IMPORTANCE OF ALPHA FACTOR IN DOGS: ALPHA DOG
Compiled & Edited by-DR RAJESH KUMAR SINGH ,JAMSHEDPUR, JHARKHAND,INDIA 9431309542,rajeshsinghvet@gmail.com
www.pashudhanpraharee.com
In nature, dogs run in packs, led by a leader, called an “alpha.” In your home, you want your dog to consider you the alpha. This post, describes how to establish and maintain your alpha status.
Leaders are kind. Understand that a dog isn’t a human. If you lose patience or have had a bad day, quit. There is no way your dog will understand you are in a mood.
Leaders never, ever hit. The old school approach of swatting a dog with a newspaper does not work. It creates fear and a sense of being cornered — a recipe for disaster. Even yelling is counterproductive and possibly dangerous. If you find yourself becoming upset, take a break.
Leaders rule simply and react with immediacy. Remember the dog has a simple mentality. You: “Dog, come!” (Dog is busy with squirrel, doesn’t come). When dog finally comes, you punish him. To you, you just punished him for not coming. To him, you just punished him for coming! Oops! Think immediate action/reaction with dogs.
Leaders are consistent. Consistency is everything to a dog. They thrive on rules, repetition, and ritual. They don’t understand why you said one thing one day and mean it, then not the next. Keep it black and white — no shades of gray.
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists. Less good when they obey and acclaim him. Worse when they fear and despise him. Fail to honor people and they fail to honor you. But of a good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say: ‘We did this ourselves.’ “
— Lao-Tzu
Regardless of your reason for acquiring a puppy, you’ll have to win it over. You, not your dog, will have to be the leader of the pack if your pup is to develop into a well-mannered family member instead of a burden. Dominance and alpha behavior are important concepts that every dog owner should comprehend.
Dogs are animals, not human beings. They are pack animals by nature. Every pack has a leader, known as the alpha animal, who dominates and leads the other members of the pack. The alpha is the boss who makes decisions for the entire pack. Usually the pack will have an alpha male and an alpha female. All the other members of the pack form a hierarchy of dominance and submission where everyone has a place.
In your home, you and your family become your dog’s pack, as do any other dogs you may have. It is your responsibility to establish yourself in the alpha position. If you fail to do this, your dog will do it as a natural behavior. Many people assume that they are automatically in charge just because humans are superior to animals. But are you really the pack leader? Does your dog know it?
Being the pack leader does not mean you have to be big and aggressive. Nor does it mean that there has to be a battle of wills after which you are the victor. Anyone can be the pack leader. It is an attitude an air of authority. It is the basis for mutual respect, and provides the building blocks of communication between the two of you.
A pack animal becomes a full fledged member of the group by a process called subordination. With dogs, subordination begins shortly after the third week of life and continues throughout early development. Most normal, healthy puppies are basically pushy animals, and will try to advance as far as possible within the social order of the pack. The key to successfully rearing a puppy is to establish yourself as the pack leader and then maintain that position for the life of your dog.
So how do you become the alpha leader? In the wild, the adults of the pack begin early to teach the cubs the rules. The adults grab pups around the head or neck and gently, but firmly, pin them to the ground. The cubs learn to greet the adults with respect by approaching them using a slightly crouching posture, with ears back, tail down and wagging, and they lick the adults’ muzzles. The cubs do this as a sign of respect and affection, not out of fear. It is called the subordination display, and its function is to keep peace and harmony within the pack.
Scientists and biologists no longer use the term Alpha they tend to use the word “breeders” to describe the leaders of the pack. The reality is a wolf pack is a family unit. Mother Father and extended offspring. What we believed were the alpha’s, are in reality the parents.
So where did all this Alpha leader of the pack theory come from? For that answer we have, to look back to the study of captive Wolves by the likes of R Shenkel Schenkel started writing scientific papers just after the 2nd World war.
Then a marvellous individual called L. David Mech (pronounced Meech). One of the most senior research biologists in the World, Mech was able to study Wolves for long periods at a time.
Initially like Schenkel this was on Captive Wolves. The results appeared to bear out Schenkel’s findings relating to the pack dynamics and the Alpha position of a single male and female within the pack.
A whole new way of training was born. Unfortunately, it was created on scientific evidence that was with hindsight seriously flawed, though we were unaware of that at the time.
Mech has since done exhaustive studies on non-captive free roaming Wolves and the results are startlingly different from those gathered using a captive pack.
