Leader of the Pack? There are leaders and Then There are Leaders

Pack leader. That term has such negative connotations to myself and other professional positive reinforcement trainers, that I strongly dislike using the word “pack” at all. I don’t find it accurate in terms of how dogs live. I prefer “crew” to “pack”. I have no problem with the term “leader” because dogs need a leader. Everyone does in some way; but especially those who entrust us with their care. They are in many ways, like children who never grow up but one must never make the mistake of thinking that they are four-footed humans with fur. That analogy would not be accurate.

Total harmony on the couch.

It is fine, however to think of the social structure that they like to live in, in much the same way as a human family. The word family will suffice just as much as the word crew does. I am in favor of anything that limits a human from comparing dogs to wolves in order to use that comparison as a way to modify their behavior. Dogs are not wolves, they are distant cousins. Are you the same as your distant cousins? I thought not.

Leaders guide, in much the same way as parents do. Leaders provide structure, training, safety and care for all basic needs. Leaders should not be scary or physically intimidate or harm their charges in any way, including emotionally. Some so called “experts” advise such intimidation tactics to keep their “pack” in line. I prefer a more benevolent parental approach. I am a small statured female with large dogs, so obviously my own approach works well or the inmates would be running the asylum, right???

Manners are easy to implement without force. Real leadership involves respect that goes both ways, between both crew members and the crew leader. Respect is earned, not forced. You never need show your ‘alpha” status to your crew, you simply need to supply the afore mentioned list of provisions. It’s all good from there.

I have written plenty in the past about the process of how manners are instilled so I will not repeat it now. I should, however, probably disclose why I chose this subject now. Easy enough to do: my last blog was about an unfortunate incident here locally involving a baby and a Siberian Husky. The baby was killed. Since this incident occurred, I have read a few commentaries by various people, some famous, some not, who declared that a baby needs to be of a higher status than any dog in the house. Plainly put, that is crazy talk. The crew simply needs to have manners that are consistently rewarded and the human adults need to be the ones that provide that input, primarily. Management tends to the rest of the equation.

Leadership is the most important thing that you can do for your crew. Tell me how you handle this in your own home.