There has over the years, been a lot of comparisons drawn between the Wolf and the Dog by Behaviorists. After all and in the early days of Canine Behaviorism, there had to be a starting point, an explanation somewhere to a dog's behavior and the Wolf as the dog's far distant living ancestor seemed to be the best place to start. It must have seemed a fairly safe bet to start to interpret our dog's behavior by watching and then comparing it to how a pack of wolves live together. So behaviorists started to draw parallels between the social hierarchy of a wolf pack and bringing a dog into our homes to be part of our family or pack'. This is when the whole concept of becoming a pack leader was born and along with it came a whole load of misunderstood, misinterpreted rubbish about what you should do as that pack leader.

What we have to remember is that wolves behave very differently from dogs. Dogs have been bred by humans for thousands of years to do a lot of different things that wolves do not naturally do, such as barking at intruders (wolves would rather run away) or to guard, rather than chase and kill sheep. Dogs are also more tolerant of humans touching and petting them and do not display as much hunting and rank-order maintenance behavior as do wolves. Dogs behave as pets: they orient to humans, are easily socialized and tractable and easily regard humans as dominant animals. Wolves of course, behave like the wild animals they are.

So the day arrives when we bring a dog into our homes, start to experience problems and so look up books on Amazon to read all about how best to put' your dog in it's place and to reassert your position as pack leader'. I've lost track of the amount of times I have read the old chestnut, eat first and in front of your dog because the wolf pack leader always does and it shows your dominance over your dog'. Well in reality, the alpha male does not always eat first. In fact, the hungriest wolf usually eats first. Even a low-ranking animal can defend food until it is done eating, and whoever wants the food most usually gets it. What is true though is that each wolf has his/her place at the carcass based on where it actually stands in the social pecking order of the pack. An exception to this is the omega wolf, a very low-ranking, "scapegoat" wolf who lives on the fringes of the pack. Omega wolves usually eat last, the left over's.

So how does this little nugget of information so beloved of some behaviorists prove dominance over your dog?

Another little gem is the notion that you should never let a dog walk in front of you because if you do then he is the one who is displaying dominance and deciding where to hunt'.
Again, the alpha wolves are not necessarily in charge' or leaders of the pack'. They may decide where and when to hunt or they may not. An alpha wolf is not a leader so much as a wolf who has the right to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants. Since they have so much social freedom to do what they like, alpha wolves often have more opportunity than lower-ranking wolves to start hunting or to choose a resting place. The rest of the pack will then often follow and join in.

The alpha wolves are not necessarily the strongest, the fastest, or the smartest. High rank has more to do with attitude and confidence than size or strength. Dominance also does not favor gender either the alpha male or the alpha female may be the overall leader of the pack'.
So if you want to be the pack leader' remember that attitude and confidence play's a far greater role on your part than someone who shouts and gets excited, angry or bullies......no matter how frustrating the situation.