Alpha exercises
Leadership exercises can confirm humans as the heads of the family pack. Once you establish this relationship, your dog will seek you out. He will want to be with you and will treat you with respect and affection. After he learns to submit to handling, all other tasks such as grooming, nail clipping, cleaning ears, and medicating will be easier to accomplish. But first he must learn that you have the power to handle him, and that handling will not lead to any harm. He must come to trust you entirely.
These exercises will help establish leadership but should not be used with an older pup who has learned to use his teeth to get his way. Exercises one and two are recommended only for small puppies up to three months of age. Exercises three and four are suitable for pups up to six months of age as long as there’s no problem with aggression. Be gentle but firm with all exercises, as you would with a baby human.
- Sit on the floor, then pick your pup up off the floor with both hands supporting him just behind his front legs, facing you. Hold him away from you at arms length. Look directly into his eyes. Growl at him if he struggles, using a low guttural sound. Hold him till he relaxes. Vary the time you hold him in this position from 15 to 45 seconds. Vary the location.
- Sit on the floor and cradle your pup, placing one hand under his head and the other supporting his back so that he is upside down on his back, and up in the air. Hold a larger puppy across your lap. Hold the pup for 15 to 45 seconds, using the same growl as in exercise 1 if he struggles. Hold him until he relaxes.
- If your puppy is large, substitute this exercise for the first two. Straddle your pup, with one of your legs on each side of him. You should be facing the same direction as your dog. Lock your fingers together under his chest, just behind the front legs. Lift his front legs off the ground for 15 to 45 seconds. If he struggles, growl at him till he is quiet.
- Place your dog on the floor with all four legs pointing away from you. Hold him firmly by the neck with one hand, and press down on his midsection with the other hand. Talk to him softly after he is quiet. It might take two or three minutes to get him to relax. If he exposes his belly to be rubbed, you are on the right track. Do not allow him to struggle, get up, or nip. Always praise him lavishly in a quiet tone when he relaxes. Now is also a good time to handle all four paws and look briefly into his mouth so he can get used to tolerating your handling him gently. Be sure to do this exercise four or five times a day at first. Taper off as the pup gets more used to you and accepts your leadership.
The stare
Eye contact is also one of the ways order is kept in a wolf pack. Only an alpha animal may use the stare to remind everyone who is in charge. When you initiate eye contact, you express your alpha position. Encourage your pup to maintain eye contact for several seconds, making it a pleasant experience. Do not force him to do so. Use the term “watch me” and always praise him the instant you have eye contact. However, you do not want to try to do this with a dog who thinks he is already in charge of things. The dog must know you are the leader first. Otherwise you will begin a stare-down contest. An alpha dog will not be willing to be first to avert his eyes. If you are the first to avert or even blink your eyes, it will help confirm the dog’s alpha status.
Alpha discipline: Pack leader activities
There are many pack leader activities you can use as part of a daily training routine. Probably the single most important command your dog can learn is “sit.” You can incorporate “sit” into everyday situations as a reminder that you are in charge of things. Tell your dog to “sit” before you feed him, before you play, before he goes out the door. This shows the dog that he must respond to you before indulging in his own pleasures. If he is obedience trained, put him in a down-stay while you prepare his dinner.
Your dog will accept you as pack leader as long as you are consistent and fair in your demands. You must never permit him to growl or snap. If he does, a severe scruff shake is necessary, followed by no attention from you for 10 to 15 minutes. The scruff is the loose skin around the dog’s neck. If your pet growls or snaps and you are not afraid to handle him, grab him firmly by the scruff with both hands, stare him in the eyes, and shake him. Then put him in his crate for 15-20 minutes and ignore him.
If your dog growls or snaps and you are afraid to discipline him, seek professional help. Don’t ignore the incident; a dog allowed to threaten his family can easily become a biter.
Never overlook any challenge to your authority. Most dogs will test their owners, usually in adolescence. When the issue is settled immediately, it usually ends the matter.
It seeks to throw light on some of the common behavior traits exhibited by dogs along with the reason why they do so.
Most of it is attributed to their primitive instincts of being part of a wild ‘pack’, similar to those still found among other canines such as wolves.
Their sense of territory and trying to be the dominant one among the pack have direct implications on the way they behave with the family that they are now a part of.
A thorough understanding of how to go about tacking ego-clashes that may arise between the dog and members of the family for instance comes in handy while trying to resolve them.
Moreover, effective training also calls for being in control if your dog needs to feel the importance of obeying his master.
The dog world has been offering proof that the alpha dog theory is a myth, and that doing alpha rolls and forceful, dominant corrections are nothing more than bullying the dog.The first proof came when people realized that 70-80% of all dogs on earth live wild. So, instead of putting dogs and wolves in confinement and trying to study ‘natural’ behavior, researchers go in the wild to see what real canine behavior looks like.
