Comments: Dominance: Dog training's dirty word

“Lol, I'm not so sure about dominance training, but I think I use some sort of informal form of it. My dog's been trained positively, using a clicker but sometimes when he's acting up I'll stare him down to let him know I'm upset with him and he needs to behave himself. And for the most part it works.” — treefearie07, Nov 05 2008

“dogs don't understand the meaning of dominance. all their actions are due to instinctual reactions. thinking in terms of human understanding of dominance, emotions get in the way. you have more of a chance getting upset at a dog you're training if you think the dog is showing "dominance". if you this, you end up countering the "dominating" behavior the dog is showing you which is not what's happening. dog's can't comprehend what they do the way humans comprehend. ” — kaygodogtrai..., Oct 29 2008

“Dominance has so many pitfalls. If your dog is really headstrong, he may not take kindly to your tactics and up his own ante. At best, he may obey only when he perceives that you're within striking distance. But the worst is that he doesn't respect you, just fears you. And he really doesn't learn to "be good" just avoids "being bad." ” — pcarpenter, Oct 23 2008

“The problem with compulsory training is that so few really know how to implement it in a way that doesn't instill fear, apprehension, or neurosis in a dog. No doubt it works well when such techniques are performed properly, but to encourage average pet-owners to undertake "Alpha Dog" training on their own isn't the most responsible thing we could do.
Sometimes it can be easy for us behaviorists/trainers to overestimate the knowledge or skill level of the lesser-experienced. I find myself perpetually baffled by what some dog-owners don't know. I had a session just yesterday with middle-aged client who literally did not know that such a thing as "obedience training" even existed! Granted, most dog-owners are more savvy than that, but do we really want to urge training methods that a good percentage of pros can't even successfully pull off?

People are liable to get hurt.

I think for most situations, positive reinforement-based training is the way to go.” — Rocky Alexander, Sep 14 2008

“Wow, so much "Kitten With a Whip" and emotional conjuring being attached to this word by the APDT evangelicals.

Don't any of you study natural social structures and behaviors in animals outside of the lone critter inside the "Skinner Laboratory"?

Ever stop to consider that dominant and subordinant "beings", all play positions on the same team to help them survive?

These aren't necessarily oppositional positions, unless your talking about breeding rights or the best piece of meat from a kill.

Maybe you should spend some more time watching documentaries which involve higher social mammals, and are described by scientists doing research in the field.

Yikes!

Please, make an effort to understand the true (and various) definitions of a term before you start lobbing granades full of lies.

EW...” — chasorg, Jun 17 2008

“In a perfect world we would all train using only the positive gentle approach. The reality is that at times a dog who is a bully may need a taste of his own medicine. Having the ability to block unwanted behaviour is a key to being an effective trainer. The importance is that Discipline and not punishment is used. Discipline requires the restraint of human emotion to be effective. Then the dog is capable of adapting and accepting. Hence the removal of fear from the dog. I agree with Toby4Life, There is room for both, the problem is many dont have the technique.” — A Zelvys, May 28 2008

“this doesnt sound like dominaice but agression and agression only gets fear or fighting back ” — iluvdogs, Apr 22 2008

“Everytime this topic comes up it's always black and white. Why have I never heard anyone talk about the advantages of both and melding them together? I like positive reinforcement too (like in our agility training), but when my dog gets out of line I correct him (hard sometimes) to ensure he remembers who is the boss. Both techniques work and I don't understand why people always talk about the extremes; always using one method or the other.” — aaaaa, Apr 22 2008

“This has been the type of training we have used (positive reinforcement) and it has worked so much better than some others I have seen who use the negative dominance type. I don't want my dog to cower when I come near because it fears me. I love my dogs and I know that they love me back and our relationship and their behavior relys on a mutual respect. Positive reinforcement has always worked better for us. ” — smitte21, Mar 19 2008

“Benevolence characterizes the true goodness of the mind and spirit, the unbiased kindness to do good. It is the expression of agape love (greek word for unconditional love). -definition taken from Wikipedia

I think I want to be this kind of leader, and in return, you get this kind of follower...
” — cowgirlchick78, Mar 18 2008

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