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Originally Posted by Erin  Being alpha is being the leader. If your dog is giving behavioral cues that he considers you his leader and is subordinate to you, congrats, you're alpha! (According to the theory, anyway.) When someone lets their dog snarl over the food bowl and attack incoming vistors and bark at strangers on the street, they are exhibiting alpha behaviors. It's up to the master/trainer to correct. Otherwise your dog will not take your cues and will make up his own rules and you won't like it. 
But being a leader is not dominating your dog. And again, dogs know we are not dogs.
Also, the alpha dog would not exhibit any of those behaviors. My neighbor's lab is a great example of an alpha dog. He rarely if ever barks. He is gentle, loving, obedient. If another dog barks at him he either turns and walks away or he sets his paw ever so gently on their back, as if to say "enough from you" He has the confidence of 10 dogs. That is a true "alpha" dog.
What I try to do is build confidence through training. You WANT your dog to be confident. You also want them to look to you to set the rules, I agree with that, but I disagree about how to get there. I want my dog to respect and trust me, to obey because he wants to not just because I say so. That is the difference with positive training. |
Well said... Erin... Well said.
Alpha or what many think are alphas are fearful dogs being fearful and true alphas have nothing to prove and are calm confident and very respectful of everyone and everything. They have no need to bully, grr or be nasty they rule from calm.
JL