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Stilwell

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He rehashes these old methods using currently discredited notions about dominance in wolves. He ignores the researchers in Yellowstone and the High Arctic who have found that wolves really don't do dominance displays in the wild. The dominant animals in the wolf pack are really the breeding parents of most of the other animals in the group, and if any one wolf has issues with how things are going in the pack, that wolf will simply disperse. Most of what we think we know about wolves comes from captive packs of unrelated wolves kept in Switzerland. These wolves fought all the time, because they were in an unnatural environment and because they weren't members of the same family. Captivity had very distorting effect on the behavior of these wolves, so to claim that dogs behave like them is a bit of stretch. Dogs are very comfortable living with people.

He further adds to his theory about dog training by pulling in some metaphysics. Metaphysics have no place in dog training, simply because metaphysics are in the eye of the beholder. They are not universal. His metaphysics are based upon some notion known as "calm assertive energy." I don't know what this is, and I don't think any animal behaviorist of any sort can tell you what that term means. It is a catchy phrase, but I have no idea how useful it is for the public at large.

He makes even more errors with his use of the "alpha roll." The alpha roll is a misinterpretation of wolf behavior. When two wolves are involved in an altercation, the wolf who wants to call "uncle," lowers itself onto the ground then rolls over to show its belly. The alpha roll assumes that the submissive wolf was rolled into that position. That assumption is very poor ethology. To quote Dr. Patricia McConnell: "Well-socialized, healthy dogs don't pin other dogs to the ground. Submissive individuals initiate that posture themselves Forcing dogs into submission' and screaming in their face is a great way to elicit defensive aggressionWithin their social framework, you are acting like a lunatic." (Other End of the Leash, 137-138). Having watched Mr. Millan work on dogs this way, I do see lots of dogs using defensive aggression against him. I saw him bitten rather badly by a dog in a correctional facility, where he was brought in as a guest lecturer.

Victoria Stilwell does believe that boundaries are necessary for proper dog management. She understands that dogs should not be allowed to sleep in the same room as their owners, especially

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