Dominance in dogs:
Is this REALLY a source of behavior problems?
Yes, no or maybe?
Blackwell, et al., 2008
• Behavior problems =
– Widespread
– Most common cause of dogs abandoned,
relinquished to shelters and euthanized
• Behavior problems = behaviors that are
– Problematic
– Undesirable
– Often include anxiety for the dog!
Question: Genetics or Learning?
• Is this genetics?
– Widely accepted that certain breeds have more undesirable behaviors
– Even specific undesirable behaviors
• Is this due to poor socialization?
– Dogs have good visual/auditory awareness
– Dogs are highly social
– Dogs can learn easily
• Could these behaviors be due to improper training/inappropriate training
or lack of training?
• Du to low knowledge of dog behavior? Expecting too much/too little?
• Data are mixed! Support all of the above
Data DO suggest that
• Training reduces or eliminates problematic and
undesirable behavior- regardless of species
• Dogs that attend obedience classes with their
owners are reported to have fewer problem
behaviors
– Positive only programs reveal further reductions
– Mixed programs in between
– Aversive programs do not reduce, but may increase
problem behavior
The study
• Used a convenience sample:
– People out walking their dogs
– People visiting a vet clinic in the UK
• Completed a survey that asked about
– Demographic info
– Type of training with the dog
• Age at first training
• Location (home or center)
• Type of training:
– Puppy socialization, agility, obedience, manners, etc.
• Method of training
– Positive, punishment or mixed
The study
• Survey asked about 36 behaviors that
commonly perceived to be problematic or
undesirable.
– Rated on a scale of 0 (never) to 4 (frequently)
– Tried to phrase behaviors positively:
• Does your dog not come back when called on a walk?
• Does your dog chew or destroy items when you are out
of the house?
– If answered yes to item, asked if it was considered
a problem
Results
• 192/250 questionnaires returned
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67% female respondents
Age of owner 20-60; most within 41-60 age group
71% of dogs lived with 2 or more adults
43% lived in home with NO children (57% DID)
Number of dogs in household ranged from 1-5
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38% in 2 dog house
6.8% with 2 other dogs
2% lived with 3 other dogs
2% lived with 4 or more dogs
52% in single dog homes
– 15% of owners were first time owners
Results
• Dogs ranged in age from 1 to 15 years old
– Median = 5 years
– Male to female ratio = 52% to 48%
• 58% of males neutered
• 65% of females spayed
– Only 19% of dogs were reported to be mix breeds
– All UKC/AKC dog groups were represented
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Gun dogs = 35%
Pastoral breeds: 18%
Terriers: 12%
Hounds: 8%
Toy breeds: 3%
Utility breeds: 2%
– 71% of dogs acquired as puppies (<3 mos)
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72% acquired from breeder
20% from shelter
2% bred dog themselves
6% obtained dog from other sources
How analyzed Survey:
• Categorized training into 3 categories:
– Positive reinforcement: 96%
– Negative reinforcement: 45%
– Positive punishment: 64%
Undesirable behavior categorization:
• Temperament vs. behavioral strategy
– Aggression, avoidance, attention seeking
• Presence or absence of any behavioral response
within specific contexts or targets
– Being left alone
– Reaction to other dogs
• Control score:
– Noncompliance behavior
– Goal-directed behavior
Training Classes
• 88% received some form of training
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58% trained at home
General obedience class attended by 40%
Puppy socialization class: 27%
Agility or flyball: 12%
5% of dogs taken to handling or showing classes
• Type of training:
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16% used positive only
12% used combo of positive reinforcement/negative reinforcement
32% positive reinforcement/positive reinforcement
40% used combo of all
72% of owners used some form of positive punishment
Undesirable Behaviors
• Mean number of potentially undesirable
behaviors per dog: 11.3
– Range of 0-29
– 3 dogs reported to have no problem behavior
Undesirable Behavior
• Three categories of behavior problems:
– Mean aggression score: 22%
– Mean fear/avoidance score: 27%
– Mean control score: 43%
• 34% of dogs showed problem behavior during separation
• 15% showed problem behavior to other dogs within a
household
• 80% showed inappropriate response to unfamiliar people
• 13% undesirable response when told off
Problems Reported by Owners
• 76% of owners reported their dog had at least one problematic behavior
• Most common behaviors not necessarily most problematic
• Only 18% of owners had sought help for problem behavior: sought help
the most for:
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Control problems
Aggression to unfamiliar dogs
Aggression to unfamiliar people
Jumping up
• Who did they ask for advice:
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32% a vet
9% a vet tech/nurse
26% an animal behaviorist
47% a dog trainer
9% a relative or friend
Also reported asking rescue shelters, breeders and books
Relationship between Training Classes Attended
and Occurrence of Problem Behavior
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Attendance at any type of training class did NOT significantly affect total number of undesirable behaviors
exhibited by a dog
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Attendance in puppy socialization associated with reduction in reaction to other dogs outside the home
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Association with informal home training and increased aggression
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No relation between control problems and attending classes
Relationship between training methods and
occurrence of undesirable behaviors
• Significant relationship between categories of training
methods and total number of problem behaviors,
including
– Attention seeking
– Fear/avoidance
– Aggression
• Positive only training methods correlated with fewest
behavior problems
• Highest attention-seeking scores found to correlate
with combination of positive reinforcement/negative
reinforcement
Relationship between training methods and
occurrence of undesirable behaviors
• Highest mean avoidance found in combo methods
• Highest mean aggression: combo of punishment with
positive reinforcement
• Control problems, separation problems, compulsive
behaviors and undesirable response to family members
not correlated with training
• Aggression score significantly higher in dogs when owners
used any form of punishment
– Also showed more aggression to other people/dogs outside of
home
– More likely to show aggression when told off
Other influences
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Age of dog:
– Younger dogs show more behavior problems
– Attention seeking behavior higher in younger animals
– NOT Fear/avoidance
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Breed of Dog: No significant effect
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Sex of dog: no significant effect
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Origin of dog: breeder dogs showed significantly fewer problem behaviors than
dogs from rescue
– Particularly separation anxiety
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Also no relationship between problem behaviors and
– Previous experience of owners
– Number of children in household, except for separation issues
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No kids = more separation anxiety
Stealing food related to more kids
So, do you agree or disagree?
