Debunking Dominance Theory: The Truth About Alpha Dogs

[@Funkpocalypse]

Shhh, can you hear that? That's the sound of a thousand gym bros egos shattering into a million pieces as the one thing they base their life on gets disproven again and again...lol. good work, Kp!

[@KPassionate]

I am prepared for the terrible men 😂

[@ncwordman]

So true. I love how, if they really want to be the leader of the pack, they shouldn't be trying to dominate everyone, but become fathers. Go start a family!

[@John_Weiss]

That explains all of the butthurt comments KP showed at the start of the video! It's all of the AlphaBros lashing out in pain and confusion as their egos crumple up like cheap tinfoil!

[@spiritual_fitness]

alpha wolf may not be real but the term or values associated with alpha definitely exists in nature (lions, gorillas, etc)and why even bother going there humans have social hierarchies do we not? while 1000s may definitely call themselves alpha trying to fake it till they make it. 10s and thousands probably are alpha guys who happen to also gym but don't ever call themselves alpha because they know internally.

[@acephas3]

Imma disagree, as a biologist. I know what the Central Dogma is, but I’ve also listened to trainers. Too many people listen to this tripe and then can’t control their dogs.

[@Sarena05]

Thank you for making this video! So many people still believe this for some reason and their dogs are suffering because of it. It’s like you said, if you can train a sea lion or a walrus without force and pain why are we still doing it to dogs who are domesticated and made to work with us.

[@KPassionate]

It is wild that anyone can watch that type of training and believe it is effective.

[@xSaecredChaotixx]

Volunteering for a shelter was disheartening because the number of abandoned dogs conditioned to be in constant hypervigilance and succumbed to chronic stress from these training methods. I think there is hope for alleviating the situation but it's a lot of hard work with compassion. Dogs have limbic systems, feelings, and attachments too. With that, they're a great responsibility.

[@doubleagentxv120]

I didn't even think about how many people might abandon a dog after using these flawed and dangerous methods... so sad.

[@Funkpocalypse]

Meanwhile the ex-owners will gladly talk about how "they were the dominate member of the pack." Lol, no.

[@Kuro_Reaper]

I can't agree more with this! I have worked with dogs in many areas and am an experienced dog trainer. I would say that the majority of dog owners still think they need to "be the boss/alpha" and "dominate" their dog to get it to behave. I see very few dog owners actually taking their dog out and rewarding them/trying to change behaviours through positive training; most people just constantly tell their dog off or try to force their dogs to listen through corrections; collar corrections, verbal corrections, yelling, jabbing at the dog or in some cases hitting/kicking at the dog. I have literally seen videos of dogs cowering in the corner in fear and the human is saying "he is trying to dominate me because he peed on the floor" then the human jabs the dog and tsst because the dog tries to get away. "Look he's being dominant!" ...That same person in that video was voicing concern the dog might bite their children.... Some people should not be allowed animals.

[@CarbonGlassMan]

@@Funkpocalypse I think the humans being the dominant members of the pack, or family is true, don't you? No one would tolerate their dog taking their food but the dog better tolerate the human taking its food away, otherwise the dog is dangerous. Dogs are part of human families and families have dominant members. I don't see the problem with this, do you?

[@maggylina2191]

Ive just started formal training my with collie mix to avoid lunging at cars i didnt believe positive reinforcement would help. After a few weeks of training she's walking loose leash on roads - its not perfect we have more work to go but it was si much faster than when i was tugging her and forcing her to behave for 18 months. Dogs want to work with us and for us ❤

[@KPassionate]

The power of positive reinforcement in action!! So great to hear ❤️

[@LeiaAskin]

Shh… It’s the sound of a thousand owners heart broken for the way they treated their beloved companion. But also I’m so happy that I learned a better way to train my dog several years ago. Thank you for spreading the message of hope for furry partners who walk with us through our life journey.

[@Xanderandkwonfan101]

@@KPassionatedo cougars tigers and regular cats and dogs and coyotes see each other as equals or do they know their differences?

[@John_Weiss]

Gee, it sounds almost as if _we humans were _*_pushing_*_ our social hierarchies onto wolves,_ now, doesn't it? That would also explain why so many people are sooo enamored with this "dominance-training" - it looks a whole lot like fulfilling some human's control-fetishes and _not_ training, if you ask me. But then again, I'm a cat person, so my choice-of-pet interactions involves a good deal of negotiation. 😉 "Assert Dominance!" crap doesn't do it for me. I think most pet problems come from not understanding that your pet, while a domesticated animal, is nevertheless _not a human,_ and has emotional and physical needs different from a human. We're the bigger-brained species, so we get to do the adapting that they can't do.

