another really good on on Domince theroy is
http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonli...0statement.pdf
Applying Dominance Theory to Human-
Animal Interactions Can Pose Problems
Even in the relatively few cases where aggression
is related to rank, applying animal social
theory and mimicking how animals would
respond can pose a problem. First, it can cause
one to use punishment, which may suppress
aggression without addressing the underlying
cause. Because fear and anxiety are common
causes of aggression and other
behavior problems, including
those that mimic resource
guarding, the use of punishment
can directly exacerbate
the problem by increasing
the animal’s fear or anxiety
(AVSAB 2007).
Second, it fails to recognize
that with wild animals,
dominance-submissive
relationships are reinforced
through warning postures
and ritualistic dominance and
submissive displays. If the
relationship is stable, then
the submissive animal defers
automatically to the dominant
individual. If the relationship
is less stable, the dominant
individual has a more aggressive personality, or
the dominant individual is less confident about
its ability to maintain a higher rank, continued
aggressive displays occur (Yin 2007, Yin 2009).