Dogs do need leaders
THERE IS A message floating around the dog training world these days that has me baffled, and dogs endangered. Someone has decided that since dogs are not wolves, they don’t need leaders, or “alphas.”
I have a degree in wildlife biology and have been a professional dog trainer for 23 years. I know dogs aren’t wolves. Domestication and centuries of selective breeding have evolved into something different. Dogs are softer, gentler, and easier to live with. They are, however, closely related to wolves—more so than coyotes. Their species name, Canis lupus familiaris, reflects that. If we forget that “wolf ” is the first part of the name and start anthropomorphizing the species, we are doing dogs a great disservice.
The need for a super-rigid pack structure may be less pronounced in dogs than wolves, but our canine companions operate on a similar principle. They interpret their relationships in terms of leaders and followers. It is what their genes tell them to do. Dogs become unbalanced and miserable when you ignore their need for leadership or expect them to function as humans in fur coats.
Imagine you are starting a new job. You show up in your new environment, are shown your desk, the lunch room, and are introduced to your co-workers. No one explains who the boss is. No one tells you what your job is, why it is important, or how to do it. Every day you go to work and get no direction. After a while you begin to figure out who the supervisor might be, but she is emotional—sentimental or angry—and her communication makes no sense. You begin to feel anxious, and look for some way to ease the tension, which only brings more anger and confusion. Either you didn’t do things right, or you did the wrong thing. Everything feels unstable. You want some guidance and leadership about what to do, when you are doing it right and when you aren’t.
Leaders, whether they are parents, teachers, supervisors, or dog owners, are a reality in nature and society. We don’t live in a true democracy. Good leaders are consistent, clear, fair, calm, and confident. They give positive feedback for jobs done well and negative feedback for incorrect behavior. They communicate their expectations and how to fulfill them. With a good leader, you feel better about yourself and your place in the organization. Everything is more peaceful. Everyone is able to reach their potential.
These days, people get stressed about dominance and submission. Don’t. This isn’t about bullies and doormats. It isn’t about abuse. It is simply about leaders and followers, and each of us tends toward one direction or the other, depending on personality and circumstance—and so do dogs. When we put our dogs in the lead, everything goes haywire. Dogs know they can’t lead humans, and they don’t really want to. But if no human will lead, dogs feel compelled to step in and fill the vacuum. This results in a lack of trust in the leader’s ability to handle things, and is really the root of nearly all behavior problems in dogs.
The solution? Get some help! A good dog trainer with psychological insight can turn night into day for you and your dog. Obedience training isn’t about teaching tricks. It is about teaching human and dog how to lead, follow, communicate, and read each other. It is about positive and negative feedback, and setting boundaries. It is about helping your dog become a happy and balanced member of your pack. A trained dog and leader are not only more easy to be with, they demonstrate the amazing relationship that has developed over the centuries between canine and human, working the way it is supposed to.
Cynthia Bowen-Angevine runs Citizen Canine, a dog-training service in the East Mountains. She has been training dogs and their people since 1991, and lives with two dogs, a very patient cat, and an even more patient husband. Contact her at citizencanine@aol.com