Dominance (cont.)

Dogs that jump on people, pull on leads, excessive barking, destroy your property are not showing dominance or alpha traits; they are exhibiting bad behaviors.  That is why it is so important to train your dog.  Training your dog is something that should occur for their whole life.  If you think that by enrolling in a puppy training class is all you have to do in order to train them; think again.  It is a great starting point, but training must be continuous.  Even the best trained dog will at some point challenge your authority and that is why you must make training part of your dog’s daily routine.

Dominance (cont.)

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!

Dominance (cont.)

I think we too often compare wolf packs with our domesticated pets.  Yes, they do share a common ancestry; but they are two totally different groups at this time.  The domesticated pet does not have to find food, water and shelter for itself; we provide this for them.

Dominance (cont.)

I personally feel that some dogs are more dominant than others.  I think the dominance factor is part of the genetic makeup in dogs.  Dominance can be viewed as a positive or negative trait.  Dominance when viewed in a breeding environment can be viewed as a positive trait.  Only the better specimen is being allowed to breed; Mother Nature’s form of quality control.  Dominance when paired with physical aggression is a negative trait especially when this is demonstrated by your pets.

Dominance

Some dog trainers are now taking issue with the use of the word dominance when describing a dog.  One definition of the word dominance is; control or power over others.  However, another definition for dominance is exhibiting a genetic trait.  I think the problem most dog trainers have with the word is using the term as a human trait and applying that human trait to a dog.  I would agree that we as pet owners often use human characteristics when describing our dogs.  We love our dogs and they are part of our families.

Why Do Dogs Bark? (cont.)

In conclusion; be a good neighbor a howling, barking dog is a real nuisance.  If you are away from home each day; check with your neighbors to see if your dog is barking or howling while you are not at home.  Showing that you care goes a very long way toward being a good neighbor.  We all know dogs bark, just don't let it be a nuisance!

Why Do Dogs Bark? (cont.)

Try to train your dog to bark when you would want them to.  Try to distract them with something when they are barking and you don't want them to.  For instance drop a plastic bottle or jug with coins, screws, even rocks inside it.  The idea is this will catch their attention and hopefully stop barking.  As soon as the barking stops; immediately praise your dog. 

Why Do Dogs Bark? (cont.)

Dogs also bark to get attention.  Since dogs are social animals they crave attention; even if that attention means getting in trouble for barking.  Your dog just views it as getting attention; it doesn't matter to them that it is negative attention.

Why Do Dogs Bark? (cont.)

Often a dog barks out of pure boredom.  When a dog is frustrated or bored; they may just bark.  Try to provide them with toys, exercise them each day; both can help with a bored or frustrated dog.

This oversized home-made tinker toy is great for the big dog

Why Do Dogs Bark?

Dogs bark to communicate.  They are social just like us.  Yelling or scolding them is not the way to address this issue; your dog just thinks you are joining in on the conversation.