[@ncwordman]

I always love your videos. You are great at explaining things: a wonderful teacher. It's a shame that science is so often misunderstood by the general public. The whole "alpha" thing has since become a thing for some people to strive for, which is absolutely absurd, given that the study was for wolves and was a faulty study.

[@DAVIDMILLER-nc9vo]

Yes, a very good educational video. Please post more like this one, thanks.

[@KPassionate]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@cristaluna7679]

Great Video like always KP. I always enjoy watching your well-researched and informative videos. Please don't let the people who write you these stupid things discourage you and keep up the good work. You have a huge fanbase.

[@KPassionate]

I appreciate that

[@John_Weiss]

I agree: the stupid people writing those comments likely have _zero_ knowledge of how wolves behave, let alone know anything about dog behavior & psychology.

[@haygrif]

Yesssss, this science-based dog trainer is very thankful for this video! Will be sharing.

[@KPassionate]

Thank you!!

[@bigalsadventures3560]

This is SO educational and rich with information and scientific research to back it up. Thank you both for taking the time to educate us!! I learned so much!!

[@KPassionate]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@justinefafard2355]

Just loving this!!! Hopefully more people will learn these truths. It sucks so bad to witness people "dominating" their dogs to modify behavior andof course it doesn't work.

[@sunnyday6465]

Temple Grandin wrote about this years ago. I always instinctively felt there was something off with the 'alpha' model. Thank you for educating people on this.

[@marymorgan285]

KP, you said a main point!!! Recent studies!!! Science always advances, what you believe 20 years ago may not be true today. May I suggest open minds and understand things advance with research.

[@matthewb8329]

love it kp! what made you decide to do a video on dog behavior?

[@KPassionate]

Well I am an animal trainer at the end of the day. And terrible animal training makes me cringe!!!

[@clintblum0]

God, you're so smart.

[@darktemplar446]

The alpha wolf study seems like if aliens wanted to study humans and chose a terrible prison to do the study...

[@jessicazellner7336]

Ugh…. We never figured out why our dog was aggressive towards other dogs at random…she lived until 13 and for 12 years and 10 mos she never got over it until she was too sick. We were never did heavy handed training always positive training and rewarding of positive behaviors verbally, with treats, affection, even tried the click training… Anyhoo, she was an awesome people dog with everyone, just not other dogs. It still baffles me…

[@monicadriscoll645]

Thanks again KP

[@sarahk93882]

Love your videos, as a dog trainer this is great

[@KPassionate]

That’s awesome to hear!!! Thank you for the feedback ❤️

[@sarahk93882]

Trying to undo training done with compulsion is very difficult as they shut down or get frustrated quickly

[@ChelseaDuplantis]

I just found your channel and have watched like 5 of your videos in a row! I’m a veterinary student that is endlessly fascinated by behavior. Your videos are scratching an itch in my brain 😂

[@KPassionate]

That’s such a wonderful compliment!!! Thanks for tuning in and thanks for the feedback!

[@dragonscottage9796]

People also usually don't really understand David's paper and what he was initially describing and what he was discrediting, only the TL;DR. And this misinformation runs both ways! People also don't generally understand 'dominance', people don't understand hierarchy or pecking orders and that they most often form via familiar relations like seniority among other things (like you might notice a pecking order between your own siblings). No aggression or contestion needed. So when will people stop hurting their pets because of dominance misinfo?

[@pong9000]

Dogs are not wolves but they share a common instinct to fetch. Where the social roles get weird, is that in wolves fetching is done to small game, by a male, to bring food to his mate who stays in the den nursing pups. What does that even mean when a dog returns your frisbee?

[@PapaEnoch052]

Sounds like a lot people with big egos Just got their ego bumped down a couple noches. You just did a drop the mic on them ! Great Video !

[@Ketowski]

The Alpha theory regarding wolves was taken out of context. And too many are enforcing submission in an attempt to be ‘human leader’, agreed. At the same time it wasn’t debunked. It was simply reframed, as a scientist would. Even L. David Mech maintains he was referring only to wolves and he hasn’t said dominance doesn’t exist. 1:58 kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4TWoWuXfdGCjrc In addition, previous studies indicated there was a dominant male wolf that all other wolves were submissive to. This was shown to be different when female scientists observing wild wolves. And subsequent studies confirmed the male and female animals operating in ways that might be considered more competitive within their own gender. A different perspective gave a different focus, as you indicated in another video regarding Confirmation Bias (in videos supposedly demonstrating existential thoughts by dogs using words for communication.) Unfortunately, both ‘sides’ of this debate are claiming his words support them and neither do. As far as I know the Koehler method predates the Wolf Study conclusions that seemed to include Christian/Greek words to designate ranking. Most animals and even their young have contests to determine their relative ranking. That’s something that many can agree with. Dogs and many other animals are in captivity and the dynamics do present themselves, as dominance.

