Does Dog Dominance Really Exist?

Are dogs aggressive? Do they form hierarchies? Where do you fall into your roll of a dog’s hierarchy and are there ways to do a better job then you’re currently doing?

Aiden Bindoff post on dog aggression addresses some interesting issues worth considering.

Personally, I think one of the best thing you can do for helping set youself up as a better leader for your dog, is to set up LOTS of rules that your dog has to follow to get what he wants out of life.

Rules like:

• Hold down stays on bed while eating dinner, instead of begging at the table
• Sit down, or obey a command before you pet him, making him earn his pets
• Training him to stay away from the door when guests come over to avoid chaos, etc.

Do any of these things guarantee your dog will never have a dominance or dog aggression problem, no.

But I do think the more rules you set up, and the more structure you put into your dog’s life, decreases the likelihood of aggression problems ever occurring.

---