I had always accepted that owners had to be an alpha over their dog based on how wolves behave. Lately, there have been studies that show that wolves don't have alpha positions. In the seventies, researchers studied wolves in captivity and assumed that the behavior that they saw was normal for wolves everywhere. It wasn't. Wolves in the wild don't have alpha and beta positions. Wolf packs are made up of a breeding pair and their offspring. When the offspring want to mate, they go off and form their own packs.
Of course, dogs, like kids, should be taught manners to make living with them more pleasurable both for the dog and the owner. I don't let my dogs in the kitchen, for example, because they get underfoot and it is dangerous for both them and me. But it is comforting to think that I don't have to make my dog do a trick every single time I want to pay them attention or worry that my pet is dominating me if she lays her head on my lap.
Of course, dogs, like kids, should be taught manners to make living with them more pleasurable both for the dog and the owner. I don't let my dogs in the kitchen, for example, because they get underfoot and it is dangerous for both them and me. But it is comforting to think that I don't have to make my dog do a trick every single time I want to pay them attention or worry that my pet is dominating me if she lays her head on my lap.
