07/01/2024
This is a brilliant post well worth a read!
The Zoomie Zone: Adoption Advice & Support are giving great advice and producing some brilliant content I’d recommend giving them a follow.
Dominance Theory: Debunked, Outdated But Still Supported?
The debate of positive dog training vs negative dog training has been rolling around for years and years, and probably will for years to come. The use of aversive training methods continues to be justified through the ever-persistent belief in dominance and pack theory, despite being well and truly outdated! It was debunked well over 20 years ago by the people who created it.
Dominance Theory was originally established by Rudolph Schenkel, in 1947, when he published a study that was carried out on groups of captive wolves. It was noted during this study that a hierarchy, reinforced by physical force and fear, was used to keep status. This was subsequently reinforced by a book written by David Mech in the 1960s.
The result of these publications was the wrongly assumed belief that dogs, originating from wolves, would behave the same way. That they needed to have an ‘alpha’ in the domestic setting and any behavioural issues demonstrated by dogs was as a direct result of their need to be in charge. This misleading interpretation was quickly debunked when the original studies were found to be inaccurate, were withdrawn and then updated with the release of revised publications.
The major flaw to be found in the original publications was that they were only carried out on captive wolves which were being housed in unnatural conditions and man-made groups, that resulted in high stress levels, restricted movement, and heightened aggression…a very different arrangement than what would occur in the wild!
On Mech’s website he writes:
“The concept of the alpha wolf is well ingrained in the popular wolf literature, at least partly because of my book … currently still in print, despite my numerous pleas to the publisher to stop publishing it. Although most of the book’s info is still accurate, much is outdated. We have learned more about wolves in the last 40 years than in all previous history. One of the outdated pieces of information is the concept of the alpha wolf.”
Unfortunately, despite Mech’s desire to remove his own book from publication and squash the myth of the ‘alpha’ male and dominance theory, its popularity had already taken on a life of its own, and was beyond control, by the time he realised his mistakes. Dominance theory had integrated into all forms of media, popularised in television and books, and unfortunately training, raising, and caring for dogs.
The most important thing to note (apart from the fact that not even wolves have alphas) is that dogs are not wolves. They have been separated from one another by thousands of years of domestication. Their behaviour, physiology, sociability, and motivations are significantly different to that of wolves, and so they are no longer able to be directly linked to or be recognisable to that of their distant relatives.
It has now long been recognised across the board of animal behaviour specialists, animal welfare organisations and the veterinary field that behavioural issues demonstrated by dogs toward people is NOT a form of dominance and that they are not supportive of dominance-based training practices.
Dogs that display negative, unwanted behaviours, or even so far as ‘aggressive’ behaviours, are usually exhibiting them because of anxieties, fear, pain, stress, or confusion, either due to past trauma, lack of socialisation or medical issues. This is particularly true when new to the home. Dogs are not trying to be the alpha, top of the pack or of a higher status than the various family members, they are trying to communicate.
This has been further reinforced through observations and studies of feral dogs, and domesticated dogs that have ended up in the streets. It is understood more than ever that they do not form structured packs, or pack hierarchies, that are reinforced by dominance behaviours. Dogs naturally want to avoid conflict with each other, so if there is a dispute or a resource such as food involved, through a variety of body language cues and vocalisations (if needed), they will defer to each other, and one will walk away.
Although you naturally get more assertive dogs, and naturally passive dogs, the assertive dog won’t necessarily always be the winner of the dispute. They just naturally work it out because dominance between dogs is a mutually agreed upon position. Submission is freely given, not forced, to avoid conflict.
The same is true of the human/canine relationship. Dogs are entirely aware that humans are not dogs and that a their family of humans are not a 'pack'.
The scientific understanding of canine psychology and behaviour has greatly evolved since the 60s and has continued to evolve every year. Trainers and behaviourists of repute have continuously updated their knowledge, choosing to move their practices to science-based positive, reward and motivational training methods in which dogs are listened to and worked with, rather than bullied into submission.
However, despite this, for a time in the early 2000s, the use of dominance theory started to rise again through popularised television shows about dog training where physical force, violence and other harsh methods were routinely used.
Thankfully, after investigations into animal cruelty and a lot of controversy, the dominance-style approach to training dogs started to fade again as more modern, science-based, and appropriate methods were developed and reinforced...but with the rise of social media, history is repeating itself.
Social media has seen a rise in popularity for ‘quick fix’ dog trainers, using aversive and harmful dominance methods to create what looks like immediate cures to behavioural issues in just 30 seconds.
While there are many problems with social media, including the ability to falsify, simplify or otherwise manipulate what people see, it is the fact that people believe what they are watching. There are several extremely popular dog trainers on social media right now who are getting huge amounts of traction, and cult-like followings, for their apparently magical fixes to a range of behavioural issues.
