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Topics - BabsT

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The original alpha/dominance model was born out of short-term studies of wolf packs done in the 1940s. These were the first studies of their kind. These studies were a good start, but later research has essentially disproved most of the findings. There were three major flaws in these studies:
These were short-term studies, so the researchers concentrated on the most obvious, overt parts of wolf life, such as hunting. The studies are therefore unrepresentati ve -- drawing conclusions about "wolf behavior" based on about 1% of wolf life.
The studies observed what are now known to be ritualistic displays and misinterpreted them. Unfortunately, this is where the bulk of the "dominance model" comes from, and though the information has been soundly disproved, it still thrives in the dog training mythos.

For example, alpha rolls. The early researchers saw this behavior and concluded that the higher-ranking wolf was forcibly rolling the subordinate to exert his dominance. Well, not exactly. This is actually an "appeasement ritual" instigated by the SUBORDINATE wolf. The subordinate offers his muzzle, and when the higher-ranking wolf "pins" it, the lower-ranking wolf voluntarily rolls and presents his belly. There is NO force. It is all entirely voluntary.

A wolf would flip another wolf against his will ONLY if he were planning to kill it. Can you imagine what a forced alpha roll does to the psyche of our dogs?
.
Finally, after the studies, the researchers made cavalier extrapolations from wolf-dog, dog-dog, and dog-human based on their "findings." Unfortunately, this nonsense still abounds.
So what's the truth? The truth is dogs aren't wolves. Honestly, when you take into account the number of generations past, saying "I want to learn how to interact with my dog so I'll learn from the wolves" makes about as much sense as saying, "I want to improve my parenting -- let's see how the chimps do it!"

Dr. Frank Beach performed a 30-year study on dogs at Yale and UC Berkeley. Nineteen years of the study was devoted to social behavior of a dog pack. (Not a wolf pack. A DOG pack.) Some of his findings:

Male dogs have a rigid hierarchy.
Female dogs have a hierarchy, but it's more variable.
When you mix the sexes, the rules get mixed up. Males try to follow their constitution, but the females have "amendments."
Young puppies have what's called "puppy license." Basically, that license to do most anything. Bitches are more tolerant of puppy license than males are.
The puppy license is revoked at approximately four months of age. At that time, the older middle-ranked dogs literally give the puppy h*ll -- psychologicall y torturing it until it offers all of the appropriate appeasement behaviors and takes its place at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The top-ranked dogs ignore the whole thing.
There is NO physical domination. Everything is accomplished through psychological harassment. It's all ritualistic.
A small minority of "alpha" dogs assumed their position by bullying and force. Those that did were quickly deposed. No one likes a dictator.
The vast majority of alpha dogs rule benevolently. They are confident in their position. They do not stoop to squabbling to prove their point. To do so would lower their status because...
Middle-ranked animals squabble. They are insecure in their positions and want to advance over other middle-ranked animals.
Low-ranked animals do not squabble. They know they would lose. They know their position, and they accept it.
"Alpha" does not mean physically dominant. It means "in control of resources." Many, many alpha dogs are too small or too physically frail to physically dominate. But they have earned the right to control the valued resources. An individual dog determines which resources he considers important. Thus an alpha dog may give up a prime sleeping place because he simply couldn't care less.
So what does this mean for the dog-human relationship?

Using physical force of any kind reduces your "rank." Only middle-ranked animals insecure in their place squabble.
To be "alpha," control the resources. I don't mean hokey stuff like not allowing dogs on beds or preceding them through doorways. I mean making resources contingent on behavior. Does the dog want to be fed. Great -- ask him to sit first. Does the dog want to go outside? Sit first. Dog want to greet people? Sit first. Want to play a game? Sit first. Or whatever. If you are proactive enough to control the things your dogs want, *you* are alpha by definition.
Train your dog. This is the dog-human equivalent of the "revoking of puppy license" phase in dog development. Children, women, elderly people, handicapped people -- all are capable of training a dog. Very few people are capable of physical domination.
Reward deferential behavior, rather than pushy behavior. I have two dogs. If one pushes in front of the other, the other gets the attention, the food, whatever the first dog wanted. The first dog to sit gets treated. Pulling on lead goes nowhere. Doors don't open until dogs are seated and I say they may go out. Reward pushy, and you get pushy.
Your job is to be a leader, not a boss, not a dictator. Leadership is a huge responsibility . Your job is to provide for all of your dog's needs... food, water, vet care, social needs, security, etc. If you fail to provide what your dog needs, your dog will try to satisfy those needs on his own.

