THE FACT IS THAT BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS ARE SELDOM ROOTED IN DOMINANCE.

The fact also is that dominance is regularly diagnosed as the cause of many nuisance behaviors, by both laymen and pros. Many dogs are incorrectly labeled as being alphas, with resulting advice given that is also incorrect and lead to responses and applied training methods that make matters worse.

Peeing on the rug, marking, barking, mounting, nipping, growling, lunging, jumping and of course biting are all expressions of the dog's present emotional state, are part of his intrinsic communication and rarely have anything to do with dominance.

Lets analyze each one. Peeing on the rug: either the pooch had to go pee and there was nobody home to let him out, or he has never learned to distinguish between in- and outside. Just because the dog mostly goes ouside, we can't assume that he knows. (Free tips on house training will follow Spring 2008).

Marking: Opinions differ if it is a sign of being the boss, stress relief or simply just a natural part of a dog's communication. Observations indicate that the superior dog tends to leave pee markers first, which the inferior dog then sniffs, and either marks on top of or walks away from. Since most humans don't pee-mark, and dominance is between a pair where one supresses the expression of the other when both are present, marking isn't even an issue humans should be concerned about. Dog A might be superior if he marks over dog B, but that doesn't mean that he also feels dominant over his human at the end of the leash. If in doubt, find yourself a secluded place in your yard, and see what your dog does when you leave your calling card there.

Barking, lunging, growling, biting, nipping and jumping are all expressions that are rooted in high arousal and/or fear. The dog is either emotional and reacts while out of control, or the actions are or were self-rewarding and have become learned, habitual behaviors and responses.

Mounting: is either an awkward expression of social inadequacy or a young wannabe pooch is challenging for status. Mounting is a tell-tale sign that the dog is not an alpha.

Read arousal aggression and fear aggression for additional info.


If barking, lunging, growling and so on are not signs of an alpha, how can I tell if my dog is a born ambitious social ladder climber?

True superior dogs are calm, grounded and easy to handle. They are not showy, but confident and secure, and generally tolerant; will confront and warn only if someone does something they don't like. The warning is also calm and controlled, for example a low growl, direct stare, or deliberant bite. The bite is can be deep, but is seldom repetitive. There might be a puncture, but usually no tearing.

The alpha does not surrender space. He will not back off or move out of the way and takes the liberty to move into someone else's space without confrontation.

Owners frequently make mistakes that'll give the dog the impression that they are inferior. Surrendering space - by moving out of the dog's way, or by giving the dog all he wants for free, and by fussing over him and pleading with her, they communicate inadvertendly that they are incapable of leading the pack. That'll leave the dog no choice but to take over, and she subsequently expresses actions that seem dominant, but aren't. Aggressive and confrontational expressions have become learned behaviors, born out of necessity, not nature, with the result that the dog stresses out, is insecure and seems out of control in certain circumstances.

That is the crucial difference. Inferior owners have dogs that act out of control, born alpha dogs might be aggressive to defend space or a resource, but remain in control.

Born leaders are rare. That is true for dogs and humans. If your dog has behavior problems, make sure that you get an accurate assessment where the issues are rooted. It is vitally important for behavior modification to know where your dog is coming from. If you treat an insecure dog as if he was an alpha, you'll make him even more insecure and problems escalate.

If you own a pooch who is secure, confident, generally tolerant, easy to handle most of the time, will not move where you want to walk or sit, does not solicit for attention a whole lot, initiates intense and prolonged eye contact or does not look at you at all and most other dogs move out of the way for, you might own a born canine leader. That does not mean that you can't have a rewarding relationship. Consult an experienced local dog expert who will help you achieve that.


Go from dominance, home for more dog-info, or to alpha wolf to read more about dominance.