27/09/2024
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 '𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮' 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 (𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀) 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸.
In this fenced-in context, they could not, which led to aggressive interactions, which the old white man who was doing the research decided was proof of a rigid hierarchical social structure that was maintained by dominating, aggressive behaviours. He called the so called 'boss wolf' the 'Alpha'.
𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆/𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹.
Humans, especially humans who have an authoritarian type belief system or family patterning, have taken the 'Alpha' concept and decided that this means that humans have to 'be the boss' and dominate dogs. They think that dogs have to be submissive to humans. And that it's ok to use force in various ways to make that happen 'for the dog's good'.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻 '𝗮𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹', 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻/𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼.
There's a stack of research that shows that aversive approaches like this can and do get results BUT there is always a cost of psychological damage, and trauma to the dog. And this inevitably damages your relationship with your dog, too.
𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 (𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵) 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆, 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗜 𝗱𝗼.
I want my dogs to WANT to work with me, to be INSPIRED to respect my personal space, to be happy and relaxed while learning commands, life skills, and how to be an awesome, joy-to-live-with member of my family.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜'𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀. 𝗜 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗥+ 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 - 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀.
But there's a big difference between kind, carefully calibrated healthy pressure dynamically adjusted to the dog's communication and responses, with ample time for them to process, learn, and respond...
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘇𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿, 𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲.
I believe in, practice, and teach strong benevolent leadership. What you'll see in a healthy, wild wolf pack at liberty in most cases (it is true that some packs are more violent than the norm).
𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀:
- 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲
- AND teach dogs obedience, life skills, etc
- 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀
- AND strengthening my relationship with the dogs every step of the way
𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 - 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮, 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 '𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹' 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 '𝗻𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴' 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 '𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴' 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 '𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲' 𝗜𝗦 𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘.
So - run away form trainers who use 'Alpha' languaging. It will tell you that they believe that humans need to dominate dogs to be able to train them. And that is absolutely NOT necessary!
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱:
- 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆
- Create, express, and maintain healthy boundaries with mutual respect, love, and joy
- 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗳𝘂𝗻, 𝗬𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲!)
- And above all, put your relationship with your dogs first, and make it the most important thing while still dealing with anxiety/behavioural issues, and teaching your dogs all they need to learn
𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗲! 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽
I help animals all over the world heal and be well + happy with holistic veterinary care, kind training, and energy healing. If you want me to help your pets, message me! Zoom and in person appts available.