In a recent article in the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) newsletter, Dr. Ray Coppinger -- a biology professor at Hampshire College, co-founder of the Livestock Guarding Dog Project, author of several books including Dogs : A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution; and an extremely well-respected member of the dog training community -- says in regards to the dominance model (and alpha rolling)...

"I cannot think of many learning situations where I want my learning dogs responding with fear and lack of motion. I never want my animals to be thinking social hierarchy. Once they do, they will be spending their time trying to figure out how to move up in the hierarchy."

That pretty much sums it up, don't you think?

Melissa Alexander
mcalex@connectexpress.com
copyright 2001 Melissa C. Alexander

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The Khaki almost matches his spots perfectly LOL  I am thrilled with both collars and I so love having a handle of my own on those collars




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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / PennyK
« on: May 10, 2006, 04:13:18 am »
You have the CUTEST puppy I have ever laid eyes on... Everytime I see him, I just want t squeeze him!

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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Kisses
« on: May 08, 2006, 05:25:53 pm »

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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Funny Caucasian
« on: May 07, 2006, 09:35:08 pm »
My Chara wanted to come into my brothers house and she normally just knocks on the door to be let in. Today since it is the only nice day for the week, she is staying outside..

Well she 'discovered' my scent about 6' in the air in the window (window open, screen down) on the other side of the house

Firt, you house hear her breathing through the window and I turn around and there is her muzzle.. I got quite the chuckle and said hello to her

well now I have a 120 Caucasian trying to jump into the window LMAO 6' in the air

Very resourceful & persistant. Here she is scratching on three legs LOL


21
I saw this on craigslist...s omeone posted it

there is even more of it on the Yahoo group Orthodog list.

The Question Of Neutering and at what age
(written by Pam Davol of Wing-In-Wave Labradors, a noted research scientist and a Labrador genetic expert)

Owners who are considering neutering need to take all factors into consideration, not simply the benefits of neutering when making a decision as to when to neuter.

If one looks close enough, one will find that neutering is one of those topics in veterinary medicine that is extremely biased: that is, most often one will find more emphasis placed on the pros of neutering with more often than not, very little or no discussion of the cons. Veterinarians, and responsible breeders as well, face a true dilemma when discussing neutering. The overpopulation crisis presents a very real concern with regard to the necessity of ownership responsibility . Prepubertal/early neutering or required neutering provides a means for vets/breeders to enforce owner responsibility by ensuring surgical sterilization of dogs not destined to be used in breeding programs. Again, this enforced neutering is typically presented along with a preamble of all the benefits that go along with neutering. However, I believe that breeders, if not veterinarians, need to begin questioning the ethics of this approach to prompt or require owners to neuter; especially in light of the facts that early neutering may not be as benign a process to the health of a dog as one would believe.

Yes, neutering prior to the beginning of estrus does reduce risk for mammary cancer in females, but it also significantly increases risk for urinary incontinence in bitches which predisposes these bitches to diethylstilbes trol (DES) dependency (Stocklin-Gautschi et al., J. Reprod. Fertile. Suppl. 57:233-6, 2001 and many other references)--in some instances, DES is not effective at controlling incontinence and will force some owners to elect euthanasia. Though with lesser risk compared to females, early neutering also increases risk of urethral sphincter incontinence in males (A. Aaron et al., Vet Rec. 139:542-6, 1996.)

With regard to cancer, spayed females have a 4 times greater risk for developing cardiac hemangiosarcom as (vascular tumors) compared to intact females (neutered males also show a significant increase in risk for these tumors compared to intact males) (Ware and Hysper, J. Vet. Intern. Med. 13:95-103, 1999.). Additionally, both neutered males and females have a 2-fold greater risk for developing bone tumors (osteosarcoma) compared to intact males and females (Ru et al., Vet J. 156:31-9, 1998.).

