Dominance

Are dogs like wolves? Are dogs pack animals? Do dogs seek dominance? Are some dogs dominant?

What is Dominance/Pack Theory?

Dominance theory is the understanding that dogs are pack animals that establish order through dominance, and that the most dominant dog will become the pack leader. This theory also suggests that dogs are driven by the desire to establish dominance over us and other dogs. We are told that to override the natural instincts of our dogs we must teach them that we are the pack leader, often through forceful or intimidating methods. In multi-dog households, we are told to let our dogs work out their own pack hierarchy.

Where Did Dominance Theory Originate?

Dominance theory stems from studies that were conducted nearly a hundred years ago by Swiss animal behaviorist Rudolph Schenkel (1). These studies were based on Schenkel’s observations of unrelated wolves who were captured and placed together in zoo enclosures.

Dominance theory has been used to justify some of the most inhumane practices towards dogs. Today these practices carry absolutely no scientific justifications.

Schenkel’s nearly 100-year-old studies of captive wolves have lead to widespread, lasting, and harmful misunderstandings of wolf and dog behavior. In the wild, wolves are used to living in highly reclusive familial packs that inhabit vast territories. Wolf packs are family units that work together through complex routines and social behaviors (2). The breeding pair leads the pack, some older offspring stay behind to help raise the younger members, and occasionally new members join the pack. Just like us, wolves engage in ritualized social behaviors to establish routines and roles to prevent unnecessary conflict.

When social animals are put together in stressful situations in unnatural groupings in close confined quarters, conflict will arise. That doesn’t mean that conflict is a primary drive or optimal state for most species. With people, we can use reality TV as an example. Even in cases where people willingly sign up, these unnatural scenarios often lead to extreme levels of stress, conflict, and unusual behaviors.

Dogs are Not Wolves

Dogs and wolves share close DNA (99.9%) in the same way that humans and chimpanzees closely share DNA (98.8%). Current scientific consensus is that dogs departed from ancient wolves somewhere around 15,000 years ago, if not even earlier.

• Wolves are highly reclusive hunters and occasional scavengers who live in familial packs in vast areas far away from humans.
• Dogs are opportunistic scavengers, occasional hunters, and promiscuous wanderers that live in areas occupied by humans. Over 80% of the dogs in the world are free-roaming, and less than 20% are kept as pets in captivity (3).

Companion Dogs are Living in Captivity

Dogs have evolved to live alongside humans, but that doesn’t mean that living in a home environment as a pet comes naturally. Dogs have freely roamed our civilizations and eaten our trash for thousands of years— that is what comes naturally to most dogs!

For thousands of years, the idea of having a dog as a dedicated companion was considered a luxury and still is in most parts of the world. When you consider that less than 20% of the dogs in the world live as pets, and that many of the members of this limited pool were bred to serve highly specific working roles, life as a pet dog can be very complex these days. Dogs are wanderers, so we use leashes, fences, doors, crates, kennels, and sometimes even electronic shock to prevent them from escaping our properties. Dogs scavenge, and many pet guardians find themselves worrying about what their pets are getting into. Dogs are promiscuous, so we spay and neuter them to prevent accidental breedings. Dogs are used to living alongside us, but most aren’t naturals at living in captivity. The rate of dog-to-dog and dog-to-human aggression in first world countries (where the majority of pet dogs reside) speaks volumes as to how challenging life in captivity can be for pet dogs.

Dog-Dog Interactions, Multi-Dog Households

One thing we can learn from Schenkel’s studies from nearly a century ago is that stress and conflict can easily arise in captive animals who are forced to live together. This is also true for dogs. Dogs placed together in confined areas without the ability to get away from each other need our help and support to establish safe and healthy relationships and routines. When dogs are having trouble getting along, they shouldn’t be left to “work it out” completely alone or to “establish a pack order.” That can result in unfair stress, escalation of conflict, and harm to each other and other family members. When adding a new puppy or dog to a home with an existing dog, care and planning should be taken.

Below photo: I went to give Miles a treat and his friend grabbed it. The other dog didn’t grab the treat because he was being “dominant.” He is was just excited about a rare snow day and treats! Instead of reacting to other dog, Miles avoided conflict and was relaxed. Miles waited for a replacement treat because he has a solid history of having dog interactions moderated by people.

