5 Tips for Becoming the Pack Leader Your Dog Needs

There's a common thought about dogs and dog training called the alpha theory, the top dog theory, or the Schenkel dog hierarchy.

The theory is that dogs, as descendants of wolves, are social pack animals. This has a lot of repercussions in dog training, or so the theory goes.

I want to talk a little about this today, and give you some tips to help you keep your dogs well-trained and under control.

The Problem with Alpha Theory

First, I want to talk a bit about where this theory is coming from, and why we can safely disregard it.

The theory is that in a pack of wolves, the social group needs to be dominated by the strongest and most competitive, usually aggressive, wolf of the group.

Less aggressive, weaker wolves are dominated, and as long as this social order is maintained, the pack can exist in harmony.

This theory comes from a study produced by David Mech and Rudolph Schenkel several decades ago. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of reasons why we should ignore it, even though a lot of people today even still promote it.

First of all, it was a study of captive wolves in an environment where food, space, and other resources were limited. In nature, wolves don't stay in situations like that.

They'll break up a pack, or they'll move territories, or the resource scarcity will "thin the herd" until an equilibrium is maintained.

There's on need for a dominant "alpha" wolf in nature, because it's a reaction to constrained environments and what was essentially forced conflict.

Moreover, the original studies ignored a lot of other wolf behaviors. Wolf packs are often a lotmore social, collaborative, and mutually beneficial than they're often portrayed.

They form complex bonds and social relationships based on kinship, mutual assistance, and cooperation for things like raising puppies, hunting, or defending a den.

While there may be an "alpha" wolf, it's not a firm position and is more like a project leader; one wolf takes up the mantle for whatever needs doing and cedes it to another when another task is at hand.

There were also some serious flaws in the original research. For example, you probably know that a dog rolling on their back and exposing their belly is a submissive behavior, showing vulnerability; the original study actually attributed this as a dominantbehavior!

And, of course, there's one very important detail that needs to be acknowledged: dogs aren't wolves!

The behaviors and social dynamics of ferocious predators roaming the forests of the country are very different from the behaviors and social dynamics of our adorable little fur babies, who would have trouble intimidating a fly and only have to hunt for your location when it's dinner time.

In case you still want to hold onto it, it's also important to remember that Mech and Schenkel, the original researchers, have even admitted that they got things wrong and have tried to retract the alpha theory, though it persists in popular culture despite their efforts.

Why Alpha Theory Doesn't Work for Dog Training

The biggest issue with alpha theory isn't necessarily that it's based on old research that is inaccurate and discredited. It's that the things it asks you to do to train your dog are generally a bad idea.

For example, if you train a dog using alpha theory, the idea is that you're trying to position yourself as a dominant "alpha" in your pack of two. This means:

• Depriving your dog of things like pets, attention, or even food if they aren't obedient.
• Depriving your dog of stress relief like toys and taking them away if they try to guard their limited resources.
• Using physical punishment as a warning for violating the "rules."

Many, many studies into dog training and decades of evolution in training processes have firmly covered this ground.

Deprivation and punishment simply don't work. Deprivation doesn't work because your dog is generally fairly simple-minded and isn't going to attach the cause to the effect.

Punishment doesn't work because dogs aren't as avoidant as they are motivated, so all you really end up teaching them is that violence is okay.

Moreover, all of these "training" methods end up stressing out your dog, making them less social, making them more prone to lashing out, and hindering socialization and friendliness. They may be more appropriate for a guard dog, but they certainly aren't effective for a beloved family pet. You end up with a dog that doesn't trust you, only the threat you represent, and that's notwhat I advocate for here on Toe Beans.

Five Tips for Proper Dog Training

Instead of relying on punishment and dominance, which are proven to be ineffective and actively harmful to the relationship you have with your fur baby, what can you do instead?

Here are my five tips for appropriatedog training. If you want to know more, here are a few other resources you can read as well.

• The Ultimate Guide: Teaching 20 Essential Dog Commands
• The Beginner's Guide to Off-Leash Training for Dogs
• What is Dog Recall Training and How Do You Start?
• Dog Parenting 101

If you're ready to abandon the idea of the "alpha dog" and learn how to really form a social bond with your pup, read on.

#1: Use Positive Reinforcement

We tend to think of reward and punishment as two sides of a coin, but in terms of classical conditioning, they only represent half of the spectrum.

There are two factors you control: beneficial and non-beneficial stimulus and the addition or removal of that stimulus. In other words, adding a good thing, adding a bad thing, taking away a good thing, or taking away a bad thing.

