If I had a penny for every time somebody tells me that a dog's behaviour is dominant I would be a very wealthy person. Sadly the myth that dogs have some innate desire to assert themselves over their owners seem stuck. Any time a dog acts up the first thing that many owners say is that the dog is being dominant and as such either needs to be punished or shown 'who's boss'. Often this couldn't be further from the truth. The American Society of Pet Dog Trainers has an interesting chart with examples of unwanted behaviours and how many owners choose to ascribe them to 'dominance', alongside there are suggestions of what might be the real cause of the problem. Take a look at it and see whether you're guilty of making this mistake.
Dominance chart - alternative explanations
Also worth reading is the APDT's thoughts on dominance and its impact on dog training.
Dominance and Dog training
No comments:
Post a Comment