06/02/2023
The idea of dogs as “pack animals” is a long standing myth that is unfortunately still with us now.
Groups of dogs, usually in small numbers or just pairs, form loose associations with one another, there is no “alpha”, and there are not clear dominant-subordinate hierarchies an d structures between them.
This makes sense, since dogs are primarily scavengers and scavenging can be done individually. They rarely hunt for sustenance and it’s even more rare that they do so in groups.
It’s important to understand this because this myth of dogs being pack animals often leads to harmful actions towards dogs, especially if we also assume we as humans are somehow part of our dogs’ “pack” when they know we’re not dogs. These harmful actions include:
- Making dogs go on stressful and unnatural large group “pack walks” where dogs are wearing aversive equipment and have no way of moving away.
- Making dogs “heel” or walk behind us and obey us while not being able to engage in any natural behaviours to put them in a so-called “pack drive” or a “follower state” which just isn’t a thing.
- Thinking we need to exert “dominance” or be the “alpha” by using punishment and aversive corrections.
- Labels like “alpha” and “dominant” leads us to think that certain natural behaviours our dogs do is an act of “defiance” or trying to be the “alpha”, and this results in the use of aversive methods and intimidation to “put them in their place”.
There was never a power struggle between us and dogs when dogs first became dogs and there also isn’t a power struggle between dogs. We don’t have to project the unfortunate hierarchical structures between humans onto dogs.
Instead of holding onto the idea that dogs are “pack animals” and thinking of ourselves as part of their “pack”, we can look at our relationship with dogs as one that is collaborative, built on friendship and care, and with no hierarchy.
Like with any of our close loved ones, we can love our dogs for who they are, learn from each other, help them to be happy and have their needs met, and help them be safe and feel safe! This makes us all free and empowered in this amazing relationship between fellow sentient beings.
Resources:
- Boitani, L., & Ciucci, P. (1995). Comparative social ecology of feral dogs and wolves. Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 7(1), 49–72. doi:10.1080/08927014.1995.9522969
- Marshall-Pescini, S., Cafazzo, S., Virányi, Z., & Range, F. (2017). Integrating social ecology in explanations of wolf–dog behavioral differences. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 16, 80–86. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.05.002
- Larson, G., & Burger, J. (2013). A population genetics view of animal domestication. Trends in Genetics, 29(4), 197–205. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2013.01.003
ID: The background image shows two dogs, a white dog with pointy ears and a black dog with floppy ears, lying down on the ground next to each other. The text says “Dogs are not pack animals and ‘pack drive’ is not a thing.”
