1 post tagged “dog dominance”
To be slowly finished.... (The sheer amount of research this takes, reading it all, putting it together, and then typing it out takes time. Especially since I'm scanning article quotes into jpegs and gifs so I can link to them. Once I'm finished I'll clean it up so that it's easier to follow.)
I was reading through some posts on a forum a few days ago when I came across a post about dog dominance. I had researched dog behavior and training for months to try to be the best owner I can be for my dog and I found much of the same information that people learn from Cesar Milan. Don't play tug of war, don't let them sleep on your bed, don't let them walk out the door before you, you must be the alpha or pack leader or your dog won't respect you, certain behaviors are considered dominate, and so on...
I, like most people, was too ignorant to know what information was good and what information was bad (wrong) and since I found so much of the bad stuff that's what I believed. Actually, the bad information was the only information I found. I was curious when I'd read articles or hear about a trainer slamming Milan for his techniques because he is taking dog training back to the dark ages, but no one ever says why.
It wasn't until I read a couple of articles linked in the post that I had a starting place to find good information:
The Dominance Myth in Dog Training
That sparked my interest and I began searching with different terms than just "dog training" and "dog behavior". I found more:
Moving Beyond the Dominance Myth
Cesar Millan - The Dog Whisperer: Critics Answers
The History and Misconceptions of Dominance Theory
Reconsider the Dominance Model in Dog Training
But then things got frustrating. The websites and articles are not supported (or supported with very little actually cited). Every article I read referred to "flawed wolf behavior studies of the 1930s-40s." Not one article I found gave citations of the studies so people could look them up for themselves and there were no direct quotes from the flawed studies to debunk using direct quotes from newer studies - just vague references to these studies. Typical, you can find a million websites that repeat almost word for word what other websites say but no one knows where the original information came from. They just keep repeating it as gospel since they read it in so many other places.
Another frustrating thing I've found is this repeated vague reference to a 30 year study done by Frank Beach on dog pack behavior. After searching for about 4 hours now, all I can find from him are studies regarding human sex, behavior, and hormones and a few studies on general animal behavior (including dogs and some specifically about beagle sex with pictures), and a couple of websites that claimed he wrote a book that he didn't write. (I ordered the book and read it thinking it must use his work as support - nope.) I've found nothing solely on dog behavior from him or anything that resembles any study on just dog dominance or behavior. I've even searched under his colleagues (including Ian Dunbar) to see if they've published any dog behavior/social beahvior/dominance/submission studies - nada. My databases were pulling up articles from the 1880s and from all over the world, if the Beach 30-year study on dog dominance or pack behavior existed I would have found something or at least found an actual citation by now. I've read just about every study I came across with his and Ian Dunbar's names on them just to make sure there wasn't a small section inbetween the sex talk about other social behaviors - practically nothing. Ian Dunbar obviously came away from their studies with knowledge on the social behavior of dogs since he's a famous trainer now, but as far as I can see neither he nor Frank Beach have published any studies on the topic. Now it makes sense when I read a heavily supported book or article on dog behavior that neither is even mentioned since neither contributed scientifically in that aspect. I'm sure Ian probably cites specific studies he's learned about behavior from on the side in his books though.
So what have I learned? (Click on the links for the actual quotes if you want to see what the studies actually say for yourself. The link number corresponds with the citation below to show where the information and quote came from. I thought this way might be easier to read.)
* In the wild, wolf packs are generally families with the alpha male and female being the parents (2) and the only or dominant breeding pair. The “flawed” studies referred to on many websites are misinterpreted since they deal with captive wolf behavior (1) where multiple breeding pairs are thrown together. Packing is not genetic, but a learned behavior, since all wolves do not pack (6) (5). Packing behavior must be learned during the critical period of development(6) (5). But dominance isn't solely a pack behavior. A lone wolf can have a dominant personality. In pack structures, dominance is displayed by controlling food and resources, scent-marking, standing posture with the tail up(2), staring(5) and riding(5). Submission is having the ears lowered, excited wagging tail, licking the mouth of the dominant wolf, willingly rolling onto its side or back to allow the dominant wolf to sniff its groin (2) and begging (5). Lower status dogs are allowed to lead during travel and hunts (3). Alphas or parents lead with benevolence (4) (5) (5).
*Evidence shows that dogs may have diverse origins (10), but this is debated. However, the dogs-are-tamed-wolves side seems to hint that dogs may not really be tamed wolves but that wolves and dogs are decended from a common ancestor (11). This could be important to some people in the great dog training debate since it would seem illogical to base dog training solely on wolf pack behavior when dogs have other ancestors.
*Even if dogs were tamed wolves, domestication greatly changes animals (18) so treating a dog like a wolf still wouldn't make sense after domestication. The Belyaev fox studies are a great example of this. It took only 18 generation to domesticate his silver foxes and the results completely surprised him. Not only did the foxes resemble dogs in their behavior and noises, but their coats had changed to piebald (piebald is black and white)(6). He did not try or plan to change the coat color. It just happened with the domestication.
Wild silver fox:
Tamed silver fox:
A domesticated dog is a far cry from being a wolf since dogs no longer have the same motivations, needs, and environment.
Can dogs still have dominant personalities even though they're domesticated and may possibly have origins other than wolves? Yes. Other canids do have some dominance and loose social structures(7)and groups of animals will try to establish order amongst themselves, so no matter what the origins of dogs are we know that they will try to establish an order with dominance and submission and may engage in pack behavior. Domestication makes them human-oriented and weakens many instincts that would be useful in the wild, but that doesn't mean dominance has been wiped out of all dogs. All the sources agreed on the fact that dogs are individuals with individual personalities - some dogs are dominant and some aren't. Dominance can be useful in the right environment so some breeds are more independent and dominant than others. Dominance can also be a product of poor socialization. So, yes, dominance and pack behavior exists in dogs.
