Summary: From March 5, 2010 - Audio edition of the article The Myth of Alpha Dogs from the Life As A Human online magazine website. You can visit Canine Nation to find this and other articles. Alpha Dominance is one of the most persistent lies in all of what we know about dogs. It’s amazing to me how a culture like ours, so rooted in science and technology, can hang on relentlessly to myths and half-truths but no basis at all in fact. With all the talk of “pack leadership” and “calm assertive energy” these days, I would suggest that we need to look at the facts about the social dynamics of dogs and treat them as they really are: members of our households who are very much our dependents. NOTE: Text articles at Life As A Human include embedded links and videos that provide additional information. Some links from this article are listed below: Jean Donaldson's article "Are Dogs Pack Animals? "Lots of great links included here. Wolf researcher David Mech's article “What Ever Happened to the Term Alpha Wolf?” offers some great insight into the wolf research of the past 40 years and how wolves live in the wild. This week's recommendation is the website of animal trainer and certified animal behaviourist Kathy Sdao.Kathy's site has lots of great articles and references for both dog owners and dog trainers. Look around and enjoy everything there is to offer. You will even find recipes for dog treats!
