Exerpt from Brad Pattison book - Unleashed

6774 Views 22 Replies 7 Participants Last post by kblover, Jul 31, 2010

Corinthian

Discussion Starter · Jul 25, 2010

An excerpt from Unleashed.... some people see "alpha" everywhere

Alpha Dog Test
Not sure if your dog thinks he's running the family circus?
Here are some telltale sings that your pooch has assumed the role of pack leader.

He's always pulling at the leash, taking the lead position on walks and trying to control his movements—an yours

He's always jumping up on other dogs and people or growling and barking excessively to take on a dominant and protective role.

She hogs the human furniture, particularly the bed and the couch, and growls territorially when she's expected to share these spaces

She ignores you when you use basic commands like “Sit”, “Stay”, and “Come”

She cooperates with your commands when it suits her, but when it doesn't, she tries to manipulate you, either by growling aggressively or by showing exaggerated submissiveness—such as shrieking as if she's in pain, twirling around in circles or dropping down and rolling over like a diva who's had her crown stolen.

Watch out for any of these signs of master manipulation. They are indications that your dog is challenging your leadership. These manipulative tactics then become learned behaviour when owners have a track record of submitting and caving in to their dog's controlling behaviours.

When submissiveness is "alpha" you know these are the opinions of an idiot

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"She cooperates with your commands when it suits her, but when it doesn't, she tries to manipulate you, either by growling aggressively or by showing exaggerated submissiveness—such as shrieking as if she's in pain, twirling around in circles or dropping down and rolling over like a diva who's had her crown stolen."

I'd like to see this.

I'd like to see a dog shriek because I told her to sit. Or the twirl around in circles bit.

And rolling over - that's definitely not a "power" position. "I dominate you so I'm going to show you my most vulnerable parts. That'll show you!"

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kblover

· #8 · Jul 28, 2010

natenqen said:
lol. That's a good idea... I'll have to make sure it's authentic.

And don't forget to scruff him and growl in his face for faking it as well. You can't let that pass or else he'll think he can manipulate you by faking it.

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kblover

· #18 · Jul 31, 2010

fawkese1 said:
:rofl: that dog looks so bummed that he got pee all over his ball!

He's disappointed because he thought he could trust the ball and thought they were bonding, but really, the ball was just manipulating him.

So he alpha rolled the ball (the handle is on the ground, a submissive ball position) and then to make sure his point got across, he peed on it, further telling the ball how inferior it is.

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kblover

· #19 · Jul 31, 2010

Criosphynx said:
I wonder if people pee over the stuff their dogs mark. I have actually heard of people fake humping dogs to establish dominance.

When I poor vinegar over Wally's accidents, Wally gets nervous and starts shaking. Supposedly, that's exactly what I'm doing, marking over his spot to "tell" him in dog speak that what he did was unacceptable.

I don't know why he shakes like that, but I doubt that's it. Maybe someone hit him or something after cleaning it up, so he thinks it's still going to happen.

Anyway, I have been told that I should do that. If he pees in the garden, I should pee right over where he did.

Except, I doubt it would work. I mean, he'd probably be too busy sniffing my pee (a new scent!) to even think about any dominance.

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kblover

· #23 · Jul 31, 2010

Mikey said:
Exactly, people mistake submission gestures for guilt all the time...
IF theres ever an accident, the best thing to do (imho) is kick the dog outside in the yard to play-act like nothing is wrong-and clean while he's outside. They didn't do it on purpose so they won't be upset that you cleaned it. But they will get the vibe from you if you clean in their presense (even if you don't mean too!!!!) just because...well who wants to clean up yuck right? So kick them outside to play while you clean up

Yeah, or if I don't put him outside, he's in a different part of the house or something where he doesn't have to see me do it.

It's kinda funny, though, that if he's sick (like when he had a stomach bug and got cannon butt as a result), he doesn't shake at all. Must be like "what the **** ever. I'm sick, so deal" LOL

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