Somebody talked to me about 'being the alpha' again today.

[bunn]

The whole concept seems to be so deeply ingrained that it's almost impossible to explain to people Why everything you thought you knew about 'alpha wolves', wolf packs, and dominance in canines generally and dogs in particular is wrong.

Maybe I should try harder but I just see their eyes glazing over. People don't like it when you try to cite sources while dogwalking. :-D

I didn't even try to suggest that the lady complaining loudly about another person's dogs being 'out of control' was herself quite often only in the most tenuous control of her own dogs. Brythen is certainly not very controlled, but hearing such complaints makes me feel that it's a good first step to at least *recognise* that 'dog is disappearing over the horizon, deaf to all calls and whistles' is a bad thing which requires some sort of preventative action...

Speaking of which, B. has got worse again. I suspect it's partly that he's no longer one of a gang of 4, so the temptation to wander is greater, and also he no longer has Suma Bungle to play with at home so he's not getting as much exercise there. Plus, the good weather is very tempting! Fortunately, today it rained, which was excellent. B is much more obedient in the rain, because he doesn't want to be out in it for any longer than is necessary.

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Progress of a sort!

Although I'm slightly dubious about "smaller and weaker wolves deferred to the bigger and stronger ones" which still seems to call on the idea that hierarchy is dependent on physical force.

I can't say for certain that this is never the case with wolves, but in those species I am more familiar with, personality and determination is usually way more important than physical size or strength. Yama Bungle would be a good example!