Thread: Article

Originally Posted by Tussock

Animals will challenge for rank. But only a weak ineffectual leader will be challenged. If your having to beat your dog, your not the alpha. Your a bad leader. A bad leader will be challenged in a pack even with the threat of violence, because bad leaders get packs killed, just like they wreck businesses and sports teams and armies in the human world.

To use the barking example earlier, my dog is half huntaway. She never barks. When I picked her up at 8 weeks, she barked non stop. As in I put her in the truck and she started barking and didn't stop. I said "ut" which is my "that's wrong" word in a low firm voice with good posture anytime I caught her in the act, where she was engrossed in barking and where it was obvious what I was the negative behaviour was. I caught her in the act plenty. Your training a dog, it's your job to catch them in the act. It's the only time you can discipline a dog.

If your genuinely the alpha, everything becomes relatively easy. Ruff is right. You can tell them off with a look. If my dog walks up to an object, and I take position of it, with a little growl, a half under the breath "ut". 9 times out of 10' that's the last time she will ever look at it. She will visibly submit, and I will give her a pat, and reward the submissive behaviour. If she tries again, it's a wee challenge and so I increase the correction a little to match, posturing up a bit and growling with a wee bit more menace. A dog will correct an out of control puppy by swatting it on its back with one paw and holding it down for a second. The pup gets an "oh shit, I've really gone and done it now look on its face, but it will get up tail wagging. Blink and you will miss it, except the puppy has gone from overexcited to calm and submissive. Ever watched people trying to get a hyper active puppy under control?

Also have another look at those baboon packs etc. Internal violence in packs in nature is rare. Lots of time and effort is put into bonds between members in a pack. Animals get team building. That's why dogs greet you so delightedly, and why my dog wants to lick hell out of me, and why I'm reluctant to be too hard on her for it. Violence does no good at all to those bonds, and injuries would just weaken the pack. It's counterproductive. Dominance is established with posturing, rules and discipline.

If you beat or electrocute your dog, you will get submission, temporarily, but the dog will keep challenging you because your an incompetent leader.

Thanks Tussock, that makes sense, and was even done without growling

What I was trying to get at previously is asking if it is much harder training a single dog vs training a young dog where he/she sees how other dogs are behaving (well). In a pack (dogs, baboons, whatever) is it only the alpha that maintains discipline, or is it not also some of the other dogs "leading" by example ?

And sure, we humans don't necessarily get/understand dog/pack behavior. Pretty much the same can be said for some of these doggy debates where a couple of folks don't seem to realize that a debate/questions about training is not an alpha contest