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In order to understand dominance theory, you will have to first learn what dominance really is. This is where you start wading in murky waters, as many so-castled “experts” label dogs as dominant without even truly understanding what this term really entails. You will often hear that dogs who behave in certain ways are acting dominant or trying to achieve dominance.

Here are just a few examples of circumstances where dogs are often labeled as dominant:

If your dog pulls on the leash he is acting dominant because he wants to lead you.

If your dog jumps un at and licks your face he is trying to achieve a “higher” status. If your dog rest assured he is trying to assert dominance.

If your dog, he is telling you he is the boss.

The fact is, all of the above are labels that often btur the real intentions of the dog. For example, dogs who on the leash are simply pulling

because they want to explore and meet other dogs, dogs who jump on you and lick your face are really just tryine t•  Ely °hello,” guarding food and toys is mostly a trust issue, humping can have several causes such as frustration, anxiety and play etc. More on this can be found on the APDT website here: Dominance and Dog Training.

So not only does labelling dogs as dominant blur the reat intentions of the dog, but it also causes owners to feel that they must harshly correct their dogs because they’re at stake of being stepped all over by them and becoming victims of “door mat syndrome.” On top of that, the real meaning of the term dominance is misunderstood and those who label dogs as dominant for acting in certain ways haven’t gone in depth on understanding the real meaning of the term. So what does dominance really mean? Let’s take a look at what the real experts in the field have to say…

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) defines dominance as not a personality trait but rather as “a relationship between individual animals that is established to determine who has priority access to multiple resources such as food, preferred resting spots, and mates.” It’s important to note that in order for a dominant/submissive relationship to take place, there must be that one individual who consistently submits.

What’s the purpose of this relationship? It’s to maintain order. In the wild, too much energy would be spent on fighting over food, resting spots and mates. This would end up being counter-productive as energy must be conserved for more important things like searching for food, mating and basic survival. A hierarchy helps to keep things running smoothly, since it helps determine which individuals will get priority of access to resources, especially when limited. This leads to a reduction in conflicts that may lead to aggression. For instance, the AVSAB describes how in a group of bulls, fights over mating are minimized because subordinate males avoid conflict by allowing only the dominant bull to mate.

How Did Dominance Theory Relate to Dogs?

One must dig into history and studies in order to determine how the belief that dogs are continuously trying to establish dominance was crafted. A major role was played by the tendency to base dog behavior on the behavior of wolves observed in studies. One of the first studies was conducted in 1947 by Robert Shankel, who observed a pack of wolves at the Zoological Institute of the University of Basel in Switzerland. His observations brought forth the conclusion that the dominant alpha wolf status was established through violent rivalries. Back then, dog behavior was believed to be closely related to wolf behavior; therefore, it was quicMy assumed that dogs who misbehaved did so

because they were trying to attain a dominant position. The solution for owners and trainers was to correct such attempts through the use of force, leading to an era of dominance-based training for the purpose of keeping the dog in check.

Luckily, better, more extensive studies conducted on wolves in a natural setting revealed a totally different perspective. Wolf expert David Mech provided significant contributions by observing a pack of wolves in 1986 on Ellesmere Island, Canada. These wolves in a natural setting behaved in a totally different way compared to Shenkel’s captive wolves. Mech soon noticed that the pack of wolves behaved more like a family unit composed by a breeding pair and its offspñng. Mech, therefore, compared Schenkel*s captivity studies as the equivalent of studying humans in refugee camps. This, along with the publication of Karen Pryor*s book “Don*t Shoot the Dog,” and the APDT’s promotion of reward-based training seemed to temporarily put to rest the “alpha wolF dominance theory.

However, a resurgence in dominance theory was later observed with the airing of Cesar Millan’s “The Dog Whispered” show. Dog behavior was once again based on wolf behavior along with the belief that dogs were constandy attempting to attain the “alpha” role. However, the show soon obtained lots of criticism from acclaimed dog trainers, respected behaviorists and dog owners.

