries.
Then along came David Mech, a wolf biologist who tried to study wolves in a natural setting. He is the one that gave us the phrases Alpha wolf and Dominance in a wolf pack.
His scientific papers were read by the Monks of New Skete, New York, a monastery that began raising German Shepherds to support their monastery. They then published a book titled "How to be your dogs best friend" where they used the writings of zoologist David Mech, to get people to look at dogs as the offspring of wolves, and thus trying to DOMINATE everything.
The phrases Alpha and Dominant were born.
Fast forward to 2008, David Mech, the scientist, publishes a paper recanting everything he said about wolves trying to be dominant. He explains that when he first published his studies results, there were so few wolves in the wild, that scientists created packs by finding a wolf in Canada, and putting him in a pen with, a wolf from Montana, and throwing in a wolf from Alaska, creating a very artificial pack of male, scared wolves. Oddly, his recant of his findings has not had the slightest impact on 'dominance' style training theory.
Today with wolves being back in the wild and the chance to study "natural" packs in the wild Dr. Mech has written that all his early beliefs about Wolves wanting to be dominant were based on a false premise and therefore incorrect. Wolves when studied in a natural setting are very good at working things out peacefully, with little desire to dominate, kinda like the century old belief that dogs are born trying to please.
David Mechs original, flawed study gives answers more appropriate to a family that brings in multiple older dogs, rescued, etc.
If one begins with pups around 12 weeks of age, the pups will naturally develop in a family 'unit'. Dominance becomes much less of an issue as there is no vying for acceptance or posititon, as such is already predisposed. Challenges by newcomers arise based on fear and insecurity, not a 'need' to be the dominant role player in the family 'pack'. If there are issues among the family dogs or between you and yours, check it before you wreck it, you are doing something wrong, and physically coercing your dogs isn't going to help the issue.
What this breaks down to is basically the concept that one who owns dogs must be a 'leader', but not a monster. One does not need to 'alpha roll' or otherwise force upon a dog the idea that they are subservient. All it takes is a display of leadership... a little OB work, feeding drills... there is no need for physical proof or coercion. Consequences for stepping out of line need only be severe enough to clarify displeasure in the action, the need not be more. Dogs follow because that is what they do, and they follow best when leadership is consistent, fair, and clear.
Just rambling because it's late and I find Mech's work interesting.
Gonna be up all night...
Prior to 1972 the basic belief about dogs was that they are born wanting to please man. That theory had worked for a few centuries.
Then along came David Mech, a wolf biologist who tried to study wolves in a natural setting. He is the one that gave us the phrases Alpha wolf and Dominance in a wolf pack.
His scientific papers were read by the Monks of New Skete, New York, a monastery that began raising German Shepherds to support their monastery. They then published a book titled "How to be your dogs best friend" where they used the writings of zoologist David Mech, to get people to look at dogs as the offspring of wolves, and thus trying to DOMINATE everything.
The phrases Alpha and Dominant were born.
Fast forward to 2008, David Mech, the scientist, publishes a paper recanting everything he said about wolves trying to be dominant. He explains that when he first published his studies results, there were so few wolves in the wild, that scientists created packs by finding a wolf in Canada, and putting him in a pen with, a wolf from Montana, and throwing in a wolf from Alaska, creating a very artificial pack of male, scared wolves. Oddly, his recant of his findings has not had the slightest impact on 'dominance' style training theory.
Today with wolves being back in the wild and the chance to study "natural" packs in the wild Dr. Mech has written that all his early beliefs about Wolves wanting to be dominant were based on a false premise and therefore incorrect. Wolves when studied in a natural setting are very good at working things out peacefully, with little desire to dominate, kinda like the century old belief that dogs are born trying to please.
David Mechs original, flawed study gives answers more appropriate to a family that brings in multiple older dogs, rescued, etc.
If one begins with pups around 12 weeks of age, the pups will naturally develop in a family 'unit'. Dominance becomes much less of an issue as there is no vying for acceptance or posititon, as such is already predisposed. Challenges by newcomers arise based on fear and insecurity, not a 'need' to be the dominant role player in the family 'pack'. If there are issues among the family dogs or between you and yours, check it before you wreck it, you are doing something wrong, and physically coercing your dogs isn't going to help the issue.
What this breaks down to is basically the concept that one who owns dogs must be a 'leader', but not a monster. One does not need to 'alpha roll' or otherwise force upon a dog the idea that they are subservient. All it takes is a display of leadership... a little OB work, feeding drills... there is no need for physical proof or coercion. Consequences for stepping out of line need only be severe enough to clarify displeasure in the action, the need not be more. Dogs follow because that is what they do, and they follow best when leadership is consistent, fair, and clear.
Just rambling because it's late and I find Mech's work interesting.
Gonna be up all night...