But how are they doing it?
By using aversive training methods and tools such as e-collars, prong collars and slip leads to cause discomfort, pain, and stress when the dog exhibits an unwanted behaviour. Some are openly jerking dogs around, forcing them to ‘submit’ by holding them to the ground and even going so far as to helicopter them off the floor by slip leads round their necks. Other methods used include withholding or removing their food, spraying with water, throwing bottles/cans with nails near the dog to scare them and other physically violent methods such as jabbing, kicking, and ‘checking’.
The result of such methods is that the dog is forced into a helpless state where they do what they’re told, in that moment, to avoid further punishment and harm. Basically, they shut down. But what is happening in these videos is that the trainers are suppressing behaviours and not addressing the root cause of the behaviour.
This can, and often does, lead to worse behavioural issues down the line because these ongoing negative experiences can cause lasting damage to a dog’s mental wellbeing, and it fractures the dog-owner relationship. The dog may be less likely to do what it is asked, and unwanted behaviours are exacerbated due to fear and not understanding what is being asked of them because the method of training did not clearly communicate it. Dogs may sometimes push or test boundaries to get what they want, especially when newly adopted into a home environment but this is not due to a need to be dominant.
We spoke to a client of one of these social media dog trainers, of which several videos were posted of them and their dog (without their knowledge or permission), which gave the appearance of multiple training sessions and the successful outcome of an anxiety-free dog at the end.
When we mentioned we had seen them on social media they were horrified. What had actually happened was that the trainer had attended the property only once for a consult and an initial session. The outcome of which was that the owners were so unhappy with them, and their approach, that they never contacted them again…a very different story to that posted online which saw them being extensively praised for their success.
As mentioned, yes, the fact that there are people out there doing this to dogs is a big problem…but the bigger problem is the belief by social media users that what they’re doing is correct and therefore replicating it.
It poses a very serious problem in relation to dog welfare, but also human safety. These outdated training methods are very dangerous in that dogs can feel threatened and that they need to defend themselves. Not necessarily in the moment of ‘correction’, but a dog that is frequently punished may become triggered by a situation in which they think they are going to be hurt and act out in defence.
What if the thing they are defending themselves from is a child that just wanted to give them a stroke? It’s of no surprise that dog attacks are on the rise around the world.
Actions have consequences and burying, and masking, your dogs emotional state in a forced shut down obedience is not dog training. It’s abuse. When these methods are not successful the dogs end up in rescues that are already pushed to breaking point with many euthanised due to bite history and unpredictable triggers, because they haven’t been allowed to demonstrate natural behaviour or early warning signs, which make them unsafe for rehoming.
Dogs are emotional creatures and every behaviour they perform has a root emotion or motivation. You may not know what the motivation is, but dogs never do anything without a reason. So, the key to behaviour modification and training is through building a healthy and trusting relationship with your dog, finding their motivation, building their confidence, and addressing what it is you want to achieve through positive reinforcement.
Dog training, and behaviour modification, takes time. You can’t cure a dogs anxiety overnight and if you want a ‘quick fix’, you shouldn’t have a dog. If you were struggling with anxiety or other problems, you’d seek help from a doctor or a therapist. If they couldn’t cure you in just one session, would you stop going? No, you’d understand that it’s a process that takes time. It’s the same with dogs.
If you need any help deciphering your dog’s behaviour, you should look into hiring a trainer or behaviourist to assist depending on the situation. However, it is vital that you do your research thoroughly and even interview potential individuals to get a feel for their training methods and beliefs before hiring their services.
(We will be discussing the differences between trainers and behaviourists in a future post, so stay tuned for that!)
Choose someone who uses positive reinforcement and motivational training methods rather than ‘dominance’ or punitive measures so to ensure a sound, healthy and trusting relationship between you and your dog.
Dogs, like children, need to learn. They don’t innately know right from wrong or how to act in different situations. They need to be taught, and you wouldn’t teach your child by hitting them, spraying them with water or putting shock collars on them…So why would you do it to a dog?
Sadly, anyone can say they’ve done a course in dog behaviour, start a social media page, and claim to be a dog trainer or behaviourist. There are no regulations, there are no licences and there are no inspectorates that govern this line of work. There are no restrictions. Like the family we mentioned who were taken advantage of for social media likes, without their permission, it is a free for all.
They are taking peoples money and leaving them with worse situations than when they started. Dog training should be regulated, there should be licences and there should be a standardised approach to eradicate aversive methodologies from modern society.
For more information on dominance theory, due to the re-emergence in dominance training practices, animal welfare organisations across the board have posted positional statements in relation to dominance on their websites and social media, as to many veterinary boards both here in the UK and abroad.
What are your thoughts on dominance theory and aversive training methods? Drop a comment below!