The second proof came from a fox farm in Russian in the last 50’s. They accidentally found that if you breed calm foxes to calm foxes then you have spotted, trainable, foxes with floppy ears within 5 generations. This is opposed to wolves who, 10 generations of domestication, do not become calmer, more trainable, or ‘domesticated.’
What does this mean to you? It means, hypothetically (here is one of those science words that mean science is only ‘best guess’), that dogs have more in common with foxes than wolves. So, if we want to know what does act like, then we cannot look at a closed pack unit, but a family group.
When we read white papers on dog behavior we learn some vital differences between foxes and dogs, and wolves. First, no single animal usurps the will and holds absolute authority over another dog or fox. If the leader of the family is a bully, then everyone just skips out and joins another family.
Another thing we learn is that protecting the pack is secondary to individual survival. This is supported by dog’s behavior when stressed. A dog that is afraid of an approaching dog will lunge and bark. It will not look towards the leader of the pack for leadership, but will ‘react’ based on its own chemical response to the stimuli.
We also learn that dogs have the ability to be extremely cognitive. However, at maturity and with optimum mental stimulation, behavior modification, and socialization at the right mental development stages a dog will only achieve the cognitive ability of a 2.5 year old. This means that while it is cognitive, it will continue to act based on emotions.
Who is Alpha Dog?
What does this mean for you? It means that your dog needs you to establish a routine in the day. Boundaries need to be well defined. Rules need to be consistent. And, you need to put your dog’s emotional needs above your need for obedience and a companion.
The alpha dog is the calmest, most social, and nurturing dog. When a dog is not stressed, ie, it trusts you, you can portray dominance with a look, or by putting your hand ‘lightly’ on its shoulder.
The alpha needs to be able to communicate its intentions, but too many pet owners are more concerned with having their dog obey. They spend no time teaching their dogs how to communicate, so they have no way to convey their wants to the dog.
Unfortunately, many of us let puppies run wild, practicing survival instincts until 5 – 6 months and then suddenly have a ‘wild dog’ and hope that teaching a few tricks and tasks (heeling, sit, stay) will domesticate their dog. If this is you, then your task is going to take a few months, but the good news is that you can succeed.
How to Be Alpha Dog Part 1
The first step to being alpha is to keep the dog safe. If the dog feels you can keep it safe, then it will trust you. This means that you need to stop the punishments, and swap that out for teaching dogs how to learn, communicate, and building a relationship.
If you want your pup to develop into a well-mannered family member then toss out everything you’ve learned about dominance and alpha behavior and get ready to learn how to use your dog’s natural behavior to create a working relationship.
Dogs are Not People
In the wild dogs do not always form packs. Even if they do the pack will be fluid, not permanent. Treating a dog like a child can cause serious, and potentially irreversible, behavior problems. Dogs cannot fill our emotional voids. Forcing them to will cause two problems.
First, you will misunderstand a dog’s communication because instead of reading ‘dog language’ in your dog’s behavior you will misinterpret it using human behavior.
Second, you will expect behaviors from your dog that will cause stress, diminish trust, and stress your dog.
My Dog Bites Me
In our experience with aggressive dogs I find that 99% of them stop biting when they understand what their owners want from them, and/or when they start trusting their owners. We make some mistakes that cause problems:
• We do not desensitize dogs to eye contact. We do not teach them that when their human stares at them something good will follow.
• Aggression teaches Aggression. Instead, put you hand calmly on your dog’s shoulder and hold it still for 15 seconds. It should relax. If it doesn’t then seek professional help.
• Do not let your dog put its head higher than you.
• Do not let your dog push you, jump on you, or hit your chest with its front paws and move you back. If anything, you move the dog back.
• Do Not Overlook Any Challenge of Authority. If you cannot handle the situation then put the dog in a kennel for a time out.
The Alpha Dog is a Leader
The alpha is not the dictator or ‘king’ of the pack. To be alpha you will need to develop a strong working relationship with your dog. You and your dog will become ‘bonded’ in a way that few pet/owner relationships ever achieve.
Your dog and you will have your own private communication language. They will share a relationship built on trust and ‘safety’.
Pack Walks
Go on pack walks and make sure that no one in the pack bullies or argues with another dog. Everyone must walk quietly and enjoy the day. The leader leads the way, so make sure that no dog wants to be out front. If a dog does surge then stop. Your first few walks may be very short – but that is okay.
