Originally
written for DogWatch, a newsletter for the general public from the
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
More and more
behaviorists and trainers seem to be talking about owners developing
leadership skills, but I'm not exactly sure what that means, let alone
how to do it. Can you tell me more?
Back in the
early days of animal behavior, the idea that dominant animals ruled the
pack with an iron paw (and teeth!) became firmly entrenched. However,
the idea that the winner of the fight was the leader probably
represents a human belief firmly entrenched in sports and politics
which we imposed on animals rather than vise versa. Aside from the fact
that the heavy-pawed approach didn't hold true once scientists began
studying animals for longer periods of time, few owners who considered
their dogs more like family members felt comfortable appropriating
these force-based techniques for their own use.
To test your
knowledge about dominance and leadership, take the following quiz:
Two dogs, Salt
and Pepper, meet each other for the first time. They sniff each other
out and, because dogs need a stable pack structure in order to feel
comfortable, Salt decides he should be leader of their pack of two. He
puts his front paws on Pepper's shoulders, but Pepper refuses to go
down and a fight ensues. Finally, Salt pins Pepper to the ground. Which
dog is the leader?
Although we can
say that Salt is the more dominant dog, we can't say anything about his
leadership skills until the two dogs meet again. If when they do, Salt
only needs to look at Pepper and Pepper immediately displays
subordinate body language, then Salt can claim the leadership title.
However, if Pepper doesn't back down and two dogs fight again, and even
if Salt wins that and every other fight, Salt hasn't proven his
leadership.
Thus the mark of
a true leader is the ability to control without force. And, in fact,
wild animals who rely on brute force to maintain their status typically
get eliminated from the gene pool because this approach requires so
much energy.
Within the
human-canine pack, our dogs look to us to provide leadership. If we
don't, they'll fill the void here, too. When pets lacking confidence
find themselves in this position, we can appreciate why they become
intolerant of visitors or other changes in the household, or become
frantic when their human subordinates go off and leave them, or thunder
assaults them from above.
How do you know
if your dog recognizes you as leader? Think about the different ways
you interact with your pet: Leaders initiate, followers react. How much
time do you spend reacting to your dog? For example, every time Salt
barks, his owner jumps up and takes him out. He then bolts through the
door in front of her. When she comes home from work, he leaps up and
carries on until she pays attention to him. He leans against her,
licks, nudges, and paws her when she reads or watches television, and
won't stop until she pets him or tells him to stop.
But if she tells
him to stop these canine leadership displays and he does, doesn't that
mean she's the leader? Not if the behavior persists. If Salt repeats
the negative behavior, her commands simply become part of the process
that reaffirms his leadership status, not hers.
What can owners
do to put themselves back in charge? First, ignore pushy behaviors.
Second, don't do anything for the dog until he does something for you
first; if Salt wants attention, he must sit or hold a down for five
minutes first. That display earns him a pat and a simple, "Good dog,"
not a gushing, treat-punctuated outpouring that most dogs equate with
human subordination rather than leadership. Three, set the dog up to
choose to do the right thing rather than become involved in power
struggles after the pushy behavior occurs. Four, only give a command
once; repeating it merely teaches the dog not to obey.
Practically all
dogs will cede the leadership position and all the negative fear-based
behaviors that go with it if their owners consistently relate to them
as leaders long enough for the animals to internalize this change in
the pack structure. After all, dogs weren't designed to police up a
pack of humans who live in complex environments and come and go as they
please. However, assuming this role often requires that humans change
beliefs about their relationships with their dogs. Owners who choose to
believe that force works or that pushy canine behaviors communicate
love can never function as true leaders in their human-canine packs.
Under those circumstances, we can only hope that the dog lives in an
environment where this doesn't lead to avoidable canine behavioral and
medical problems.
Want your dog to
recognize you as leader? Then act like a true leader first.
