Dogs/Wolves.....Alpha or Parent

I really liked the article. My shelties have had long snouts and prong ears, but both are very submissive. The neuoteny eye thing is apparent. I guess it would depend on the dog, as the article states.

I had German Shepherds before shelties, and they were more like the wolves they describe. In fact, I had a male puppy I kept with the mother and father, and he was never able to mature fully. This explains why.

I am interested to hear what others think. I am going to forward this article to a few doggy-friends I have.

Thanks for posting it.
 
My only issue with the article is that I suspect that many people see "parent" and think "baby", "toddler", or "child" (though I don't think this is what the author intended).

A dog is not a child. It's not a wolf, either (as the article points out, there are many, many generations of natural and human-guided selection separating the wolf from the dog). It's a dog. There's a tendency to think of our dogs as "fur-children" or "little people in fur coats", and that kind of thinking just isn't fair to the dog - who is, at the end of the day, a dog, and possessed of a dog's brain and a dog's way of thinking.

I think the thing to emphasize in this article is that you should aim to be a good dog parent - that is, a dog who is a parent, not a human with a dog-child. Be firm but fair. Set rules and boundaries, and stick to them. Be confident and a good leader. Don't coddle or baby (except in cases of genuine illness... and in old age, coddle as much as you want, the dear dog's earned it). (Oh dear, I think that's how my own parents were! :lol: And I'm grateful for it.)
 
I think most good trainers never bought this alpha story anyway.
And it is high time to stop comparing dogs to wolves. Dogs do share 99% DNA with wolves but so are humans with monkeys... so what does it prove????
I refuse to live on banana diet:lol:
I do not like this reference to dogs never growing up and being children ... dogs do not live in packs, at least most dogs. They live in human homes with humans. Dogs were selectively bred for many many many generations...
I am hoping we will live poor wolves alone they are not good subject to make extrapolations on dogs behavior....
 
It reiterates what Bradshaw says in Dog Sense. And I agree, just because I share DNA with monkeys I don't want to live on a banana diet either.:lol: I don't think using human parenting skills is a bad way to raise a dog, after all we selected for those dogs that fit in with our society.

But I do have issues with the idea that the more wolf like a dog the better communicator it is. I think it misses that dogs have developed other signals for communicating with us and other dogs. If anything dogs like Huskies and GSDs have more difficulty fitting in with other dogs. I know with the large group that meets at our local oval that those two breeds are always greeted with some trepidation by the other dogs. Altho Goldies are generally well accepted (no prick ears though. Bradshaw says Shelties are actually considered one of the neotony breeds and down there with CKCS for least wolf like behaviours.

As for it being dangerous to have a large group of adult dogs together, well the researchers should come round to my neighbourhood, or perhaps go to a flyball competition. We don't have any problems.
 
"Another flaw with training philosophies that focus on dominance theory is that they are based on studies from the 1940s that looked at captive wolves, taken from various packs. The wolves were not part of a natural pack that typically consists of a breeding pair and their offspring from the previous two to three years. The wolves that were observed by the scientists of the time were in an unnatural situation that resulted in increased aggression and fighting.

Modern research of free-roaming dogs has found submission displays are much more important than dominance displays to maintain the peace. Because wild dogs are scavengers and opportunists, not typically predators, they generally live more solitary lives than wolves without structured hierarchies. If you observe an “alpha roll” between two dogs, try to note whether the dog on top forced the bottom dog there or whether the submissive dog actually offered his belly up."

"Further research has since shown us although dogs are indeed descended from wolves, they are more like distant cousins who, due to evolution and selective breeding by man over the course of 14,000 years, are now very different creatures. Dogs have smaller brains, weaker jaws, altered motor patterns and many breeds are no longer able to communicate in the same way wolves do. The wolf meanwhile has remained unchanged over the span of the dog’s evolution. Consider that a wolf has 60 distinct facial expressions while a German Shepherd, one of the most wolf-like dog breeds, only has 12. Pugs and similar breeds have even fewer facial expressions.

"More importantly, Mech and many others have since studied natural, free range wolf packs and have discovered that unlike the captive wolves, there are very few if any battles for dominance. The reason for this is that a natural pack generally consists of a mating pair, that year’s offspring and perhaps a couple of stragglers from previous litters. The “dominant” wolves are the parents. They protect and provide for their young, dependent cubs. Similarly, humans usually protect and provide for the domestic dog, resulting in the human naturally being the dominant creature in the relationship. Humans control access to all of the things dogs want or need, from food and water to access to exercise and mental stimulation. Just as there is no struggle in a natural wolf pack for dominance, there should be no concern that the modern domestic dog is trying to plot to take over the household."

Couldn't say it any better,than my Agility Instructor does. So I quoted her.
Her and a circle of amazing dog trainers from around here are calling humans either handlers or being a Dog's Guardian. I am ok with being that!

Adina McRaoe, creator of the Clickerleash and Sublime Canine Services: http://clickerleash.wordpress.com/2011/02/[/URL]
Silvia Jay, Voice 4 Dogs: http://www.voice4dogs.com/gentling.html
 
Very good article. Short and to the point. I highly recommend the book "Inside Of A Dog." by Alexandra Horowitz. I just finished reading it and hits a lot of the same points in that article and goes into more in depth explanations.

tofu pup said:
My only issue with the article is that I suspect that many people see "parent" and think "baby", "toddler", or "child" (though I don't think this is what the author intended).

A dog is not a child. It's not a wolf, either (as the article points out, there are many, many generations of natural and human-guided selection separating the wolf from the dog). It's a dog. There's a tendency to think of our dogs as "fur-children" or "little people in fur coats", and that kind of thinking just isn't fair to the dog - who is, at the end of the day, a dog, and possessed of a dog's brain and a dog's way of thinking.

I think the thing to emphasize in this article is that you should aim to be a good dog parent - that is, a dog who is a parent, not a human with a dog-child. Be firm but fair. Set rules and boundaries, and stick to them. Be confident and a good leader. Don't coddle or baby (except in cases of genuine illness... and in old age, coddle as much as you want, the dear dog's earned it). (Oh dear, I think that's how my own parents were! :lol: And I'm grateful for it.)
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree with you! I know so many people who humanize their dogs and take it too far. Yes, I consider Bailey my little girl or fur-child and spoil her, but I know she's a dog, so I don't cross that line.
 
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