• Positive Reinforcement is like giving a dog a treat when they do something good.
• Positive Punishment is like kicking at a dog when they do something bad.
• Negative Reinforcement is like turning off an annoying noise when a dog does something good.
• Negative Punishment is like stopping petting a dog when they do something bad.

While technically, all of these have the potential to work, three of the four really don't. Trying to add an aversive stimulus – that is, like trying to hit a bad dog – is abusive and ineffective.

Meanwhile, the removal of a stimulus, good or bad, isn't itself an action that a dog is going to interpret properly.

By far, the most effective way to train a dog, or any other animal for that matter, is by rewarding them when they do what you want.

What most people don't realize is that you can even train away behaviors you don't like with this method through consistent observation.

If you want your dog to not bark at noises outside, you don't punish them when they bark; you watch them, and if they're about to bark, you distract them and reward them for not barking.

When they realize that barking means nothing but notbarking gets them a treat, they'll stop barking.

The best weapon in your arsenal for training a dog is a bag of high-value treats, like bits of sausage or cheese. It really doesn't take much!

#2: Consistency is Critical

The second most important thing about dog training is consistency.

Consistency in:

• Your expectations. If you want a dog to learn not to jump up on people, don't let them jump up on you even though you don't mind it. Likewise, don't encourage them to sit on the couch if you don't want them to jump up onto other furniture.
• Your enforcement. If you reward them some of the time when they do something but not other times, they might not learn correctly. You won't need to reward them every time they do something you want forever, just until they've fully learned the behavior.
• Your family. Until a dog is fully trained, you need to make sure everyone who interacts with them for any length of time understands the training. That way your dog isn't getting mixed signals.

All of this is true, regardless of whether you're trying to train a new puppy to come when you call, or train a show dog in a more advanced series of tricks or commands.

#3: Pick the Right Rewards

Most of the time with dog training, what you need is a high-value treat, but what works best for one dog might not be the best for another.

For example:

• Small cubes of cheese are great for some dogs but upset the tummies of others.
• Small bits of sausage are usually a good option.
• Some dogs don't need a high-value treat, and a kibble or two is good enough.
• Some dogs aren't very food motivated and respond better to praise, pets, or a quick play session.

The tricky part is if you get a dog that isn't food-motivated. It can be harder to find a specific toy or bit of praise you can use as a reward, distinct from normal interaction with your pup. Keep at it, though; there's always going to be something!

#4: Keep Training Sessions Short

Another important tip for dog training is to keep training sessions short. This isn't like cram school where you're teaching a whole certification program in a few weeks of long days; it's more like life experience, gathered over time.

Most experts, including the American Kennel Club, recommend keeping training sessions short.

For dedicated training sessions, where you're trying to teach a dog a specific command, keep the sessions to no more than five minutes.

Dogs don't have very long attention spans, so the longer the session is, the more likely they are to get distracted, and that's when the chance for learning is over.

A lot of training isn't something you do in dedicated training sessions, though. It's something you address when you see it to sculpt behavior over time.

You aren't really doing dedicated sessions here; instead, everything is done as you see it. That's why it's important to keep the relevant treat on hand, at least until they age out of needing treats for training.

#5: Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

One of the biggest stumbling blocks with dog training is trying to train too much, too fast. Puppies are fast learners, but you still need to start slow and train in the basic behaviors, especially if you want to get into more advanced training.

Think about those dog agility courses where an energetic pup runs through tunnels, in between poles, and over jumps.

That's not one course of training! Each of those obstacles is trained separately and built up into whole routines over time.

The same goes for any other dog training, even if all you're training is "come," "sit," and "fetch." The more you want them to learn, the longer it takes, and the more you should focus on a narrow set of commands before building into others.

Dog Training Tips FAQ

Let's wrap things up with a round-up of some common questions about being "the alpha" and dog training in general.

Is the alpha dominance training method effective?

Absolutely not. In fact, if you're trying to play for dominance, you're likely stressing out your dog and making them afraid of you, which makes them more likely to run, be defensive, snap at you, or turn mean.

Many poor dogs have even been put down because of this "uncontrollable" behavior, which is just a natural reaction to what amounts to abuse.

What should you avoid with dog training?

Dogs aren't very good at understanding the concept of punishment or negative reinforcement. If you're doing something negative to encourage or discourage certain behaviors, chances are it isn't going to work very well.

The only exception is something like taking away a toy when they get too rough with it. Most of the time, instead, you should redirect their behavior and reward them with a treat when they leave what they were doing behind.

How long does dog training take?

Good dog training is a lifelong commitment. But, training individual behaviors and tricks doesn't have to take more than a few weeks of dedicated effort. On the other hand, ongoing behaviors like night barking may take longer just because you can only train them when they would happen.

Do you have any other questions? If so, let me know in the comments!