The Dominance Myth in Dog Training Explained
today we’re going to talk a little bit
about the dominance myth in dog training
versus a modern dog training but first I
want to give you a quick update on how
things are going on this YouTube channel
let you know what’s coming up I’ve got
two great videos that I’ve already shot
I just need to edit them and get them
ready one’s going to be on separation
anxiety and the other one is going to be
on a really hot topic that a lot of you
need help with often which is walking
without pulling I’m going to be
featuring the very hyper Zeus the German
Shepherd I’ve also updated my step by
step guide to teaching your dog it’s
around 25 videos or so as of right now
and all the videos have been made in the
last 18 months or so so no old
low-quality stuff the campaign on
patreon is going really really well
we’re increasing our budget for these
videos which is very helpful so I can
bring you even better content I also
want to thank you guys our growth has
been humbling on my youtube channel
nearly 10,000 of you subscribe every 30
days now and it’s rapidly accelerating
beyond that as of late which I don’t
even know what to say I’ve never seen
anything like this before so thank you
very much you know I’m often asked
questions about resolving unwanted
behaviors with people’s dogs often from
a new person I’ll get the question about
how to be a better pack leader or how do
I show my dog that I’m the dominant one
now it’s important to understand that
these terms pack leader dominance alpha
all of that are not really based in
science but rather pop culture I like to
think of things in pre internet versus
post internet and then a pre-internet
age niche information like information
about dog behavior like many other
things was very limited for the average
person and so these terms have more to
do with the myths that have survived
rather than real science the term alpha
can be traced back to studies on captive
wolves now while we do see instances of
what some behaviorists might call
dominance and scenarios where wolves are
in an unnatural captive environment it’s
a far cry from how a human being with an
evolved intelligence unlike any other
known species should base their
interactions with a domestic dog you see
dogs and wolves are very very different
behaviorally speaking and all just that
more and
second as well but first understand that
wolves in their natural environment do
not express the Alpha traits that many
think they do rather their family
structure is actually quite similar to
ours while it may feel like a sound
philosophy for summoned dog training to
explain how the domestic dog listens to
the Alpha the fact is there is no modern
science that substantiates these claims
furthermore there is no science to
indicate that a domestic dog is dominant
cross species and in my 11-year career
I’ve not seen a pattern that would
indicate to me of any cross species
dominance there are much simpler and
more logical explanations for the
multitude of behaviors formally
attributed to dominance in rare
instances where dogs do bite or attack
people this is usually associated with
fear or mental illness but there’s
nothing to lead us down the road of
attributing this to dominance if our dog
is out of control pulling us down the
block jumping chewing it has nothing to
do with dominance these types of dogs
are simply high-energy and need an
outlet remember dogs or domestic animals
bred for thousands of years to work with
people we’ve refined their genetics to
favor endless stamina and energy as you
know I recommend teaching a Polish fluid
vet and structured exercise as a way to
satisfy these dogs it’s not realistic to
expect a super high-energy dog with lots
of energy to understand new concepts
until you’ve gotten their energy out on
a regular basis now honestly I think
what many people mean when they say you
have to be the pack leader or show your
dominance is that you need to be a good
leader and teacher now there’s no doubt
that you need to be in charge of your
dog and your house just as you would
with a young child and I have no
objection to a person using any language
they want but here’s where the problem
lies
old-school dog trainers who subscribe to
this outdated non scientific approach
twist this logic may be unknowingly to
use unnecessary force after all the
alpha wolf in the wild will demonstrate
through force their alpha status when
putting another wolf in check so the
superstition goes so a simple firm pop
on a leash with a
or shot-caller is just simulating how
nature works they’ll say our dogs may
learn at a basic level from force but
they do not thrive at least from a
learning perspective under these
conditions
special collars always address the
symptom and never address the cause
there is no faster way to undermine the
intelligence of a dog than to motivate
them to learn by teaching them to avoid
discomfort wolves are the product of
natural selection and dogs are the
product of very purposeful artificial
selection as a general rule humans breed
the dogs that are good at taking
direction from us people we are human
beings why would we try and imitate the
ancestral wolf traits of the domestic
dog who is specifically bred to interact
with people to train from this mindset
is to ignore the entire purpose for why
the dog even exists if a professional
wants to believe in dominance theory for
teaching dogs fine but no matter how
much you want to believe this it does
not make it true it gives us an excuse
to undermine the capabilities of our
dogs and take a behavior rather than
teach a behavior any method that does
not directly promote a bond between a
person and a dog will have at best very
mediocre results shocking a dog with an
e-collar or popping them with a prawn
collar will promote learning at a very
basic level for example you’ll notice
that those who train with metal collars
usually have them on at all times
because they work when they’re on
largely speaking but because their dog
is smart their dog understands that the
moment you take the collar off they can
go back and behave differently
non-science bad science and poor ethics
have no place in our industry in the
21st century the deeper we look the more
we are constantly discovering how truly
complex and sophisticated dogs are if we
have it all figured out and reduce our
entire ideology on dominant versus
submissive particularly when very smart
people and scientists have gone through
tremendous efforts over the last
half-century to understand dogs at a
deeper level then we’re not doing
ourselves or our dogs a good service now
if you want to see an out-of-control dog
learn how to walk on a leash without
forceful Corrections check out the
description of this video it’s a recent
one I shot with Lafitte awesome very
energetic dog often when I make a video
like this some get defensive they might
say something like well when my dog sees
me getting the prong collar they sure do
get excited about training don’t confuse
your dog getting excited for getting out
of the house and going on a walk for
them somehow liking being popped with a
choke chain dogs are willing to endure
this type of training if the benefit is
great enough as in the case of going for
a walk but that doesn’t make it a sound
approach for a real training strategy
rather for these dogs this is simply a
patch not a meaningful effective
solution I want to be clear if you have
bought into this logic and implemented
it into your life I am NOT saying that
you do not love your dog I am NOT saying
that you’re abusive my goal is not to
insult anybody but to enlighten you and
educate I’m saying that you’ve been
misled the lack of ethical scientific
practice in our industry is appalling
science means nothing unless we share
our data and now more than ever we can
share our knowledge and that to me is
very exciting and all the more reason to
be very optimistic thumbs up if you
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