A Podcast with Napo Pet Insurance.
Are you the pack leader in your house?
Don’t panic if you don’t think you are!
Actually you do not need to be.
Even though it has been around 80 years since the original term “alpha” and the entire “pack theory” surrounding wolves (yes wolves not dogs!) was debunked by scientists, I still speak to people on a daily basis who are worried that their dog is dominating them and trying to be the boss. Often when the dog is doing things like barking at them, sitting on the sofa or walking through doors before them. It amazes me given that we control every aspect of these dog’s lives including where they eat, when they eat and what they eat, that people could still think the dog is going to over throw them and become in charge?!
The short of it is that dogs do not live in an dominance based hierarchy with an alpha at the top! They live in familial groups just like we do. So putting them in their place by “alpha rolling”, staring them down, pinning them to the floor or any of the other bizarre things you may see online simply isn’t required. I’d go as far as to argue it is down right cruel and unnecessary. Sadly I am often helping owners pick up the pieces when this type of training back fires and they are left with the psychological fall out and a dog that is struggling with fear and anxiety based issues.
Does that mean we just let dogs roam around our homes doing what they like?
Absolutely not, we need clear, consistent rules but what those rules are is entirely down to you!
I work primarily with small dogs (Chihuahuas, Jack Russells, Westies etc.) and many of my clients allow their dogs on the sofa and they may even sleep in the bed with them. This group living actually can benefit both parties, releasing oxytocin a bonding hormone and helping to reduce stress levels. Yet according to compulsion or “dominance” based trainers that you sadly still find online, allowing your dog to do this is letting them be the boss and is the cause of all problems. Alas this is the problem with working in an unregulated industry where there is no minimum knowledge requirement or standard for someone to claim they are a dog trainer or behaviourist. I’ve covered that before in this blog post so I won’t go back into that today but please know this, if you have a dog and you are happy for them to snuggle up with you on the sofa that is absolutely fine. You are not breaking any “rules” and you aren’t making your dog badly behaved!
If you want to find out more about why the alpha theory was debunked, and how you would be better off training your dog then check out the latest podcast from NAPO – the Pet Perspective where I discuss all this and more.
Don’t have time to listen to the full episode then here’s some highlights:
Episode highlights
1:45 – Rachel Rodgers
“Even with a quick Google search, straight away what you find is all of these articles and social media posts saying you need to be the pack leader, you need to be the boss, you need to dominate your dog. It’s just so outdated, but it is still so popular in all of what we find online.”
2:45 – Rachel Rodgers
“Wolves are a different animal to a dog, and also, a dog knows we’re not a dog! They know that a human is different, yet we’re still trying to apply something that just doesn’t fit to the animal at all.”
8:15 – Rachel Rodgers
“I like that relationship with my dog, when my dog is excited to see me. I would never want my dog to cower and move away from me when I came home because they’re scared of what is going to come next. That’s not the type of bond that I would ever want to have with the dog.”
11:50 – Rachel Rodgers
“If our dogs are doing something that we like, we shouldn’t be so quick to remove those rewards. A lot of the time when dogs regress with their training, it’s because we’ve removed those rewards too quickly.”
12:45 – Rachel Rodgers
“The key to using positive reinforcement training isn’t all about using food, we can use toys, we can use praise, we can play with our dogs, we can give them a fuss. So long as the dog enjoys what they are getting, then it will reinforce the behaviour.”
18:30 – Rachel Rodgers
“Things that are about teaching something new are where you need training. The time for a behaviourist is where we have an already established problem.”
19:30 – Rachel Rodgers
“All of the clinical animal behaviours like myself who are on the ABTC register work off that vet referral, because it is well documented in the scientific research that a lot of behavioural problems – up to 80% – have an underlying health component to them.”
If after reading this, or listening to the podcast you are thinking that perhaps you could do with updating your training style a little then just reach out. There’s no judgment here – we don’t know what we don’t know. For years we have been told we should be “being the boss” and “dominating” our dogs the science has moved on, we know more now and if you’re ready to take this new more modern and ethical approach to training your dog then just get in touch or book directly through the website.