by Perry McCarney

Created on: January 19, 2011   Last Updated: February 11, 2011

The primary reason any dog-lover should not allow their dog to be the alpha animal, or boss, in their human/canine pack is that it is not fair on the dog. All of us who love our dogs as family members wish them the best and want them to be happy. Any dog within a human/canine pack that feels it has to take on the responsibility of being that pack's leader is going to spend most of his or her life feeling highly stressed, inadequate and vulnerable. No dog lover should wish such responsibility and stress on a beloved canine companion.

Human society is highly complex, whether that society exists in a technologically advanced country or an impoverished developing nation. Dogs function on a dutiful basis, striving their best to fulfill the necessary actions within their pack that they perceive to be their roles. Domestic canines have been bred and raised for hundreds or thousands of years, depending on breed, to be subordinate to human command, and are therefore most comfortable in a human/canine pack dominated by a human alpha leader, whether male or female.

The vast majority of domestic dogs therefore seek and desire the dominance of a human pack leader. Only when they find that lacking in their pack, even if that pack just consists of two, particularly when they are progressing from juvenile to adult, will they endeavor to assert control, believing it necessary for the benefit of their pack. But, obviously, they are unable to understand the complexities of human society, nor do they have the intelligence to adapt and resolve potential conflicts within human social structure that might harm their pack. Dogs are, after all, far more straight forward than people when it comes to their emotional responses.

It has always been so since the earliest days of canine/human interaction. Human interaction with domestic canines has been a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) one since the dawn of time. But, since humans have a larger brain capacity and function, we have been the primary directors of that interaction while the dogs have generally been the more physically capable.  

While the dominance of a human packleader is an obvious requirement with regard to working dogs, whatever field they are involved in, it is also fundamentally needed by the vast majority of dogs who now live as canine companions, no matter what function they were initially bred to met. While we might wish to allow them the liberty of deciding their lives for themselves, rather than imposing upon them, this is not, sadly, a viable choice.

Our canine companions need a hierarchical structure to fit into, and are most happy when that structure does not require them to take a leading role. True dog-lovers need to provide their canine companions not only with the love they desire, but the pack structure that provides them with security, structure and pack acceptance. 

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