I read an interesting article this weekend about dog aggression that I thought I might pass along to other dog owners. Of course, if your dog has no signs of aggression, you don't need to worry about this, but as I am trying to manage my own dog's case of aggression, I find these articles interesting.
A group of behaviorists spent several years studying a colony of wild dogs in an environment created to simulate their natural habitat. Many of the things they discovered have advanced dog training, such as this article I read. In the wild, the alpha dog is not aggressive. The rules are set and dogs are actually very peaceful. The alpha dog has nothing to prove. He doesn't fight with the other dogs and remains very distant from the rest of the pack. It's the beta dogs that get aggressive because they are challenging each other for their status below the alpha dog (which explains why Muggsy began getting more aggressive with Chubbs and Fenway when I began changing the pack structure with his treatment program). Dogs only act out when the leadership is inconsistent (which I will explain in a minute).
The article went on to say that the reason dogs seem to love the male of the household so much even though it was the female of the house who wanted the dog is because the male is more distant from the dog. While the female dotes on the dog, the male pays attention to him only when he wants to, which is exactly what the alpha dog would do in the wild.
Of course, this theory doesn't apply to all dog households because many dogs are well-adjusted and have no fear or aggression issues from their pasts. They simply aren't prone to that. And dogs will choose which parent they love the most based on many reasons, like which one saved him from the shelter. But if you're having aggression issues with your dog, it says to never pet your dog when they approach you for love. That's the dog's way of saying, "Hey, human, I'm standing here. Do your job and pet me." What we have to teach them is that they aren't in charge. We play with them and show them affection on our terms, not theirs. When we tell our dog to sit and expect them to listen, we're saying we're in charge. When we pet them because they tell us to, we're telling them they're in charge. For a dog with a tendency for aggression, this is sending them a very inconsistent message and they will act out in confusion or in an effort to establish their rank in the pack.
Since I'm already working with Muggsy on aggression, what I'm going to do is try the Nothing in Life is Free program that is so common in training. My dogs won't get free attention for awhile and will have to come when called to me and sit nicely in front of me for attention and playtime. I'll let you know if it works!