[@osathegermanshepherd]

First off, I'm no expert by any means. But I have been looking into different types of dog training for quite some time. Positive training is great for the most part with balanced dogs or to teach new concepts. But from what I'm seeing, dogs with severe behavioral issues can't be fixed with rewards alone. And PO (positive only) trainers generally suggest that these dogs get put down when they are not able to fix them through positive means. Then you have balance trainers who are as positive as possible, but also have consequences to negative behaviors to fix the dogs the PO trainers can't. So, these dogs get to live normal happy lives instead of being put to death. Isn't it better to live? Why don't you go rob a bank or go around hitting people or run a red light? Because there will be undesirable consequences. Do you live in fear? Or just avoid the behavior? Grant it not everybody has a criminal mind. Just like not all dogs exhibit negative behaviors. Just another way to look at it. A trainer or owner that doesn't know exactly what they are doing or timing things accurately can absolutely cause fear and distrust in dogs (energy and timing is everything). I recognize where you got the malamute clip from. All the trainer is doing is holding the dog's collar. The dog doesn't like it and throws a royal tantrum which is what the dog is there for in the first place (among other things). You should be able to grab your dog by the collar without a dramatic tantrum. The guy is a good trainer and has been some owners last hope for fixing behavior before a dog potentially gets put down. It's easy to show the ugly parts and not the finished results where the dog gets to live a better life and can function in society (and be happy to boot). It's no way to live being locked away because your owners can't control your behavior. Funny how people (kids & adults alike) can have consequences for their actions . . . but not dogs.

[@KPassionate]

As we talked about in the video, behavioral issues are commonly created by dominance training. No certified dog trainer would ever recommend euthanizing a healthy animal. And the dog trainer in the video is not "just" holding the collar. He was yanking on it to provoke aggression. The dog wasn't misbehaving at all before the person decided he wanted to be rough with the dog to show it who was the boss. As someone who has worked with aggressive rescued animals, I can attest that anything can be trained through positive reinforcement.

[@osathegermanshepherd]

@@KPassionate I question your first sentence to a degree. There're definitely people who mess up their dogs through mixed signals and inconsistency. But I know someone with two male dogs that they've had since puppies. One dog is very submissive, the other dog is the opposite and growls at the submissive one multiple times per day, and occasionally attacks the submissive dog causing mild injuries (so far). The owner of the dogs, works from home, walks them 3x's per day, and gives them all the love in the world. The owner has ALWAYS been NON-dominant with the dogs as that is what they believe in. So why is there an issue when the dogs are getting properly loved and exercised and NOT ever being dominated by a human? And with the trainer in the video (who has also worked with a variety of wild animals, including killer whales), at best, he was trying to pull the dog upright into a sit position instead of it laying on its back. If he let go of the collar, the dog is reinforced to believe he can bite and flail to get what he wants and continues to be a threat to other people. The dog was there in the first place to address its aggressive behaviors against its owners. Through my dog days I've seen many dogs get put down because "they couldn't be fixed". I have yet to see a single video of a positive only trainer fixing LEGIT severe aggressive dog cases with successful results. Other balance trainers haven't seen such footage either. Many owners' go to balance trainers when the positive only training does not work, and the alternative is euthanasia. Sooo many dogs' lives have been saved from balance training, and they are happy dogs with happy families. It's hard to argue with the results when a dog's life is saved. Again, positive training is great for most dogs for general training and small issues. But cookies will not fix a dog with severe issues . . . at least as far as I've seen. Maybe a positive only trainer will prove everybody wrong someday with start to finish video footage and updates.

[@zone_Magazine_reporter]

thank you , new sub here

[@fakename4683]

I appreciate your videos relating to dogs. They make me think more deeply about my dog. If you have a moment, I have a question. Why is there an assumption that dogs see mirrors the same way humans do? We see certain bands of light, but if I had a vampire bats vision the reflection shown may not be reflected accurately (assuming that normal mirrors that reflect 60-80 percent reflectivity. My brain can decodes a mirrors light a certain way, but a dogs brain may not even see a mirror as reflective, but as a surface that changes as quickly as they can see. Wondering if there is research on a dogs actual field of vision in various situations.

[@KPassionate]

There is specific research that shows that dogs do not see mirrors the same way we do. Or at least can’t recognize themselves. I did a blurb on it in my latest dog button video exposing a faked video by the dog button people

[@fakename4683]

@@KPassionate Thank you. I missed that. I am going to look for it. Have a great day.

[@greatoak7661]

What about the "Silver back" (the gorilla correlation) male? I hope you can cover this one too.

