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Dominance Theory – Is it helpful for dog training?

“Don’t let your dog sleep on your bed, they will become dominant over you!”

“You need to be the alpha in the pack.”

You have probably heard all of these things before! But where do these ideas come from?

What is Dominance Theory?

Dominance theory is the belief that dogs have a hierarchical structure with a dominant alpha dog at the top and submissive subordinates. Dogs are motivated to maintain their social status by using aggression, threats, and force to gain rank over other dogs and humans. Dominance theory is often used to explain dog’s social behaviour.

Where does it come from?

The theory is based on a study of captive zoo wolves conducted by animal behaviourist Rudolph Schenkel in the 1930s & 40s, in which the scientist concluded that wolves in a pack fight for dominance, and the winner is the alpha wolf.

The wolves in the study had a linear hierarchy, according to Rudolph Schenkel’s research, and aggression was used to determine who was the alpha animal. The research has a limitation in that it used a “artificial” pack of captive wolves, and the levels of aggression demonstrated in the studies are not able to be generalised to wild wolf behaviour.

Is Dominance Theory an accurate representation of dog behaviour?

Short answer, no! The original study was based on captive wolves in an artificial setting and does not reflect the behaviour of wolves in the wild. Despite their close relationship, dogs are not wolves. Using the principles of wolf behaviour to explain dog behaviour is equivalent to assuming that chimpanzee behaviour can explain human behaviour.

A photo showing the distinctive differences between a wolf skull and a pug skull. The wold skull is elongated and powerful. The pug skull is shorter with larger orbital space.
Domestic dogs are not wolves. Selective breeding by humans has altered their appearance and behaviour over thousands of years. We only need to compare the anatomy of a wolf skull to that of a pug to see the difference!

Is Dominance Theory helpful in dog training?

Despite popular opinion, applying dominance theory to pet dog training is not helpful.

Dominance theory suggests using force and conflict to train dogs, which is not conducive to a positive working relationship. Consider an employer that is overly critical and bossy; would you want to work for them?

Force and aversive punishments have been shown in studies to increase anxiety and fear in dogs. It is unethical and potentially dangerous because the dog is more likely to escalate aggressive behaviour such as biting to defend itself.

So what should be use instead?

Positive reinforcement is a powerful and humane training approach. To find out more, check out our blog post here.