Dominance

Veterinarians still use alpha when describing dogs; I view the term as a synonym for dominant.  If you have multiple dogs in your household; multiple alpha dogs is a real problem.  Households with smaller breed dogs have the ability to handle this problem easier than a household with large breed dogs.  It is much easier to separate small breed dogs from a physical encounter than to separate large breed dogs.  Dogs living in kennel environments can be kept separate when there is an issue with multiple alpha dogs.  Your family home is not the environment to have multiple alpha dogs; keeping multiple alpha dogs separate in your home is not practical, convenient, nor safe.  I advise once you discover that you have multiple alpha dogs in your home; then you need to change the situation quickly.  You should only have one alpha dog in your home.  Return pure-bred dogs to the breeder, check with rescue organizations for re-homing, find someone looking for a pet.  I advise against the wait and see attitude; things do not get better in these situations they only escalate.  I have personal experience with this situation and I will never go through it again!

(provided by Brandykegs Saint Bernards)
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