Dog Behavior » “Dominance” Myths

Keeping It Simple

Dr. Suzanne — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:31:31 +0000

During a recent presentation at a conference, we were discussing myths surrounding playing tug of war with dogs. We were explaining that tug-of-war is a cooperative game, not a competitive interaction over which individual is going to control the toy. Several people in the audience mentioned they had heard playing tug-of-war is a good way to build a dog’s “confidence.” What exactly does this mean?

Do You Really Know WHY Your Dog Behaves as he Does?

Dr. Suzanne — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:29:16 +0000

Understanding the WHY of your dog’s behavior is critical to changing it – whether you want it to happen more or less often.

Suppose your dog is soiling in the house. Is he urine-marking? Does he have a bladder infection? Is he afraid to go outside? Has he learned to prefer the carpet over grass?

What steps you take to stop him from soiling will depend on why he’s doing it. Learn more about analysing behavior – and how you can get better at it – in this 10th tip.

Want to really get good at understanding your Fido? You need our Understanding Fido’ s Behavior 4-CD program with notes!

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“Dog Psychology” and “Dominance” – the bad and the ugly

Dr. Suzanne — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:55:35 +0000

This audio tip is an important one. Once again, we take another look at how popular buzzwords create confusion. When choosing a trainer or behavior consultant, how these individuals use these words can give you important clues as to what kind of training methods they are likely to use.

This is such an important topic we’ve created an entire DVD on the topic called “Dangers of Dominance” - be sure and take a look at it after you listen to the audio tip.

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“Dominance” Is Not an Explanation for Problem Behaviors

Dr. Suzanne — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:51:37 +0000

Readers prepare thyselves as post is a rant. Dan just returned from an appointment with a wonderfully dedicated owner whose dog is displaying symptoms of separation anxiety – becoming destructive and howling about 10 minutes after the owner leaves. Previously he had worked with an “animal behaviorist” (who wasn’t) who told him the dog needed “structure” and that he needed to be a better “pack leader”.

We just received a message in our inbox from a reader with an 8 month old kitten that her husband’s dog has been aggressive since they brought the cat into the home at 12 weeks. They consulted an “animal behaviorist” (who wasn’t) who they said was “quite aggressive” and into the “dominance stuff”. Their meeting apparently was not a pleasant experience.

Every day we fight the dominance myths.