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Ask Yvette

Dear Yvette

We have an 8 month old lab who is dominant. She does not listen to commands like sit even though she knows what sit means. So far, we have supervised her, made sure she does not eat first, go through doors first, or walks ahead of us. Sheba has also had clear boundaries because we correct her when things go wrong. How do we make her submit?

Angie

There are not too many times that you will find me talking about dominance. However, many owners feel their dog is dominant for one reason or another, so it makes for interesting discussion.

Pack structure is a complex topic. Dogs have a unique ranking system. Years ago, it became popular to diagnose all behaviour problems based on a dog's desire to elevate their rank. If a dog did not sit, the dog was being defiant – launching a conspiracy plot to overtake the leadership role so to speak.

Even though dogs do have social structure, the interpretation was a gross oversimplification of how dogs behave. Examine the thought that a dog walking ahead of a human means the dog is in an alpha position. If this were the case, determining who was alpha, beta or omega would be such a simple task. Researchers would only have to create a path. Then they could label each dog as they walked past in single file.

Anyone who has watched a group of dogs play can attest to the fact that dogs do not follow the leader in single file. Dogs mingle and mix. Researchers can also attest that the months and years they spend charting observable behaviour is far complex and labour intensive. Dogs use social skills such as calming signals, scent, social grooming, displacements and most submissive hierarchy to effectively master conflict avoidance.

With Sheba, you want her to sit on command. The question that needs to be answered is, “Does Sheba really know what sit means, or is she being dominant?” Personally, I just do not see how sit relates to dominance at all. I have yet to see a dog bark, “Sit!” at his subordinates.

In my experience, it is far more likely that Sheba has learned a hand signal unknown to you. The word sit has never really registered. I have seen many signals, but the three most common are a finger being lifted, a hand being place across your chest, or bending at the waist. When you use the signal, Sheba understands. When you do not use the signal, Sheba hasn't a clue. Most people deny this could be happening. Their jaws drop when they see their dog sit to a finger twitch.

If you want to fix sitting on command, go back and teach it with clarity. If you want to work on the relationship between you and your dog, rather than attempt to force a dog into submission, work on elevating yourself in the eyes of your dog. Respect is commanded, not demanded.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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