Humans, dogs, and alpha psychology

What does that mean? I can't think of anything a dog needs that a person doesn't and vice versa.

People and dogs have been living together for like 15k years. We have a lot in common now.

 

You mean like making sure your teenager never makes you their bitch? Heck, I appreciate the canine psychology refresher but in my experience we're all dogs at some point. Coloring people to be different is a little pretentious. Thumbs.

I don't want to assume, but perhaps you've never been in a fist fight or had to stand up for yourself in public in front of an audience when confronted and/or haven't been around enough shitty, dog-eat-dog* human beings.

Whether or not people believe these social constructs exist is ridiculous... they fuckin' exist because other people live them and are assertive enough to force them upon you unless you push back.

I agree that dogs are to be kept subordinate. It's their purpose. Kinda like how kids used to be subordinate to their parents before Dr. Phil and Every-Child-a-Snowflake took over.

* Sorry.​

 

Relevant

Neither will people. Ooooo!

 

Don't drag me into Tilted Politics.

That subforum makes everybody a dog.

 

Have you ever spent significant time interacting with a 2 year old kid? They're idiots. Sure, they pick up on some things, but in general they cannot be trusted alone for >5 minutes unless they're asleep.

A friend of mine and her husband tend to treat their dog as an equal in their "pack," and he has terrible behavior and awful separation anxiety. They're having to spend $$$ on training classes now to undo some of the behavioral training they did unintentionally by not treating him like a dog and a subordinate member of the pack. Our puppy learned that pretty quickly - getting yelled at and scruffed a few times earned me some healthy respect, and now she has pretty decent manners for being 16 weeks old (seriously, the vet complimented me on her training yesterday). She still vies for rank with my boyfriend every now and then, because he isn't as strict with her as I am. After years with horses (who are a lot more dangerous than dogs) where you have to become alpha through body language and very judicious application of force, it's easier for me to discipline her without feeling like I'm "being mean."

 

Mmm, you're really blowing this outta context. I'm not suggesting that dogs are people but that people aren't all that noble.

This whole bullshit copy-pasta job thread came from the No Children/parenting thread and thus has lost its velocity.

 

Interestingly, they did a documentary - I think for channel 4 - and they got some couples where the wives felt their husbands were far less than ideal - and the wives met up with dog trainers, and used dog training methods on their husbands.
At the end of a couple of months, husbands were coming through the door after work, and offering to finish the washing up - offering a cuppa - things they didnt do before. They were better behaved when it came to leaving laundry. Method used? Praise and reward.
Although at the end, all agreed their marriages were better, one chap was pissed off that he had been trained like a dog.
Maybe we are not so different when it comes to behavior and training after all.

 

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Great, ask a retard to lead a discussion so he can get pounded by a guy that reads books all day. Heh, alright...

Do you think that dogs, as evolution-adapted companion animals in such close proximity to human beings, have a modified Maslow hierarchy? I think they're somewhere between level 3 and 4, myself.

I mean, you can't compare a dog to a cow. The fact that a dog may have the intelligence of a human toddler is pretty fucking remarkable given what it came from and what we typically do with them.

You clearly overestimate my mental horsepower.

And my ability to stay on the topic.

...

Disclaimer:

I'm done with this thread because I have no desire to be involved in any thread labeled "Alpha Psychology."

Please forward any good threadjacks to Pointless Announcements.

 

Just a little personal observation. Covered a rollover at night (bridges really do freeze before roads, especially with heavy fog off the river in 20 degree temps). The driver was hauled off to the hospital. His dog, like most dogs in serious crashes, took off running. He came back about 45 minutes later, but would not approach the two firefighters and the deputy that we kneeling and trying to gently coax him over. He just stayed about 30 yards away and kept barking at them. I watched for a minute or two, and then positioned myself about 30 yards away and seperate from the others. At that point I started yelling at the dog. "Lets go, get in the car". "Get in the damn car". After I had his attention, I turned around and started walking away while still yelling at it. Within seconds, that dog was running around me. I had to grab its collar to hand it to the deputy. Now this occurred because the dog recognized the hierarchy of trooper over deputy and firefighter. I'm totally kidding about that part. The dog was scared and wanted someone it could trust. When I started yelling at it, it realized that I was in charge and was going to make things right. It listened to me because I told it in dog terms that I was the boss. When I walked away it followed me.

 

This show gives a good example of how dogs think, and it correlates with some human relationships too. Although it is kind of funny/sad to see women get played by these so called 'alpha males'. But, since schools and parents don't teach them to watch out for abusive or uncaring guys, they give them want they want to be part of the group.

 

This is a great thread.

I've lived with dogs for almost all my life.
One of them, the 16-17 y.o Schipperke, I've owned since 2000. I know her really well.
I've had two kids as well. Brought them both up. The eldest departed our abode at age 28, the youngest is in uni and living here, ATM.

I have often compared the intelligence of dogs to a 2-year old human--though the dog is stuck at age two. First, all you animal-loving 'parents', know that my dogs are cared for very, very well. But, they are not human. They are canine. The pack mentality is very real. It's been fascinating to watch the hierarchy of power shift between the aged female and the much-younger male.

Raven had lived as a singleton with us until Obi (a male mixed breed) moved in. She hated him. Three years later, she barely tolerates him in that she removes herself from his vicinity whenever he comes upon hers.

Their dynamic began with her acting as alpha and him submitting for example, when she'd eat from his dog bowl or try to block his way coming in from outside. Obi was constantly backing off. It took him awhile but he figured something out--he's younger and stronger and when he stands his ground--he wins.
Now, he never hangs back and he's had to be admonished for almost knocking her down, pushing past her as she is getting unsteady in her gait. We've given up on his and hers bowls as she taught him it was a free for all and he is not shy about eating from "her" bowl now.

Neither my son nor my husband really know how to treat dogs as they should be so I'm the one that they respect. It's all about them always knowing who is in charge--their human. I don't let them get away with anything. It's confusing for them if you are not consistent. I've had to talk to my husband about getting the male too riled up when playing.

Dogs are not complicated creatures. I think the smartest thing they ever did was find their way into our homes.