Why Dominance Theory is no Longer Valid

In modern times, a better understanding of dogs has provided us with many valid points as to why dominance theory is considered outdated and no longer valid. For starters, let’s debunk a few myths that still seem to prevail, but are now fortunately being debunked by many educational organizations, books, position statements and articles.

Dogs are not Wolves!

Yes, dogs seem to share many similarities with wolves, but also many differences! Classified as “Canis familiaris” by Linnaeus in 1758, the domestic dog was later reclassified in 1993 as a subspecies of the gray wolf, and therefore, re-named “Canis lupus familiaris” by the Smithsonian Institution end the American Society of Mammatogists. This reclassification may suggest that dogs are closer to wolves than we imagine, yet, even though they are a subspecies of the grey wolf, it would be misleading to assume that dog behavior emerges from wolf behavior.

Despite sharing the same amount of chromosomes and the capability of giving life to offspring, let’s not forget the thousands of years (about 14,000 or 15,000) that separate one species from the other. Alexandra Horowitz in her book °Inside of a Dog” sets the differences apart by claiming: the key to a dog*s success to living with us in our homes is the very fact that dogs are not wolves.” A further effective comparison is made by lan Dunbar: “Trying to train dogs by studying wolf behavior is like learning how to raise a child by watching chimps.”

Dogs Don’t View Us as Their Pack

If dogs and wolves are different in many ways, imagine how different dogs and humans are! Yet, many still believe that dogs are pack animals and when they come into our homes, they behave as they would in a “wolf pack,” trying to assert their dominance over us. As we have seen in the previous paragraphs, this model is outdated and still based on the old Shenkel studies. But even if we compare to David Mech*s family packs, this doesn’t match our domesticated dogs, because domestic dogs have a history of scavenging more than hunting. And even feral dogs don’t usually fom traditional social packs. Perhaps a more appropriate tern to depict a group of dogs living together is a “social group.” Indeed, perhaps the only “packish” trait dogs have inherited from wolves is the desire to be social beings with a strong interest in being around others — other dogs or humans alike — though this varies between individual dogs and breeds.

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Dominating isn’t on Rovefs Agenda

As we have seen earlier, dogs aren’t constantly trying to assert dominance over us as some shows want to make us believe. To debunk this myth, all that is needed is to better understand what motivates dogs to act in certain ways, and more likely than not, it’s because of totally different reasons. For instance, as a dog trainer/behavior consultant I can attest that the great majority of behavior problems owners complain about have nothing to do with dominance. Indeed, I can solve them easily by just identifying what drives certain dogs to behave in certain ways. Many times, dog owners inadvertently reward certain behaviors. Once we identify what fuels the behavior, we work on refining the owner’s ability to influence their dog so we can stop fueling the behavior and replace it with something else.

The truth is, dogs are opportunists. They behave tn ways that bfings something rewardin9 to them or removes them from an unpleasant situation. You*ll see dogs who pull because they get to smell lamp posts, dogs who lU•9e because it sends the maitman away, da9S who bark because they get the aQention they crave after being alone all day, dogs who growl because growling moves that pestering child away, dogs who jump and lick you because they get doser to you to say “hello” and get a«ention (even if negative, which is better than nothing at times).

Dogs Don’t Need Harsh Trairuoq

Dominance theory gave life to harsh and dangerous training methods involving alpha rolls, collar grabs and leash jerks. It also involved harsh training tools such as choke collars, prong collars and shock collars. Still, as of today, you may hear people say that “you must pin your dog to the ground to show him who’s boss,” or that a “prong collar mimics the correction a wolf mom gives to her pups.” These outdated tools and methods are unfortunately still popular.

I often deal with aggression cases, and I must say that I have yet to see a real case of a dog acting out of dominance ag9ression.Even popular dog behaviorists who have worked on thousands of cases have found that aggressive behavior is mosdy due to fear. The dog is simply trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation, and is therefore giving distance-increasing signals (in other words, signals which say “stay away from me!).

