Debunking the “Alpha Dog” Theory

Exerting “dominance” over your dog is the wrong way to build a good relationship.

By Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA –Published:November 15, 2011

The alpha myth is everywhere. Google “alpha dog” on the Internet and you get more than 85 million hits. Really. While not all the sites are about dominating your dog, there are literally millions of resources out there – websites, books, blogs, television shows, veterinarians, trainers and behavior professionals – instructing you to use force and intimidation to overpower your dog into submission. They say that you, the human, must be the alpha. They’re all wrong. Every single one of them.