*Dogs are not establishing dominance when they jump on humans, pull on a leash, or run out the door ahead of their owners. These are rude behaviors that need to be trained out of the dog. If you walk out of the door before your dog and expect that's going to teach him or her a lesson that you're the alpha you're wasting your time because all your efforts are lost on the dog. Dogs can be unbalanced if they're not socialized and trained properly, this can lead to aggression. Aggression doesn't automatically mean a dog is dominant. The behavior of a dog is also affected by it's owner and even it's food.
*Dogs learn through repetition, reinforcement, and behavioral communication cues through humans(6). Different breeds and individual dogs within a breed learn at different rates, through different techniques, and what they can learn is limited by their individual self(14). Some dogs respond to positive reinforement and others respond to mild punishment. Dogs do not learn by social status (being "dominated") because domination isn't meant for teaching behavior even in wolves(6). Dogs do not learn dominance by rough play or tug-of-war(12).
*Dogs correct bad behavior in other dogs by growling and biting the nozzle (14) (after looking at bite statistics and seeing that children are bitten the most and most bites are to the face it seems that children are bitten because their behavior is being corrected by the dog).
So what does all that mean when it's put together? That popular ideas of alphas and dominance aren't necessarily reality in nature. Dogs are related to wolves and domestication has changed them, but they are still canids and domestication doesn't take all the dominance out. Dogs can respond to the right dominance cues in humans (some "traditional" ideas of dominance are going to be confusing to the dog or just lost on them), but dominance is not the way to train your dog since it's not used for teaching or training in any canid. Showing dominance over a dog may help in training it if the dog is trying to assert dominance over the human which hinders training, but not all dogs are dominant. Dogs need to be socialized, exercised, and trained by calm owners. Training is done by repitition and reinforcement (maybe some mild punishment) that should take the individual dog's personality and breed into account.
(side note - Cesar Millan is clearly wrong about dominance and pack behavior. Why do some of his techniques seem to work?
1) The magic of tv.
2) As mentioned above some dogs respond to different techniques.
3) He's scaring them into complying.
4) Not all of his techniques involve his dominance theory because he does use repetition and he is right when he tells owners that dogs need exercise, discipline, rules, boundaries, and limitations or else it will create an unbalanced dog. He's also right in saying owners need to be calm and assertive because owner behavior affects dog behavior. But overall he should not be used as a model or source for people who need help training their dogs.)
Wolf Sources
1) Schenkel, R.1947. Expression Studies of Wolves.Behaviour.1:81-129
2 ) Mech,David, L.1999. Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs.Canadian Journal of Zoology.77(8):p1196-1203
3) Peterson R, et al.2002. Leadership Behavior in Relation to Dominance and Reproductive Status in Gray Wolves, Canis Lupus.Canadian Journal of Zoology.80:p1405-1412
4) THE “WHOLLY SEPARATE” TRUTH: DID THE YELLOWSTONE WOLF REINTRODUCTION VIOLATE SECTION 10(J) OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT? by Elizabeth Cowan Brown
5) The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species by L. David Mech
Wolf and Dog Sources
6) Dogs: A Startling New Understanding of Canine Beahvior by Raymond and Lorna Coppinger
7)The Wild Canids; Their Systems, Behavioral Ecology and Evolution by M.W. Fox
8)The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell
9)
Dog Sources
10) Vila, C. 1997. Multiple and Ancient Origins of the Domestic Dog. Science.276(5319):p1687
11) The origin of dogs: Running with the wolves. By: Morell, Virginia. Science, 06/13/97, Vol. 276 Issue 5319, p1647
12) Rooney N.J.2003.Links Between Play Dominance and Attachment Dimensions of Dog-Human Relationships. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.6(2):p67-94
13)The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour, and Interactions with People by James Serpell
14)Dog Talk; Training Your Dog Through a Canine Perspective by John Ross
15)van Kerkhove,W.2004. A Fresh Look at the Wolf-Pack Theory of Companion-Animal Dog Social Behavior. Journal of Applied Welfare Science7(4);p279-285
Domestication Sources
16)Trut LN, Naumenko EV, Belyaev DK. Change in the pituitary-adrenal function of silver foxes during selection according to behavior. Sov Genet. 1974 Jun 1;8(5):585-91.
17) Belyaev DK, Ruvinsky AO, Trut LN.Inherited activation-inactivation of the star gene in foxes: its bearing on the problem of domestication.
J Hered. 1981 Jul-Aug;72(4):267-74.
18) Wild Wolf to Domestic Dog: Gene Expression Changes in the Brain by Saetre, et al. in Molecular Brain Research vol.126 p198-206.
Additional Sources
19) Mertens,P.2004. The Concept of Dominance and the Treatment of Aggression in Multidog Homes: A Comment on van Kerkhove's Commentary. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.7(4);p287-291.
20)Wright,J.2004. Comment on van Kerkhove's "Wolf-Pack Theory". Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.7(4);p295-298.
21) Feral Dogs by Jeffrey Green and Philip Gipson
22)Hare,et al.2002.The Domestication of Social Cognition in Dogs.Science.298;p1634-1636
23) Pennisi,et al.2006.Social Animals Prove Their Smarts.Science. 312;p1734-1738
