Daily Telegraph vet and pet columnist Pete Wedderburn's blog
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/peter_...heres_no_point_in_trying_to_dominate_your_dog
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/peter_...heres_no_point_in_trying_to_dominate_your_dog
Dog training: why there's no point in trying to dominate your dog
Posted By: Peter Wedderburn at May 22, 2009 at 08:09:03 [General]
Posted in: UK Correspondents
Tags:
behaviour, dog training, dominance, pack order, research
So we've all been wrong, for all these years. A study released yesterday confirms that there's no such thing as the "leader of the pack" in the dog world.
Analysis of dogs in a rehoming centre combined with reviews of work done on feral dogs has shown that there isn't a "pack order" in dog society after all. All those efforts that people make to dominate their dogs are a waste of time.
It's with a little trepidation that I step into this arena: dog behaviour is a complex area, and one that some dog behavioural "experts" feel that vets should leave alone. They maintain that vets should stick to physical illnesses, leaving the animal behaviour to those whose training and experience is entirely dedicated to the subject. They back up this view with stories of bad advice given by some vets over the years.
In defence of my profession, a considerable chunk of the veterinary curriculum is given over to learning about animal behaviour. Vets discuss behavioural issues with owners on a daily basis. When we go to conferences, there are streams of lectures dedicated to animal behaviour. Vets would never claim to be behavioural specialists, but many of us do have enough training, understanding and experience of the area to be able to offer considerable help to our clients. Part of our training is to know our limits, and to know when we need to refer a difficult case to a true behavioural specialist.
So back to the issue about the structure of the canine pack. If there isn't an order of dominance, what is going on? I've learned about this from my own two dogs, and I find it easier to talk about the concept of "confidence" rather than "dominance". Each of my dogs is more confident in different situations, and each one could appear to be "dominant" depending on what's happening.
My territorial terrier, Spot, is in charge when the property needs defended. He barks, and rushes to the fore when a stranger appears. He looks like the "top dog" when you see him like this, but it's just that he's full of confidence when it comes to this part of his life.
My food-obsessed Labrador, Bessie, is less confident when it comes to defending the home, hiding behind Spot, but when it comes to food, she's definitely in charge. If a scrap of food falls to the ground, she'll see Spot out of the way. She loves food so much that when it's available, she's highly motivated and she's learned that in this situation, she can be the "top dog".
So you see, the "top dog" concept varies through the day, and as such, it's not very useful. The old theory suggested that the "top dog" dominated the rest of the pack in every situation, and that each animal was vying with the others to be dominant over each other. Old behavioural methods tried to teach owners to dominate their pets, to ensure that they remained in charge. Harsh methods, including punishment, were used to allow an owner to maintain this role.
The new research explains that dogs' minds don't work like this after all, and efforts to dominate pets can simply induce fear, anxiety and even aggression rather than creating a stable household.
Animal behaviour is difficult to understand, and we'll probably never fully appreciate what's going on inside their heads. There will always be different theories, and training concepts that work in some situations, but not in others.
To me, the biggest problems with dog behaviour happen when owners like treat their pets like spoiled children. People don't like to lay down boundaries, finding it difficult to be firm and consistent. One moment, the dog is sitting in their lap, being fed treats. Next, he's allowed up on the sofa, and when he growls, everyone backs off and leaves him alone. One situation is OK, the other is not OK, but to the dog, they seem similar.
The advantage of the old pack dominance theory was that it provided an easy way of explaining to people the importance of being consistent in their attitude to their pets. It gave owners justification to be more confident than they might otherwise feel.
The question is this: now that owners are no longer "allowed" to be dominant over their pets, how can they be taught to be consistent and confident so that they don't have their lives ruined by pushy little dogs?