• Do you think this sample reflects the typical dog
owner population?
• Do you agree with the training correlations?
• Why few/no correlation with age, sex, breed,
etc.?
– What other factors may account for this?
– Genetics?
– Other interaction/social factors?
Dominance: does it matter?
Bradshaw, et al.
What is dominance?
• Dominance:
– Character trait of an individual dog
– Top of hierarchy
• Other dogs defer to this dog
• Eats first, gets treats first, gets person first
• Achieve high rank in any inter or intra species grouping
• Dog training programs often suggest that
HUMAN must be the dominant “alpha”
Scientific definition
“an attribute of the pattern of repeated,
agonistic interactions between two individuals,
characterized by a consistent outcome in favor
of the same dyad member and a default yielding
response of its opponent rather than escalation.
The status of the consistent winner is dominant
and that of the loser subordinate” (Drews, 1993)
So what is the problem
• What is a “dominant” dog?
– Have prior access to resources
– Pecking order
– Absence of aggression vs. presence of display signals that threaten aggression
• Is dominance a trait or a process?
• Is it temporary or continuous?
• Does it change depending on the group?
• Does it only apply to PAIRS of animals or the whole group?
• Are the animals aware of the hierarchy, or is it merely a mechanism for
humans to describe the pack?
Wolves and dominance
• Often assumed have a strict hierarchy
• Also assume dog = wolf so will have same hierarchy
structure
• These assumptions often wrong
• Several problems with early studies:
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Wolf pack = unrelated animals not natural pack
Typical hierarchy may not really be typical
Lockwood (1979): general hierarchy
But: aggression not related to dominance!
Wolves and dominance
• Data suggest that there is a mated pair that is
typically most dominant
– These 2 are cohesive and leaders
– Not aggressive; in fact very little aggression
• More/most aggression among lower status
vying for attention from higher pair
Feral Dogs
• Probably best conspecific
• Van Kerkhove (2005): review of feral (domestic) dogs
– Pack structure very loose and evolving
– Rarely involves cooperative structure or co-parenting
• Pal et al (1998, 1999, 2003, 2005)
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Feral dogs in West Bengal
More coherent social groupings
But: consist mostly of RELATED dogs (kin!)
Little aggression
Breeding was relatively constant, not controlled by status
What do wild dog/wolf studies show?
• More and more stable dominance hierarchies if canines are related
• Little aggression from dominant animals: very subtle signaling
instead
• More aggression during breeding season
– Males most aggressive when females in estrus
– Females most aggressive when raising pups
– Aggression is not as deadly as with wolves
• Wild dog packs did not show “wolf-like” dominance, but much
more individualized
Bottom line:
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Domestication radically changed social behavior of dogs
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When have opportunity to interact and breed freely
– Do NOT form exclusive kin-based groupings
– Do not follow wolf-pack social system
– Mating is more competitive than in natural packs
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Less sophisticated sociality than wolf in dog to dog interactions
– Less opportunity and less practice
– Better interacting with humans than other dogs
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Submissive behavior used to defuse conflicts rather than used for group cohesion
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Pair bonding is retained
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Will share territories with family members/ocassional outsiders.
Neutered Dogs
• Does neutering change things?
• Bradshaw, et al (unpublished data): examined group of unrelated
but permanent neutered dogs
– Doggie daycare group
• Examined group interactions for dominant behavior:
– Competitive behavior: confident or submissive
– Examined dyads
• No clear cut hierarchy
– Instead seemed to be hierarchy between PAIRS
– Did not vary by age, weight, length of time in group
Bradshaw, et al, con’t
• Did not show wolf pyramidal hierarchy but less structured
hierarchy:
– Were 8 insiders
– Were 3 hermits
– Rest were outsiders
• 8 insiders did not have clear hierarchy but interacted
mostly with one another; ignored the others
• Outsiders interacted more often with insiders than other
outsiders,
– but did not “win”
– mostly losing interactions
Resource Holding
Potential (RHP) model
• Separate physical fighting ability, or resource
holding potential (RHP): likelihood of competing
in given set of circumstances
• Not require any kind of prior relationship
between competitors
– Typically seen in territorial disputes or first encounters
– Outcome of disputes depend on subject value of
resource to the individual competitors
– To lesser extend depends on competition skill level
Resource Holding
Potential (RHP) model
• RHP does not explain dog behavior, though
– Domestic dogs do not attend to size, age, etc.
• Little man syndrome in small dogs
– Depends on upbringing and experience
– Also depends on how humans interact with the dog
• VERY interesting for us as trainers:
– Dogs may not have stable dominance hierarchy
– Domestic dogs may not react as predicted by RHP model
– Domestic dogs instead influenced by environment and owner
interactions
• What is the take home message? Dominance model is _____.
What does all of this mean for us?
• “Dominance” is ever changing
– Depends on circumstances
– Dominant dog in one situation does not mean dog will be dominant in
another
• Multidog houses are not “families” from a dog’s point of view- and
this is important
• Fear and laterality predict trainability (for guide dogs, at least): must
determine if these go together and WHY they go together
– Is fearfulness an innate trait or a learned trait?
– Is it the old diathesis stress model: genetic predisposition, then
environmental interaction?