Dominance or Hierarchy as it is sometimes called, is a vastly over-rated subject that the majority of people will have some understanding of, as it is frequently spoken and written about. Fortunately, through my work with rescue dogs, I have come to a much clearer understanding of what it means as I have had the opportunity of being with hundreds of dogs on a daily basis and watching behaviour communication between this wonderful species.

It is commonly believed that many pet dog owners that are having problems with their dogs, have in fact a Dominance problem. Many owners can be forgiven for coming to this conclusion, as can many trainers, for there is a huge array of literature on the subject these days and as a human species our goal is often to "control" whatever we come into contact with and this includes our pet dogs. So therefore is it "control or be controlled by your dog"? No - of course it isn't, anymore than it is with our human loved ones. It's understanding, respect for the needs of that person/dog, give/ take, care and love that makes these relationships special.

We ask an awful lot of our dogs when wanting them to fit into our human world. He is expected to fit into a world where humans make most of the rules. He did not choose to live with us, yet we will expect from him compliance and understanding of our rules and language that within our world are socially acceptable.

Having an understanding of his needs makes it much easier for us to have a dog that fits in well with our family and friends and is a joy to live with. We often have situations that we want our dog to fit in with which might mean they need to change their behaviour to suit and fit in with us. This change is often very un-natural to the dog and he may struggle to cope with this change in life style. This can lead to our dog becoming depressed, hyperactive, disobedient etc. If he has his basic needs satisfied within his human family, then he can be more flexible and able to learn more easily from this human family.

Lets briefly look at the difference between a dog's needs and a human's needs. Although this subject could be expanded further in greater detail, I do not feel it appropriate to do so in this particular article. I do propose to produce a booklet soon which will cover the article in greater depth.

What Humans Want From Dogs

• We want a dog that is good to be left alone for short periods of time.
  In the dog's world, all dogs live as a pack so they are never left alone.
  
• We like the dog to be calm and not constantly under our feet.
  If the dog's needs are not met he will become stressed and therefore cannot be calm. Think of some things you "need" in life, if these were removed could you be calm?
  
• We do not want a dog to keep barking, chewing/destructive, chasing, digging, growling, scavenging - these are unwanted behaviours to us.
  In the dog's world many of these behaviours are so natural to them. Some breeds have been specifically bred to do them, such as Terriers for digging, Border Collie's for chasing. They are the natural basic needs of dogs.
  
• We do not want a dog that toilets in our home, only on walks or in our gardens/yards.
  In the dog world the mother would have taught the pups not to toilet in the den area. This area is very small, it does not consist of a hallway, stairs, 3 bedrooms, a lounge, a diner and a kitchen. That must seem like the whole world to a puppy.
  
• We want a dog that will come when called when off leash and exercising.
  If you consider this from the dog's point of view, he is having to fit into a human world and then when out walking there are thousands of wonderful smells, other dogs and food articles everywhere. Compared this to staying around the human owner that is walking slowly, not interacting or making this exercise any fun what so ever. No competition really, is it? Then when he fails to comply the human will probably get angry - reprimand him and further exacerbate the problem.
  
  

I'm sure we can all add to the list of what we expect and want from the dog. But this list gives us some ideas on how easy or difficult it may be for your dog when it has to change its natural lifestyle to fit into ours. Now we can begin to understand more easily why dogs seem to be disobedient, hyperactive or depressed, none of which is a dominant related problem.

How can we help the dog to learn these new life changes?

By being consistent and satisfying your dog's natural needs will help him to settle in and relax more easily. Now all we need to do is reward the correct behaviours we want from our dogs to see those behaviours increase. By listing the things your own dog loves in life, you can then use these things as rewards to build a good & lasting relationship based on trust. These things may include:

Food. 
In a dog's natural state they chase and hunt for several hours to finally get their main meal. That meal will include much chewing and gnawing through fur, bone, meat etc. So rather than giving a bowl of food, which they can eat in a matter of minutes, giving marrow bones or stuff chew toys which can make their meals last a more realistic length of time. This will not only satisfy their hunger but also a lot of natural dog behaviours, such as chewing or gnawing. This way of feeding could be used at times when we need to leave the dog alone or when we want it to settle down, as well as during the day. If most dog's had two hours of chewing given to them, their chewing needs would be more realistically satisfied.

Using food as a reward can be used to teach him to come when called, to toilet train him, to learn basic commands. The more difficult things you want your dog to learn need higher rewards than those that are easy. Rewarding your dog in such a way is absolutely no different to giving a child pocket money or an adult working for a wage.

Toys.
Teaching your dog to play with you and toys will reinforce your relationship. This could include playing tug, fetch or catch with toys. What could be more fun to your dog than your companionship and playing games when out on a walk together?

Other games could include "hide n seek", and hunting or finding games. Again we can use food for this if your dog prefers it to toys. This way you are satisfying the natural hunt and chase behaviours in a fun, safe and rewarding way, which importantly includes you, rather than the dog going off and satisfying these instincts alone.

Affection and Attention.
When giving affection and attention we are confirming our relationship. By giving this at times when your dog is calm or well behaved, such as sitting or lying down irrespective of whether it is in the high street or your lounge, will make your dog likely to want to repeat those exercises again.

Using our affection and attention in a positive manner communicates to our dog that he has done well and you are pleased with him, so use it wisely. Too much ignoring or shutting the dog out makes him feel further rejected and therefore more insecure.

Each dog is an individual, just as each one of us. To one dog affection might be his top favourite reward, whilst toys his least favourite. Yet another dog may see food as the top or favourite reward and affection as a least favourite option. Your dog will soon tell you what he likes best or least and you need to use these things favourably.

The harder the task - the higher the reward
The easier the task  - the lower the reward.

If we do not think about our dog's natural needs and begin to satisfy these in a rewarding manner then the dog will become stressed and may well try to look for something in his life that is consistent to lower his stress. 

One example maybe to steal something he should not have as this guarantees to always brings a reaction from the humans in the family. This does not mean he is dominant, in fact quite the reverse, he is insecure and struggling to fit in. Carrying out advice such as Dominance Reduction can actually make matters very much worse and all hope of a trusting relationship can be gone forever.

The human world can be very alien to our dogs, help him to get it right with the use of this article and you will build a strong and lasting bond you can both enjoy.

© Gill Minter 2002

This article refers to the dog as a male - the same applies to females.
If you have a problem with your dog, always see your vet for referral to a positive canine behaviourist and trainer.