A modern dog

Many of the instincts that our dogs have inherited from wolves are greatly diminished, some have been enhanced by selective breeding, and others lost completely. Puppies are much easier to befriend than wolf cubs, even when raised in identical circumstances. And dogs have become more skilful at reading and anticipating human behaviour.


In the light of recent research, a number of beliefs and understandings about the instinctive social behaviour of dogs have been revised or discarded. It is worth looking at these briefly, because they were widely held until just twenty years ago, and for many years the principles of all dog management and training were based upon them.


Wolves were understood to be pack animals that lived within a strict social hierarchy where a dominant animal held the position of leader or ‘alpha’ and maintained that position through physical strength and superiority. Any sign of weakness in the leader would lead to conflict and a challenge for his position of power. Dogs were believed to have inherited this social behaviour, and dog trainers believed that dogs had to be controlled and kept in their place through domination and strong pack leadership.


We now know that much of this theory was incorrect. Dogs do not tend to form packs or strict social hierarchies under normal circumstances; nor do they maintain social relationships through force or displays of dominance. Recent studies have shown that even wolves don’t form packs in quite the same way that we once believed they did. The original research was based on unrelated captive wolves that had been thrust together in a most unnatural manner. More recent studies of wild wolves tell a different story, of animals that live in a close family unit, led usually by parents and maintained without aggression.


What this new research means for you is that you don’t need to worry about dominating your puppy, and nor should you be concerned that he will try to dominate you. Dogs may fight over resources, such as food, but dominance is not something they value. You will achieve your rightful position as the head of your puppy’s family through controlling the resources available to him as part of an effective training strategy.