Are You Dominant Or A Leader?

There are training methods that focus on being the alpha often using dominance. The idea is that you will muscle your way into getting the dog to obey you. Sometimes you are suppose to actually do a physical  throw down of the dog to show him who is boss. Dogs are willing to be followers if they have a leader that they respect.

Physical rough handling is viewed by dogs as an aggessive behavior and some dogs will respond in a submitting pose or others could respond with a hostile agressive move. Dogs are animals that are never 100% perdictable in the action they will use to respond with, so an aggressive move could be responded to with a bite or worse.

Sometimes a growl is viewed as an agressive behavior but it can be used as a warning from the dog. He may be trying to communicate that he is uncomfortable with the present situation and if pushed any farther he may bite. Training should be used to help the dog understand that the action is not a threat and that there is nothing for them to fear.

Training builds your lines of communication and makes a leader that a dog would want to follow. You can still be the leader of the pack without having to physically force the dog to follow. Dogs need a leader to guide them and show them what is expected of them. They are not mind readers even though they can learn to read body language very well so learn to communicate with your dog.