Dominant Behaviors

We often bring puppies and dogs into our homes imagining them as little blank slates, ready to join our lives and provide us with the fun, joy, and relief we crave. Raising a puppy or helping a new dog adjust to your life at times can feel anything but relaxing!

Puppies and dogs do not do things we don’t like because they want to challenge us, make us unhappy, or because they are plotting household or world domination. Most dogs want to figure out how to live their lives in our spaces. It isn’t always easy for them to understand how without help.

An untrained puppy or dog will roam right out the front door if it is left ajar, they will eat accessible food, they will jump up on us, they will have accidents indoors. And working breed types will demonstrate additionally tricky behaviors. Puppies and dogs do not demonstrate these behaviors because they want to “dominate” us. Happy-go-lucky puppies are just doing what comes naturally to them, and older puppies or adult dogs enter our homes with their own histories.

I think back to when I was a 17-year old exchange student in Japan, where the standards for politeness are a lot higher than in the USA. I was a small town American girl who had barely been away from home. Landing in Japan and entering my host family’s home, there were undoubtably many social rules I wasn’t aware of that I unknowingly violated. My parents for the month didn’t speak any English and I did not speak any Japanese. My host parents understood I was new to their culture and did not assume I was trying to “dominate” or offend them as I attempted to adjust to their family lifestyle and home. Instead, they were kind and welcoming. Without words they showed me how to fit into their home and routines. My initial intense homesickness dissipated in the face of their patience, kindness, and warmth and I was able to relax. Soon I was learning new routines with excitement and I was beaming with pride to be a part of their family. It was a pivotal moment in my life to experience so much change, unfamiliarity, and acceptance all at once. If only all puppies and dogs entering a new home could have the experience I did!

Outcomes of Dominance/Pack Theory

Squeezing a puppy with force until they stop squirming. Scaring or threatening a dog to show you are the boss. Using electricity to stop a dog from doing something. Smacking a dog’s face when they resist grooming. Pinning a dog to the ground to show them that you are the alpha. Mouthing or biting your puppy or dog(!). These are some extreme, yet common examples. When treated with “dominance,” dogs will be forced to chose between “fight,” or “flight,” or a mixture of both. Neither are optimal choices, but often dogs are left without alternatives.

• Fight: A dog may panic and try to defend themselves by growling, snarling, snapping, lunging, and/or biting.
• Flight: Because dogs are already confined at every angle (leash, home, yard, gates, doors, walls, kennel, crate), the dogs who choose “flight” are not usually going to be able to run away physically, so they may be left no choice but to escape inside their own mind. This is called learned helplessness in psychology (5). Most dominance-based dog training relies heavily on creating a state of learned helplessness as a goal. Did you know animals, people included, who learn through learned helplessness often will even stop trying to avoid punishment when given a choice (5,6)? A normalized state of withdrawal, depression, anxiety, and/or avoidance should never be a care or training solution.

Dominance-based training can result in a dog who is less troublesome at home. But the dog may also do “sneaky” things when you aren’t looking, and their follow-through for requests may be so-so. “He only does it when he feels like it,” becomes the routine joke. Stubborn, aloof, naughty, sneaky – these are NOT descriptions of who a dog is, or of what a breed type is like – these are symptoms of problems.

Cooperation with your puppy or dog isn’t only possible, it is the most successful approach.

Trust Your Gut

Social media is rampant with advice. The industry of dog training is unregulated. The world of TV dog trainers is even less regulated and way more edited. It is not surprising that many dog people become overwhelmed when seeking guidance. On one side, you might start with a dominance/pack-based trainer who is experienced and kind to you but who uses methods that seem harsh to your dog. On the flip side, you might start with a “positive” trainer who seems to have very little advice other than to use lots of treats for everything, and methods that seem vague and lacking results. Or you may find a trainer in either direction who makes you feel like you are the worst dog person of all time! My advice? Trust your gut. If something doesn’t feel right for you or your dog, keep looking. There is always help.

Your gut instinct matters and YOU are your dog’s only true advocate. The world is full of unethical advice and shortcuts. If you wouldn’t treat a child that way, you shouldn’t treat yourself or your dog that way. Best of all? You don’t have to.