Ken Ramirez, animal behaviorist and chief animal trainer at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, claims that dog owners need to learn how to better observe and understand dog behavior so they can reward wanted behaviors, while ignoring or distracting them from repeating unwanted behaviors. That’s reinforcement versus enforcement. The truth is, the cause of most behavioral problems in dogs is miscommunication and not dominance issues,° as Patricia McConnell, associate professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin explains.

To the surprise of many, I solve challenging cases through the use of behavior modification that doesn’t involve any use of pain, fear or intimidating tools. And so far, these methods have oPered a a win-win situation for all.

To find out how to solve your dog’s bad behavior with force-free techniques, check out the rest of the archive. or the Behavior Training for Qggy bonus course.

The wording appears to be very long and somewhat incomprehensible, but at a closer look, it is easier done than said. If you are an owner ofa dog exhibiting some behavioral problems you should be more than happy to learn how differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior may benefit you and your dog. Let’s closely break down and take a look at the words that compose this training method.

1. Reinforcement…

In the world of training dogs, when a behavior is “reinforced,” it means that it will tend to repeat more in the future — in other words it is strengthened. For example, giving a dog a cookie every time he sits reinforces the behavior of sitting, since dogs want to sit more and more to get those tasty cookies! But what is reinforcing to a dog is subjective. A dog may find jumping on people reinforcing if he craves attention and is given attention when he does so. The act of jumping up will thus repeat over time if people continue giving attention and fueling the

On the other hand, a dog may not find jumping up reinforcing if he is a bit aloof and dislikes having people too close to his face. He may, therefore, jump up once and then shy away and stop jumping, because he is not really too comfortable in interacting with people this way. In this case, the jumping up is not reinforcing and will not repeat over time. The act of jumping up may actually extinguish in this case, because the dog found the results of jumping up unpleasant.

• Incompatible Behaviors…

Incompatible behaviors are behaviors that clash against other behaviors. For instance, you cannot have a dog jump up and sit at the same time, you cannot have a dog heel and lunge towards other dogs at the same time, you cannot have a dog bite and lick out the content of a KONG at the same time, and you cannot have a dog greet and jump up at guests and go to his nlace and lie down at the same time. These behaviors are incompatible, since if one happens, the other cannot happen simultaneously.

The purpose of using °diPerential reinforcement of incompatible behavior” is to reduce a frequent, unwanted behavior without actually punishing it. Indeed, with this method you are actually reinforcing an incompatible response while reducin9 the likelihood of the undesirable one happening. This makes this training method humane and very effective. If this still sounds confusing, it will become clearer as you read on. Now let’s take a closer 1ook on how to use this training method to our advantage.

How to Apply Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior

In order to implement differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior you must abide by the following rules:

You reward the dog when he successfully performs the alternate, incompatible behavior you ask him to do (for example when he sits instead of jumping up}.

The desirable behavior selected must be incompatible with the unwanted behavior (sitting is incompatible with jumping, going to a designated place such as a rug is incompatible with rowdy greetings of guests, lying down on a mat is incompatible with begging at the table, and so on).

The unwanted behavior must be prevented as much as possible from being rehearsed and reinforced. Remember, the more a behavior is rehearsed and reinforced, the more it repeats. It’s important that your guests do not reward your dog with attention when he jumps up at them, otherwise the behavior of jumping will be reinforced — we only want to reinforce and reward the alternate, desired behavior, such as sitting nicely.

The reinforcer must be salient enough to encourage the dog to engage in the incompatible behavior more and more (in other words, use high-value treats or other things your dog loves to reward the alternate behaviors, especially during the initial stages of learning).

How to Start Using Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behaviors

So how do you apply this training technique? It is very easy, and best of all, it can be used for basically any problem behavior. Let’s say your dog gets too excited when guests come over and he jumps up at them. In this case, you may want to train your dog to sit when guests arrive, which is incompatible with jumping. A dog with four feet on the floor cannot be on two feet at the same time! So, how do you proceed? Here is a step-by-step guide that can be applied to many other behaviors.

