DO I NEED TO BE ALPHA TO TEACH MY DOG TO RESPECT ME?

Absolutely Not. Please don’t. This is why.

What does it mean to be alpha?

Here is the definition from dictionary.com

Ok, that’s a little snarky but the big takeaway is that being Alpha means behaving in a socially aggressive way. This is completely unnecessary and earns nobodies respect no matter if you are human or canine.

In the canine world respect is not earned through force, fear, or intimidation, and everything we thought we knew about wolves having a hierarchical pack structure where a dominant “alpha” is “top dog” is also completely false.

A lot has changed in the industry of dog training over the last 30 years, but general knowledge can be slow to catch up and the media is often no help.

Many of the popularized “traditional” obedience training methods touted in “Pack-Leadership Theory”, “Alpha Theory,” or “Dominance Theory” are nothing more than wives tales. They have never stood up to modern research on animal behavioral sciences or learning theory. These training beliefs promote that unruly dogs require a heavy hand in order to change. Usually referred to as balanced training, these trainers will tell you that you need to gain physical control over your friend’s behavior using pain, fear & intimidation to force submission. Research continues to prove that using balanced training is very damaging to the human animal bond, and decreases an animal’s ability to problem solve and learn new things. This article by the New York Times agrees that …”pet owners should avoid programs that use punishment or pack-theory techniques because they're not scientifically supported and are controversial in the training community.”

HOW WILL MY DOG LEARN WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES?

Short answer. Dogs work harder & more reliably to access outcomes that make them feel good.

Instead of waiting for them to make mistakes so you can tell them they are wrong, focus on setting the environment up so that the dog is most likely to make the choices you want them to make. Then reward those good choices, and watch the problem behavior melt away.

If that sounds impossible, don’t worry! We have decades of experience helping our human and canine learners succeed. We will show you how!

If we can borrow just fifteen minutes of your time, we created a video explaining the problems with alpha and dominance theory. You will learn about the scientists who popularized these theories, and why they have sense condemned them.

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