Pit Bulls and Dominance
February 9th, 2010
Over the years I have heard many reasons why Pit Bulls who act aggressive do so. One of the most popular amongst “professionals” and other quasi-certified dog trainers is the are dominant.
People email me daily with things like, “I don’t know why Fido acts this way, I have asserted myself as a the dominant alpha leader.”
I am here to tell you that first, dominance is widely misunderstood and the approaches that people like Cesar Milan and dog trainers like him suggest can create aggression in your dog.
Second, Pit Bulls, on the whole, are high energy, people pleasing, dogs that are quite “soft” or submissive to their owners.
However, those who are lead into believing you must “establish yourself as pack leader” end up establishing themselves as an aggressive, crazed nut job who should be looked upon with suspicion and distrust.
Dominance in dogs is rare. Dominance is caused by people who are lead to believe you have to “be the boss” in order to teach your Pit Bull how to behave.
A study that was published by academics at the University of Bristol’s Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, Clinical Applications and Research suggests that dogs who are acting aggressive a not trying to establish dominance.
Dr Rachel Casey, Senior Lecturer in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare at Bristol University, said:
“In our referral clinic we very often see dogs which have learnt to show aggression to avoid anticipated punishment. Owners are often horrified when we explain that their dog is terrified of them, and is showing aggression because of the techniques they have used – but its not their fault when they have been advised to do so, or watched unqualified ‘behaviorists’ recommending such techniques on TV.”
I often say, “be careful who are you listening to.”
People are T.V. may or may not be professionals. Just because someone can push, shove, shhh, or choke a dog into listening does not mean it is right and it certainly doesn’t mean you should listen to them.
Pit Bulls, as I have said, are quite submissive and respond best to owners who understand how to teach their dogs to behave without having to “establish themselves as the pack leader.”
Best Regards,
Jason Mann
PitBullLovers.com
Categories: Pit Bull Blog | Tags: dominance, Pit Bulls, pitbulls, training pit bulls