1. Polish the incompatible Behavior

Practice the sit command (or any incompatible behavior, but in this example we will look at sitting) and make sure you polish this very well. Start asking your dog to perfom this behavior in a quiet room. then move to areas with more distractions and practice there. Ask for the sit in the back yard and then on walks, and so forth. Make sure you reward (he sit a lot initially. Make it a habit to say “good boy” or “good girl” when delivering a treat. When you start fading treats (as taugth_hgr ), your dog will rely on verbal rewards to know he has done a good job. Once your dog sits reliably on request, you can move on to step 2.

• Make the Incompatible Behavior Salient

Equip yourself with high-value treats. While your dog knows the sit command well, you are going to add distractions, and this may cause a setback in training. The use of high-value treats will make your dog more eager to sit despite having guests over. In this case, the promise of treats should override the need to jump and greet guests. The incompatible behavior will be more salient than the guests if your dog is food motivated. The dog is making a choice: “Should I go and greet the guests and lose the chance of getting yummy treats, or should I stick to my owner and receive a yummy treat for sitting nicely?”

• Set Your Dog Up For Success

Have your dog initially leashed. The less a behavior is rehearsed and rewarded, the more likely it will eventually extinguish. In this case, you need to do your best to prevent the jumping, and when on leash, many dogs tend to act a little bit more under control. With the leash on, you can always move your dog away if things start getting a bit out of hand.

• Work Undei Thieshold

If your dog appears to be too distracted by the guest and ignores your request for a sit regardless of the high-value treats, chances are you are too close to the guest and the guest is more salient. To reduce saliency, keep the criteria low initially. In other words, try to practice with the guest at a distance from your dog. Have a guest practice knocking and coming in while your dog is leached and held at distance; in this case he may be more likely to respond to your sit command than if he was only a a few feet from the guest. Keep the rate of reinforcement high at this stage by rewarding often with high-value treats. As your dog gets good at this, gradually move closer to the person. Tell the person to totally ignore the dog as you do so.

In this example we are focusing on dogs jumping up at people, where people are the trigger. But in other circumstances the trigger could be anything: Other dogs, skateboarders, the mailman, etc.

• Reward Incompatible Behaviors, Ignore Unwanted Behaviors

Move closer to the guest and finally include the guest in your training, tell your guest to ask your dog for a sit and have the guest reward the sit by giving the dog attention. Attention is a life reward, the dog )ikes it without having been trained to like it; it is innate if your dog loves guests. If your dog jumps, tell your guest to turn their back to the dog or even leave. With time and lots of practice, your dog will learn that the incompatible behavior (sitting) now yields the wanted attention, while the unwanted behavior (jumping) yields nothing, and even sends the guest away!

It takes some time for this to seep in, especially, if the dog has been practicing the jumping behavior for a very long time. The dog must basically learn the equation: Sitting = attention, jumping = no attention. As opportunistic beings, dogs quickly learn which behaviors are advantageous and which are not.

Expect some extinction bursts at first; basically the behavior temporarily getting worse before it stops happening. Why does this happen? Basically, if your dog was used to getting attention when he was jumping, he may be wondering why his jumping is not yielding attention anymore. The dog therefore thinks: “This is odd, usually I get attention when I jump, maybe I have to try harder!” If you keep up the training, having your guests ignore the jumping, once past the extinction burst you should see a significant reduction in the unwanted behavior.

As seen, reinforcement of incompatible behavior is something you should add to your dog’s repertoire of training. It is gentle, effective, force- free training that, best of all, allows your dog to make good choices and help him be set up for success.

What is BAT (Behavior Adjustment Training)? BAT is a desensitization protocol invented by dog trainer, author and founder of Ahimsa Dog Training, Grisha Stewart CPDT-KA. It is mainly used for cases of reactivity, but can be applied to many other behavior problems in dogs too. BAT rewards good behavior and helps dogs make good choices. The dog is basically exposed to a known trigger under threshold and is rewarded for offering “cut-ofF signals meant to diffuse a tense situation (in this case, by turning the body away and moving away from the

trigger). However, unlike Constructional AggrTot i n away, in this case the dog is the one moving away.

Confused? The following paragraph will show a reat case case study in which I used BAT, and should make things much clearer.

