12/10/2024
A common excuse for certain tools and human-to-dog punishment techniques is 'it's mimicking what the mother dog would do' but is that actually a good thing? 🤔
Two of the common techniques/tools that get explained as a variation on 'what another dog would do' are the alpha rollover and the pinch/prong collar, and there are fundamental issues that come with both of these.
The alpha rollover comes from the idea of physically putting a dog in a position of submission. This has shown to not actually happen in the wild with wolves which, although they are not dogs, a lot of these myths do stem from. In fact, any time a wolf rolls over onto its back in this way it is done voluntarily and isn't forced by another wolf putting it in its place. Furthermore, true alphas are actually parental figures in natural wolf packs and part of being successful in this is shown by the fact they do not need to rule over others with some kind of iron fist. Aggression and squabbling in wolves tend to be seen in insecure packs in captivity, not well-established functioning packs in the wild.
The pinch/prong collar is often attributed to mimicking the idea of the mother physically grabbing a puppy with their mouth 'correcting' them with the pressure of the teeth on the dog's neck. However, yet again this is not accurate to reality. Normally there are many steps a mother dog will take before an inhibited bite is used on her pups, and being able to defuse the situation and teach her pups how to do so without resorting to aggression is part of what is seen as being a successful mother. It has also been shown that mothers who use more of these aggressive behaviours to wean their pups end up with pups who are less social with people, which is not an outcome we are usually looking for!
At the end of the day, we are not dogs or wolves and our dogs know that, but even if they didn't these techniques do not hold up to scientific scrutiny. It is so important that we look into these claims rather than taking them for a fact. So NEVER just do something because someone told you 'it's what another dog would do'. 👍
You can find out more about the study mentioned in the graphic here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016815918490056X?fbclid=IwY2xjawFvR85leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbHPCAU599ALeTt9_JkhjGBTrSdPHsuUDuVy9kUeJMuaf9j8Xv-Hgksm7Q_aem_SPq5ND-CcCFQrBsgvFbCVg