On these pack walks the dogs should be focused on you. At first you will need treats and toys, but as time goes on and as you establish yourself as pack leader then you will find the dogs are not only willing to pay attention to you, but they are happy to do it.
Eating Behavior
Do not let the dogs eat with you. They should sit quietly and wait until you are done. Do not let them stare at you and beg. Set up a mat where the dog must lay and wait until you are finished.
Also, we do not support free feeding. Dogs should not have their own food dish – unless you feed raw. Instead, make the dogs work for their food. Very few dogs eat so much that you cannot feed them through training and play throughout the day.
You may stuff Kongs and other toys and put them in the crate so that the dog can learn to be calm when alone.
Demanding Attention
Do not let your dog demand attention. When you enter a room, return home from work, or pick up a lead, then ignore your dog and wait a moment until your dog calms. Do not respond quickly when your dog calms, but wait a few seconds, then give your dog attention.
When your dog jumps on you, barks at you, or leans into you and tries to push you backwards, then suddenly ‘stop’ and break off communication until the dog stops.
Never, ever, let a dog push you backwards. If the dog pushes you then brace yourself and make sure the dog is the one who moves backwards.
Do Not Let a Dog Beg or Demand
Do not beg your dog repeatedly to obey you. If it does not obey the first time then shorten the lead and wait until it does obey, or if the dog is over-aroused then give it a time out.
Never raise your voice when training your dog. The dog will learn that it can ignore you until it hears a specific tone of voice, or until you sound angry.
My Dog is Testing My Alpha Position
• If your dog is challenging you then you need to change a few things in your daily life:
• If your dog is laying in your way then make the dog move, do not step around it.
• Never let your dog’s head be higher than you.
• Do not let the dog on the couch.
• Do not let your dog stare you down. Whoever looks away first is the looser. If you don’t win then your dog’s position as alpha is reinforced.
• Do not let your dog sleep in your bed.
• Do not let the dog put its mouth on you, ever. If it does then put it in a crate for a couple of hours. If you were playing then end the game.
• Do not let the dog run around outside ‘alone’ to practice independence and survival skills.
• Every kibble of food must come out of your hand. If you are not feeding the dog, it does not eat.
• The dog has no toys. You provide all toys when you want to play and all the toys, or all the best toys are put away. I believe some dogs must be allowed to self-satisfy to be able to manage their own stress levels.
• The dog must never be allowed to pull the leash. If it does, stop and do not walk forward until it is calm. If it doesn’t calm then take a step backwards. IF a dog is pulling towards something then make sure that it does not get to what it wants.
Last and Most Important
You are now on the journey to becoming alpha so it is your responsibility to make sure your dog receives enough social interaction, mental stimulation, exercise, and education to meet its emotional needs. You cannot become frustrated and lose your dog’s trust.
Forget your agenda or desires. It doesn’t matter if your dog takes 3 weeks, or 3 months, to start treating you as alpha, if you try to force the issue, or start wavering on the rules, then you will not become alpha, and your dog will continue its inappropriate behaviors.
How to be a Good Alpha (Pack Leader)——–
If your dog is aggressive or dominant, start slowly. A sudden display of alpha behavior to a dog who considers himself the alpha will be seen as a challenge and the dog may choose an aggressive course of action. For instance, if you take the dog’s food away, something which an owner needs to be able to do, you could be bitten if the dog does not yet see you as alpha.
If you do not know if your dog has an alpha temperament consult a dog trainer or do some reading. Asserting dominance over an alpha dog without undertanding more about how an alpha could cause serious consequences, including a very serious dog bite. Do not make the mistake of thinking that a dog won’t bite you! Most dog bites are the result of the dog feeling fearful and with enough fear arousal even a mild-mannered dog has the capacity to bite.
Know your dog
Julianne Stovall said: “…The more I learn about training, the more I realize it depends so much on BOTH the dog and the owner as to what will work. Techniques that are almost like magic with one dog are useless or damaging for another. A trick that one person uses naturally and positively can be ineffective, or even destructive, when another person attempts it. The only training technique that is truly universal is learning to read your dog.”
Alpha behaviors
Here are some practical suggestions on dog care that will help reinforce your alpha position. Most of these are things all dog owners should do anyway. Much of the following is based on a handout by Terry Ryan (Pet-People Partnership, Washington State University).
Go to obedience training classes if you haven’t done so already, or have done only a little. We recommend classes that teach positive training, using praise and treats, as opposed to methods that emphasize punishment.
Dog should understand that they depend on you, the leader. No free-feeding. Feed once or twice a day and take the food away after 10-15 minutes. It should be very clear that you are the food-giver.
