Alpha is NOT a Four-Letter Word

    As pack animals bred in born for cooperative living, the dog is the great communicator. It is part of the very nature of a dog to be able to assess a group of any species to determine the strong from the weak, Alpha from omega, and -clever thing - to place himself accurately in this hierarchy. He does this by using and reading body language, the subtle signs and signals of natural authority or the lack of it. That's communication! Dogs don't take ground with tanks and guns. They're too smart, too practical. 

    What happens when the dog finds out someone other than himself merits leadership? Where he human, he might become small and bitter, full of thoughts of revenge. But he's not human. Isn't that partly why we are so attached to this species? He feels no resentment at all. Instead, and here's the kicker, he worships the one he recognizes as worthy of leadership - the alpha. there is nothing more attractive to a dog than his alpha. Did your dog ever instantly offer the crown to a stranger? In a living room full of company, who did he choose to look lovingly at, to lean on? Or, if not so well schooled, did he climb aboard the "dominant" person's lap and clean his glasses? There's a kind of mental strength and greatness of spirit that any dog can recognize and respond to. It is what makes him feel safe and happy. It is the right of every dog to know who's in charge.

 Attitude adjustment 

    Alpha is an attitude, confidence brought on by understanding dogs and loving them as well. It has nothing to do with cruelty. Yet of late, there is a great sweep of sentiment toward training methods that virtually eliminate the concept of alpha, equating alpha with dominance and dominance with abuse. Nothing could be further from the truth.

    Saying that you train with positive reinforcement are just with love and praise sounds really good. It sounds kind. Surely we dog lovers all want to sound kind. And no one who trains dogs would deny the importance of positive reinforcement. But a dog, because he is a dog, needs to know the other side of the coin. When adolescence rears it's ugly head, positive reinforcement-only techniques tend to fall quickly apart. 

    Ironically, many trainers that say they only use food for "difficult to motivate" dogs, ensure that they remain so. The obsession to "stay positive" gets as silly as the advice in one book that suggests you rid your dog of obnoxious behavior by naming the behavior and then never request it again. As mom would say, "grow up!"

 Instant Gratification 

    Training with treats offers instant gratification. You can get a puppy to sit, down, stand and follow in no time by luring him with bits of food and by shaping and naming the postures and behaviors you desire. But as fast as the training appears to be is also how superficial it is. When something more tempting arises, the pup will not obey. This is particularly so for the adolescent dog when simply the freedom to disobey is a normal stage of development, the canine version of the Terrible twos.

    At this point the trainer's response would be like your parents was when you were obnoxious: "Because I Said So." If you are alpha, you do this with a warning sound, and well directed look or, if necessary, a leash correction. Dog abuse? No., dog training based on the concept that the dog is a pack animal and every pack needs a leader and the leader has a right to express his opinion and enforce the rules by which the pack lives.

    There is another important issue here. When training a dog in a more traditional way - the way his mother taught him - you keep his focus on the relationship. This leads to a most satisfying friendship with a dog. Lure or food training developed with animals that could not be trained by dog training methods because they did not have the same pack instincts of a dog, or they lived in water rather than on land. You couldn't train a chicken to dance using a collar and Leash or the force of your personality. When chickens or dolphins are trained to perform it is that performance that is important, not the relationship. In circumstances where this is also true with dogs, lure training is an appropriate choice. In other words, if getting a flashy, accurate, high - scoring performance in the obedience ring is what's most important to you. If your time is limited, lure training may be your best bet. With it, you can get a good performance. You are unlikely, however to get a well-trained dog.

    Trainers complain that pet owners will not spend the time that it takes to train a dog well with natural alpha methods of training. No doubt, training a dog takes time, but in the long run, shortcuts take more time because they don't really work. So many of the clients I see are paying the price for having used instantly gratifying puppy training. They are finding that when their dogs begin to think the dark thoughts of adolescence, "Hey, this is America, just because you called doesn't mean that I have to come", they do not have an appropriate relationship or language to fall back on. These dogs need the natural family structure they are born to understand. To Rob them of this is perhaps in itself a form of dog abuse.

 The Old Fashioned Way

 Having never done anything cruel or unfair to a dog in my life, I get fed up reading articles that claim that training methods other than lure methods are rough and cruel. The fact is that over the years I have observed a lot of other trainers working. I have also seen lots of dogs working or failing to work. As far as I can observe, it's only the real stuff, old fashioned dog training if you will, that goes deep, teaching a dog so well that he understands the consequences of his behavior. He understands exactly what you want and is more than happy to give it to you because you are his leader and he worships you and he knows that you can make him do it in the same comprehensible way his mother would have if he decides it's his constitutional right to disobey. 

    When I go out and about with my dogs in the real world, their safety is in my hands. I have to know that when I call, my dogs will not find another dog, a flock of pigeons or something blowing in the wind more attractive than me. The only way to proof a dog for a real life is by being a proper leader, otherwiseknown as Alpha. To me, that has always meant being the kindest, smartest, most fun leader you can possibly be. How on Earth did Alpha become a four-letter word, folks? It makes no sense to me.

Carol Lee Benjamin

Dog Trainer's Diary DOG World '9

Reach out or get in touch with Koubas K9 Command today at (847) 878-4089 and/or koubask9command.com to embark on a transformative journey of obedience training. Let's build a future of happiness and harmony for you and your four-legged companion!