Alpha Theory - or Dominance Theory - is a school of thought in dog training and behaviour fields that is derived from the idea that dogs are direct descendents of wolves and therefore behave in exactly the same way that wolves do - that is to say, that there is a social heirarchy in their pack with an alpha leader who dominates the other members of the pack.

Belief in this theory has led trainers and behaviourists to train dogs with aversives and advise that dog owners do things such as making sure they are always first through a doorway, or that they always eat first, to ensure they are alpha above their dog.

In training classes, some alpha trainers advise the use of choke chains and ‘alpha rolls’ - which means you actually pin your dog to the floor - in order to maintain your alpha status in the pack when the dog is not behaving the way you demand him to.

A well-known celebrity ‘dog trainer’ (written as such as he actually has no formal qualifications in training and behaviour) brings these methods to life on our screens and many, many people are using him as a role model when training their dog.

However, perhaps if the average dog owner actually looked more deeply into the field of canine behaviour and learning, they would realise how daft some of these ‘alpha protocols’ really are.

Dogs are not wolves. True, they are relatives of wolves and have some similarities but the studies comparing wolves to dogs were carried out on captive bred wolves - not their wild counterparts - so the control situation wasn’t entirely natural in the first place.

Also, when a trainer tells us that we are alpha’s in the pack, we must realise that dogs know we ARE NOT dogs. They don’t behave with us in the way they behave with other dogs - my dogs come for cuddles with me, they don’t do this with each other. Nor do they sniff my butt to see who I am!

There has been a great deal of research into canine behaviour and leading experts are now debunking alpha theory as a lot of nonsense - backed up by hard evidence, especially from the Positive Reinforcement training ranks (i.e. dogs learn from whatever brings them the highest reward, if they carry out a behaviour you want, reinforce it! If you reward them the behaviour is likely to be repeated again!) - who do not believe that our dogs are trying to dominate us or are conspiring to take over the household!

And personally, I have to agree.

Dogs running through doorways first is not a sign of dominance - it’s more likely to be sheer excitement! You are going somewhere, and they want to go too! There is, of course, nothing wrong with asking your dog to sit before he goes through the doorway, this can contribute nicely to their training if you reward them for carrying out the desired behaviour - our dogs are asked to sit before going out the front door and across to the field. They do a sit/stay and their reward is being able to thunder over to the field like the devil himself is chasing them, and having a tennis ball thrown many, many times for some good fetch!

Through the wonder of twitter, my attention (and shock horror!) was recently drawn to an article written by a behaviourist who swears that spitting into your dog’s food will help assert your ‘dominance’ over them as they will have your scent on the food - and the alpha always eats first…

How humans can be so incredibly dim when it comes to another species is rather beyond me. Does my dog care if I spit on his food? Highly unlikely. He will wolf it down either way. Will it have any effect whatsoever on his training - or my ability to carry out training - NOPE. He’ll carry on doing whatever brings him the most satisfaction - and it’s up to me to make the most rewarding thing in the world whatever it is I’m offering.

Will my dog know that I am in charge if I eat before him? NOPE, he will still want a bit of my dinner whether he eats before or after…why? He’s a dog! They are opportunists - and grabbing a bite of human food is rather rewarding (which by the way you should remember for high value treats when using positive reinforcement - think cheese and hotdogs!) - it has nothing to do with him trying to be dominant over a human and everything with him trying to get something tasty in his belly!

I became rather incensed a few months ago when friends of mine, first time dog owners, were told by their vet that they had a dominant dog. He told them this because the dog had sat on the foot of his owner in the surgery.

In actual fact, having met this dog, I can state the dog was very, very anxious and, in my opinion, had tried to get as close to my friend as possible for some reassurance. This dog had been rescued and was very nervous and extremely submissive. That the vet would state this dog was dominant was completely astounding as, being first time dog owners, they could have walked away believing they needed to make themselves alpha and begin to dominate their dog - and the vet wasn’t even correct!

The same vet also told them they should never reward a dog when training as the dog should do what he is told to show ‘respect’ to the owner. This is frustrating beyond belief and I would advise people that as educated as a vet is regarding animal biology - they are NOT canine behaviourists. Especially those that hark on about alpha theory!

Humans seem to have this desire to be ‘master’ over other creatures and unfortunately I believe this is why alpha theory is still so popular. However, there are many successful trainers and behaviourists working to educate the general public and offer advice on training through positive reinforcement - this training method means your dog offers you behaviour purposefully. He chooses to carry out the desired behaviour because you (and/or whatever it is you’re motivating him with) are the biggest reward in his world. He doesn’t merely carry out the behaviour through fear of corrections or because his shock collar is being set off!

If you are a dog owner - or even a trainer / behaviourist who is currently sticking to the old alpha theory gambit - why not do some research into positive reinforcement and how dogs actually behave socially, as well as how they learn?

Or speak to a qualified trainer / behaviourist who can teach you how to get the best out of your dog without the use of force or pain training!

There are some brilliant books out there, such as Don’t Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor and The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson that are well worth looking into. You can also visit the following websites for more information:

Dog Star Daily- run by Ian Dunbar - behavioural expert!
Clicker Training- run by Karen Pryor - another brilliant behaviourist!

There is no excuse nowadays for aversives - if you are a good trainer, you don’t need to use force or dominance to get your dog to respond. There are amazing training aids out there - such as the clicker, which is a small device with a piece of metal in. You push down on one part of the metal and it pops back up with a click - which can be used to help your dog understand what it is you want him to do (have a nose at Karen Pryor’s website for more info) - without manhandling him into a position - and blaming him when he gets it wrong next time. And if a dog doesn’t do something you want first time, it isn’t because he’s challenging your ‘alpha status’, it’s because he doesn’t understand what you’re asking him to do. Or that you haven’t trained it properly in the first place!

So get researching! And speak to people about positive reinforcement! Dog training is FUN and should be a way for dogs and their owners to bond. And knowing that you’re dog responds because he chooses too - well there’s no describing how fulfilling that really is.

And please don’t spit in your dog’s food. It doesn’t make you alpha, it makes you daft!