Regrouping

I grew up in a rural area where dog training was set in the past. When my parents got me my first dog, a local dog trainer came to our house to evaluate our new puppy. She held Cinnamon up in the air with his little face directly in front of hers and said, “If he makes eye contact and tries to get away, he is dominant. If he looks away and holds still, he is obedient.” As she uttered this bold proclamation, 8-week old Cinnamon’s big brown eyes were wide as dinner plates and were staring directly into hers, and his floppy little body was squirming violently from side to side like a fish out of water with a spear through its chest. The trainer looked at Cinnamon and then looked at us with a quiet smirk of self-assured understanding, and the diagnosis was set: Cinnamon was one very “dominant” dog!  Dominance-based methods were suggested. Even though we loved Cinnamon dearly and (thankfully) weren’t the best at implementing the advice, I can still see how that view of him seeped in around the edges of our understanding of him throughout his life. There were many, many times we could have helped Cinnamon adjust into his life as a pet, and we didn’t. We didn’t know how. We didn’t know anything else was even possible.

We ALL start somewhere. Don’t feel bad if you are learning something new. Don’t make someone else feel bad if they are learning something new. Instead of feeling bad about the past, let’s feel empowered for the future.

I often start working with clients who are struggling with a dog who is “a lot.”  When we start to offer the dog new options, they will often stun their people with their willingness, intelligence, and skills. The moment you realize there is a bigger world to share with your dog that you didn’t even know was possible is the most blissful moment, in my opinion! No dog or person should be boxed into a label. No person or dog should be defined by one challenge. We ALL have a lot to offer. 

(And it is never too late to change. The trainer I mentioned uses different methods now, and undoubtably has helped countless dogs because she was brave enough to change.)

“Dominant” dogs are often extremely intelligent dogs that are struggling terribly to assume the challenging role of being a pet dog. Often these dogs have working lineage. To apply punishment to these already distressed, confused, and/or conflicted dogs is insult to injury when they are already struggling. If we can regroup and help them, their world will change and expand, and so will ours. Most of us bring dogs into our lives to reduce our stress and to increase our joy… And our goals for how we influence our dog’s lives should and can be the same.

My childhood dog Cinnamon was deemed “dominant” at an early age by a local trainer. I learned two things from his “diagnosis.” One, that Cinnamon was a spirited and brave renegade who persisted and enjoyed his life no matter what. Two, that any dog I share my life with must be at LEAST as if not more “dominant” as Cinnamon was. I won’t have it any other way.

Recommended Viewing

• Tough Love: A Meditation on Dominance & Dogs: This 37-minute documentary is particularly heart wrenching because it contains a very personal interview with Dr. Sophia Yin who was a pioneer in stress-free training and veterinary handling of animals, and she ended her life not long after the documentary was filmed. It features a powerful and insightful tribute to her childhood dog.
• Dr. David L. Mech Regrets Contributing to the Popularization of the Dominance Model: This 3-minute video is a personal plea by a leading expert on wolves to stop following the misleading information he helped popularize in 1970.
• Malignant Behavior: The Cesar Millan Effect: You may come to watch this 10-minute video for the concise expert quotes, but you will certainly leave remembering the ending where a brave lady uses a shock collar on herself. If you’d rather cut to the chase and if you have a strong stomach you can just scan Youtube, searching “human shock collar test.“

References

1 – Schenkel, R. Expression Studies on Wolves: Captivity Observations. 1st ed., vol. 1, Basel, Switzerland, Zoological Garden, Basle and the Zoological Institute of the University of Basle, 1946, davemech.org/wolf-news-and-information/schenkels-classic-wolf-behavior-study-available-in-english.
2 – International Wolf Center. “Wolf FAQs – What Is a Wolf Pack?” International Wolf Center, wolf.org/wolf-info/basic-wolf-info/wolf-faqs/#toggle-id-6. Accessed 18 June 2021.
3 – Coppinger, Raymond, et al. What Is a Dog? University of Chicago Press, 2016.
4 – Cherry, Kendra. “What Causes Learned Helplessness and Why Does It Happen?” Verywell Mind, Behavioral Psychology, 5 Apr. 2021, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-learned-helplessness-2795326.
5 – Seligman, Martin E., and Gwyneth Beagley. “Learned Helplessness in the Rat.” Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, vol. 88, no. 2, 1975, pp. 534–41. Crossref, doi:10.1037/h0076430.
6 – Pryce, Christopher R., et al. “Establishing a Learned-Helplessness Effect Paradigm in C57BL/6 Mice: Behavioural Evidence for Emotional, Motivational and Cognitive Effects of Aversive Uncontrollability per Se.” Neuropharmacology, vol. 62, no. 1, 2012, pp. 358–72. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.08.012.