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Pack Theory Revisited – The Alpha Roll
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A new dog unexpectedly joins the pack with little warning.
First though let me state unequivocally that dogs are indeed pack animals (sometimes called “flocking”) and that within that pack there is a hierarchy.
On one side of the pack theory controversy are well published dog trainers who don’t believe in pack hierarchy. All I can say to that is I wonder if they have ever been exposed to a large group of dogs for any length of time?
On the other side (which includes a few famous TV dog trainers) are the groups that think that pack hierarchy is enforced in a harsh rigid manner. They are often backed up by breeders who say that “yes, mother dogs do indeed discipline their puppies roughly”. To which I say…these breeders should not be breeding dogs with this temperament, this lack of kind, loving, maternal instincts.
What we now know about pack hierarchy we’ve learned from being able to observe dog packs up close and personal, for long periods of time, getting all their behavior on video so we can slow it down and watch it frame by frame to understand it at human speed.
Some of the misunderstandings have come from the speed with which dogs move. Take the “alpha roll” that so many misguided trainers and veterinarians are fond of. It can seem an awful lot like a new dog approaches a pack and the alpha dog of that pack grabs the new dog by the throat and turns it on his stomach.
The reality is, that just doesn’t happen. When slowed down to human speed what we see is a new dog approaches, the alpha dog snaps or snarls and the new dog rolls over on it’s own to show submission – to say, “I mean no harm, just want to play”. At no time did the alpha dog ever even touch the new dog!
Of course there are many other subtle ways a dog can show this while approaching a group of dogs, so that even this voluntary roll over is rare. In over 14 years of having ever changing numbers and groups of dogs at my house, I have ONCE, only once, even seen an alpha dog snarl at a new dog in such a way as to make it go to the ground (the new dog did not roll over, just went down to the ground in an appeasement gesture.)
There is a theory in dog training circles that when a dog actually does “alpha roll” another dog it means only one thing - death comes next. You might want to think about that when someone tells you to use this maneuver on your dog.
Is that the message that you really want to send? The fallout from using this aggressive move can be varied. You can end up with a scared dog that thinks you are going to kill it. You can end up with an aggressive dog (aggression begets aggression). Or you can end up with a dog that blows you off. Just as a child will begin to ignore a parent who threatens spanking but never follows through (I’m not advocating following through – I’m saying don’t threaten!)
What you won’t get is a dog that thinks you are a leader. You won’t get respect or the kind of unconditional love that will make a dog want to follow you anywhere. For that you need good leadership skills, not the type of parenting techniques Charles Manson’s mother used.
I’ll explore some easy to replicate kind, benevolent leadership skills in my next article. Zen Paws
For more on dog packs see:
Tension within the pack was solved without a bit of physical contact!
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