“Nothing in life is free.” Treats must be earned. Require at least a sit or a simple trick every time your dog receives a treat.
Leaders eat first. Sit down, eat your breakfast or dinner, and only then give dog its food.
Leaders go first. When going through a door, gate, or other opening, you go first. Have the dog do a sit-wait or down-wait. If the dog doesn’t know wait/stay yet, block the entrance with your body to keep the dog from rushing past you.
Leaders control where and when. When you send the dog out and you’re not going, have the dog sit and wait; then let the dog go when you say. Don’t open the door until he’s sitting properly.
Leaders control territory. Is the dog lying in the middle of the hallway and you have to step around him? Is he sitting in your favorite chair and you sit elsewhere instead? Make him move. It’s YOUR territory. Nudge dog in hall withyour foot (no kicking!) so he moves. Lead him off the chair, then sit there. And, if the dog is really alpha, work on going out of your way to make him move from where he is. Remember to keep it non-confrontational, especially when you are still establishing your pack position. If he starts arguing, save this method for later.
Leaders mean what they say. Avoid giving a command you can’t enforce. When you give a command, enforce it. “Sit!” (low firm tone, no begging, squeaking, yelling). Issue no further commands if the dog doesn’t obey. Instead, use proper training techniques (e.g., scoop the butt under) to help the dog with the desired behavior — then praise liberally.
Leaders are winners. Don’t play any game you can’t win. Tug-of-war seems like great fun but every time the dog gets the rope, he is thinking, “I win! I am in charge!” Don’t play that game with any dog. Don’t rough-house a pushy dog. If you do play games with toys, make sure you, not the dog, determine when the game is over. End the game before the dog is tired of it. Put the toy out of reach then, don’t leave it with the dog or on the floor.
If your dog loves to fetch, make your dog bring the ball to the leader, not three ft away so you have to step forward. The dog has to bring the toy to your feet, or to your hand, promptly drop it and back away or drop in your hand when you request it. No bring, no play.
Leaders also end affection. Give your dog lots of love and attention but be attuned to the pushy dog who demands it constantly. It might be an alpha move. If a pushy dog keeps asking for something, time after time (play ball or keep petting me), refuse. Place the toy out of reach and ignore requests. The same goes for pets who demand constant petting. Ignore the requests.
For pushy dogs, no sleeping on your bed. That makes him consider himself an equal, not a subordinate.
NEUTER! All those rushing hormones don’t help at all.
Place your hand lightly over the dog’s muzzle. Don’t grab, just hold for a few seconds.
Leaders have access to subordinate dogs’ bellies. The belly is vulnerable and making it available to you is an act of submission. Do belly rubs, with the dog belly up.
Straddle your dog while grooming, petting.Do lots of grooming/massage. Regular grooming/massage is good. Lots of touching is very good. When you first begin this, watch the dog very carefully. Some dogs are sensitive about being touched in certain areas. Proceed very, very gradually — it commonly takes much longer than you would expect. It often takes many months and at times you’ll seem to make negative progress. But be patient; this is very common. Pushing an edgy dog past its comfort level is a way to get bitten if you’re dealing with an assertive, or a particularly shy dog. If this is an issue, be sure to get advice and assistance from someone knowledgeable, such as an obedience trainer.
Gradually work over all of the dog’s body parts so he’s used to everything being touched. You should be able to handle feet, ears, toenails, balls, and stick your fingers in mouth and ears. All dogs should not object to any body part being touched. Visiting kids wouldn’t know not to touch those toes — so you want the dog thoroughly desensitized. This is especially important for a puppy. It’s sometimes tough with an older dog that already has a particular sensitive spot he’s sensitive about. Work on it a bit at a time.
Down is a subordinant position. Do long down stays every day, but make sure you can always keep your eye on dog. Enforce rigorously: No breaking that stay!
Dogs understand body language. There was a show on the language of dogs last night on the Discovery channel. Alpha dogs stand erect, with ears, head, and tails up. They do not wag their tails. They stare directly into another dog’s eyes. They place their paws on a subordinate dog’s shoulder or back. An important piece I had missed before was that the alpha allows subordinates to lick their face and mouth. They showed a man who owned a pack of wolves, and he said if the alpha does not let the underlings lick their face and mouth, it confuses the whole pack.
You maintain your alpha stance via:
• direct eye contact
• standing tall over your dog (for added effect I put my hands on my hips)
• speaking in a firm voice
• placing your hand occasionally on the dog’s shoulder.
Reference-On Request