An Example of Behavior Adjustment Training

This is a real case study I was called to work on a while back. The owner’s name and dog’s name are fictional to respect privacy.

Bob called me on the phone quite frantic. His Mastiff called Cora continued to bark and chase cars, trucks and even the average child walking down the road. He explained to me that the dog was not aggressive and did not have a bite history, she just had this strong desire to chase

— but being a mastiff, the people in town were concerned, and some children were obviously

frightened. The main issue was that his yard was unfenced, so Cara got to rehearse the unwanted behavior over and over.

When I showed up to their property, Cora immediately greeted me. Her tail was wagging and she accompanied me towards her owners. I immediately sensed this was not going to be an easy case, since the yard was unfenced and I wasn’t sure if they were really willing to put up a fence. I had the impression that they were expecting me to give them a miracle solution.

I asked them to put her on a long line and keep it loose, so I could observe her natural behavior. A truck passed by and she was getting ready to chase, but perhaps the line inhibited her a bit so she had a startle response and then was easily re-directed. But I did get an idea of her behavior and saw that she preferred to chase the truck once it was past her rather than the moment she saw it. If she saw the truck as an invasive trigger entering her territory, her chasing behavior was reinforced, as it felt to her that she was successful in chasing the bad truck away. Cora one point, truck zero. It was clear that we had to put this behavior to a stop before something bad happened. I thought I would give BAT a try.

So we took her to a distance from the road at which she acknowledged the trucks, but wasn’t aroused enough to chase them. This was quite a distance at first. As soon as she saw a truck I would click my clicker or say “yes” to capture her attention (Cora was already trained to respond to clickers and verbal markers), then jog the opposite way and give her treat. By doing this Cora was rewarded in two ways: She got to get away from the invasive trucks (functional reward), and she was given a treat.

We then progressed to step 2. In this case, when she acknowledged the trigger, I would wait for her to naturally offer an alternate behavior to barking and chasing. This alternate behavior was often sniffing the ground or turning her head the other way. The moment she gave this signal, I would click or say *yes” and then jog away and give her the treat or a toy to play with.

In stage 3, we weaned the dog off treats and relied solely on the functional reward of taking her away from the trigger. So as soon as she acknowledged the trigger, I would wait for her to perform an alternate behavior other than chasing. The moment it happened, I would say “yes” and jog away.

The more we practiced this the better. I often relied on set-ups for BAT by using other dogs or volunteers to act as the trigger, depending on what the trigger was. Since Cara wanted to chase our SUV, I had my hubby drive back and forth repeatedly that day. We also asked for some children to walk by and exposed the dog to a few joggers at a distance. The owner was impressed and I was happy to see they decided to follow my advice of using a long line when the dog was out to prevent a rehearsal of the unwanted behaviors. After several sessions, Cora was reliable enough to offer alternate behaviors, even without the long line on and at doser distances from the trigger. It’s all about watching engage/disengage behaviors (engaging with the trigger by recognizing it at a distance without reacting and deciding to disengage by turning away from it) and rewarding the good choices promptly.

The Pros and Cons of Behavior Adjustment Training

As with other training methods, there are pros and cons of using BAT to modify a dog’d behavior. You’ll find trainers who embrace BAT and others who prefer to use desensitization and counterconditioning. Following are some pros and cons of BAT.

Advantages of Behavior Adjustment Training:

Wanted dog behaviors (like looking away from the trigger, turning away) are marked and rewarded, so they’re reinforced and likely to happen again.

Training progresses quickly as the dog is naturally drawn to want to avoid certain situations after he’s shown how.

Treats are often not always necessary (in the later stages) since the functional reward of getting away from the trigger can replace them.

Disadvantages of Behavior Adjustment Training:

Requires the assistance of a professional for correct implementation. Good timing and understanding is important.

The dog is put “under some pressure” tnrougn negative reinforcement. In otner words, in order to work, the dog must feel somewhat stressed by the presence of the trigger so that he can feel relieved when he leaves after displaying the alternate behavior. It may be difficult at times to create proper set-ups to ensure proper desensitization and avoid the dog from going over threshold.