Some evidence suggests that early neutering may also predispose to endocrine disorders later in life (Panciera DL. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc., 204:761-7 1994.). Furthermore, there is also an indication that early neutering (because absence of sex hormones delays maturation of osteoclasts and thus results in delayed closing of the growth plates in the long-bones) may predispose to increased risk for various orthopedic disorders (such as cruciate ligament disease as I had mentioned in a previous post). Also, some evidence suggests that there is a correlation between increased time for growth plate closure and incidence of HD in Labs (Todhunter et al. J. Am. Vet Assoc., 1997).

If one conducted a research of the literature on the detrimental effects on physiological development associated with sex hormone deficiencies during adolescent development in any other species other than the dog and cat, one will find a wealth of literature stressing the importance of sex hormones for sound physiological, endocrine and metabolic development. Additionally, if one examines the scientific research that reports the benefits of early neutering in absence of any side-effects in dogs, one will discover that the methodology of these studies are designed in very specific ways to assure that outcome in neutering is presented in a favorable light (this does not mean that the data is biased, this simply means that the comparisons made do not provide for adequate interpretation of long-term effects of neutering).

In light of this, though it is understandable for vets/breeders to urge dog owners to neuter their pets early with regard to the greater good (i.e. reducing risk of accidental breeding), the physiological soundness of the individual dog should take precedence over any other issues. As such, it is my opinion, based upon the literature that I have reviewed that to reduce risks to physiological soundness, etc, that I am of the personal opinion that dogs should be a minimum of 1 year of age before neutering.

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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Zero & Chara pics
« on: April 22, 2006, 10:19:00 pm »















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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Find Chara
« on: April 19, 2006, 07:19:14 pm »
Alright, I know it is not hard to find her, but considering she is well over 100#'s she does a good job at making herself disappear.... LOL

And the other pic is my ottoman, All dog owners need to have something like this... All the dog stuff is in the ottoman with a secret LOL

And the last shot, I felt was a nice shot of the facial expression when CO's are examining a situation in their brain... you can see their intensity in their eyes....She was listening to Zero barking outside and was determining if he needed backup...Needl ess to say, she went back to sleep... Now that I am further along in my pregnancy, she doesnt leave my side at all... It is quite interesting observing her behavior changes.

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Do we seek out certain traits that remind us of ourselves...


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Mine, the BT and now the rottie LOL....

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Chara got her new blocky dog collar and I am THRILLED!!!  Bulid quality is amazing and HEAVY DUTY!!!!
It is funny because it is 2" wide but her fur still covers it up LOL... I needED a heavy duty collar and I finally got one... I am sooo excited that I got one for Zero!!!






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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Zero's bestest friend!
« on: April 12, 2006, 03:22:23 am »
My Godfather, Mr. T... They have had a bond since the day I got Zero... Mr.T visits my parents everyday for coffee.  A few times a week I bring Zero with me and the two of them have coffee and cookies or whatever other sweets they are having with their coffee. 

The man adores Zero and Zero adores him... Zero waits patiently at the front door for him and I swear he knows he coming when he can smell the coffee brewing. 

The second he hears the sound of his car, the helicopter tail spin begins...  Zero maynot be therapy dog material but he sure does bring joy to this mans life!


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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Some pics of Zero
« on: April 11, 2006, 05:36:36 am »
on Patrol


Sleepy Zero


On Guard

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Ok, I havent taken many decent pics so here are some...













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And for those of you curious... having and intact male in close quarters with a female is EXTREMELY difficult on them.  They dont eat, they cry, forget who you are, and they just pant and drink water...  I was 100% more concerned with the mess from Chara that I honestly thought Zero would be ok... Well, Chara was extremely clean and there was zero mess and she was 100% normal throughout the heat... but Zero, I honestly felt like I lost my dog for weeks :(

Besides the stress of the heat on him... I truly feel that both dogs truly missed each others company and longed to be back to annoying each other, laying in the shade, or guarding property together.

It was sooo funny putting them back together for the first time in weeks...they just ran and ran and you could see them smiling from ear to ear.

My neighbor also told me yesterday that Chara goes into the bay window the moment I leave the house and from what he notices with his coming and goings, she stays there until I come home.  People come by and look at her and she just watches until the admirers step onto my property... then she kindly tells them from behind the window to remain off the grass LOL









pic taken at my brothers house




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