[@CarbonGlassMan]

My dog doesn't listen to the women in my house & isn't aggressive towards most women, but he is aggressive towards men. He pretty much only listens to me, even though he spends most of his time with my wife & daughter. I don't know what you'd call that behavior, but when I tell him to do something, he does it most of the time. When my wife tells him to do something, he either ignores her or he "argues" with her. He will bark at her or make the weird dog noises at her like he is back-talking to her.

[@KPassionate]

That’s just a poorly trained dog who isn’t socialized properly.

[@CarbonGlassMan]

@@KPassionate What does that mean? We had him dumped on us when he was a puppy and he has just lived with us. I'm not sure what you mean by Not socialized. The only reason we kept a 130 pound pitbull is because he keeps the bad people away from the house while I'm at work.

[@KPassionate]

Poorly socialized means that he did not learn how to appropriately interact with humans and likely other dogs at an early age. Doesn’t necessarily mean it is your fault. But it causes lots of issues later on in life.

[@CarbonGlassMan]

@@KPassionate I've owned probably 40 dogs in my life on a farm. Not all, but most of the more aggressive breeds protect women and are suspicious of most men. The less aggressive breeds tend to cling to women.

[@CarbonGlassMan]

@@KPassionate We have him pretty well behaved, but I'll tell you why I decided to keep him. A drunk guy walked into my house in the middle of the night. Before any of us could react, he had the man pinned to the wall and screaming like a little girl. I decided right then that we are keeping him. He is also very good at noticing my daughter is about to have a seizure before she goes into one. I heard there is a smell that dogs can detect when someone is about to have a seizure. He has saved her from falling down more times than I can count.

[@grantreynolds2605]

Just at piont defiance today

[@KPassionate]

You should have said Hi!!!!!

[@grant82484]

​@@KPassionate WE HAD TO GET LUNCH MAYBLE NEXT TIME

[@Maat-ka-Ra]

Cesar Millan

[@KPassionate]

Exactly. Millan might be a celebrity but the basis of his training method has been widely disproven.

[@mkpavlovna]

Careful engineer 17

[@topgame4920]

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[@УльянаМиронова-о3г]

Dry hunter 22

[@Daypaymay23]

Smart jet 43

[@chrisr-m6568]

KP!!!!!! I wish you hadn't done this video.

[@KPassionate]

Why?

[@chrisr-m6568]

@@KPassionate Because dominance plays a big role in keeping peace within the family dynamic. Like anything the Dog positive reinforcement community don't understand dominance or how to train with it so they create a negative association around it. Dominance does not have to be anything physical. AND YOUR Video about the dog and buttons was probably one of the best videos ever! hahahaha

[@KPassionate]

Sorry to disagree with you! The science is clear on the topic. Dominance is outdated and ineffective. Thanks for watching though!

[@chrisr-m6568]

@@KPassionate No need to be sorry! I thought I'd help and science can't be clear on the topic of dominance because dominance is subjective at any given moment.

[@chrisr-m6568]

@@KPassionate Also, I think the guy you have in your video with the malamute trained orcas at SeaWorld San Diego.

[@ESCANOR613]

black letter 03

[@IlyaChetverikov-vy6xr]

Dry pumpkin 05

[@mrdeadpool8656]

Legendary.

[@acephas3]

Nah. Imma go ahead and call BS on the conclusions reached here. This is one of the drawbacks of science done over the internet. You don't hear or see the counterpoint offered by another scientist and that allows the casual viewer to walk away thinking the wrong things. First of all, there have not been enough studies done to counteract the idea that dominance and Alpha behavior is not displayed in dogs. We don't see enough cross-cultural studies (different human practices in how they raise dogs and for what), we don't see enough cross-breed studies (how good are dogs at the jobs for which they were bred), we don't see enough reporting from animal shelters (how many people who believe this conclusion go on to type a comment supporting it on KZbin, but then take their dog(s) back to the shelter once it/they were no longer a puppy and for what reason); it doesn't address the fact that trainers and behaviorists train inbred behaviors out of dogs, which includes dominance; it doesn't take into account breeding programs from across the world; it completely dismisses what the AKC, SPCA, and other licensing organizations say about breed, safety around children, tolerance of other dogs, and prey drive; and these are just a few examples. Yeah, there are too many people who believe this and buy a dog that they cannot handle and that dog is, at best, re-homed or, at worst, euthanized. There is a reason that most of the dogs in shelters that are scheduled to be put down are large breed dogs that were too "dominant" for their families. No, not enough reliable, peer-reviewed science has been done on this topic to jump to this conclusion.

[@sarahsunshine8455]

Wow all these subs but not all these comments! Support Ms. KP❣️🫶🏻