When I arrive for an in-home consultation with clients, I always want to know where dogs spend their time, where they are allowed or not, and what the household rules are. People who allow their dogs on the furniture are often sheepish about admitting it. I often hear things like “I know we shouldn’t, but [...]
If I had a dollar for every time people tell me their dogs are being dominant, my bank account would look a lot better than it does right now. If I then lost a dollar for every time that statement turned out not to be true, my bank account would look exactly like it does [...]
In recent years, the terms “alpha” and “dominance” and the whole “wolf pack theory” of dog training have become popular again. The appeal, I think, lies in the way it is sensationalized on television and in other media. It grabs attention. Unfortunately, most of what is espoused in the name of dog training and behavior [...]
One of the topics Dr Dodman discussed in his seminar was aggression and "dominance". While people often confuse the two for being one and the same, they are not. Dr Dodman was careful to point out that "dominant" dogs are rarely aggressive. One interesting point was that "dominant" animals have high stable levels of serotonin [...]
