Alpha/Dominance Theory
We see it a lot when talking about dogs and how to train them, how to interact with them, how to EXIST with them, so let’s dive a little bit into what it actually means (or doesn’t mean). Let’s talk about alpha theory.
This theory was born back in the 1930s when two Swiss scientists took some wolves that were placed together in a zoo (not wolves that were living within a naturally created pack) and studied how they lived together. What they found was the wolves would fight one another for resources, such as food, and that those that won those fights seemed to become, more or less, the group leaders. Now let's put this into perspective. Random wolves were taken and put together in an enclosed space and forced to live together. Of course this is going to cause stress to these wolves and increased fighting and of course they fought for their resources!
About 30 years later, a scientist (and wolf expert) by the name of Dr. David Mech began to study wolves in the wild and concluded during this brief study that the observations made by the two Swiss scientists were correct when observing the wild wolves as well. He wrote a book (“The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species,” which was published in 1970) where he describes how wolves have an alpha and this alpha is the leader of the pack. After many more years of study and observation of wolf packs in the wild, Dr. Mech recanted his earlier theory on dominance and alpha theory. In fact, he is now so adamant that this information is incorrect, that he has tried to get the publisher of this book to stop printing it. I will include a video below of his current thoughts on this subject. He stated that the earlier study by the Swiss scientists only studied the behavior of captive wolves, voiding the results. In the year 2000, Dr. Mech stated, "Attempting to apply information about the behavior of assemblages of unrelated captive wolves to the familial structure of natural packs has resulted in considerable confusion. Such an approach is analogous to trying to draw inferences about human family dynamics by studying humans in refugee camps" (Schenkel 1947; Rabb et al. 1967; Fox 1971a; Zimen 1975, 1982; Lockwood 1979; van Hooff et al. 1987).
To expand upon this, let's look at how wolf packs are comprised in the wild. A pair of wolves mate, they have pups, they become the "alpha" of that pack, which a natural order as those pups are their "children" and they are the "parents." This is a natural wolf pack and the hierarchy is formed naturally as such. A stray wolf may sometimes enter the pack, but will then often pair with one of the "children" and they will go off to form their own familial pack.
David Mech on Alpha Theory
So often, we see a dog not listening to its handler and people say that it is because it is trying to dominate them. You have to "show your dog who's boss" and "be the alpha" if you want a dog that will respect you. But here's the thing: if you treat your dog with a mutual understanding, treat it kindly and fairly, you will find that you create a mutual respect between you and your dog. The way a dog behaves towards you (aside from a few very serious behavioral issues) is largely dependent on the relationship you have with your dog. A dog does not try to "dominate" a person. We are not the same species and our dogs know that. No species, except humans, are trying to be the alpha over or dominate an entirely different species. Instead, we have to learn how to read what our dog needs and train our dogs to understand what WE want and need so that we can work together with them to live peacefully. If you find that your dog is behaving in a way that is not conducive to the happy, peaceful home that you desire, try to figure out why your dog is behaving that way. Once you figure out why, you can decide what you want him to do instead and once you've figured that out, all you have to do is teach him!
