I have seen dogs 'pin' other dogs during a fight by lying on top of them. I've seen it most often between two dogs of different sizes. The larger one might get the smaller one underneath it and then simply lie on top of it. The smaller one is effectively pinned without the use of jaws and once the smaller dog realises it can't get the upperhand from where it is, it gives up and the fight is over with the dog on top the 'victor'. I've seen similar things happen with dogs of the same size, only the pin happens with, say, one front leg and the chest on top of the other dog so that the dog on top is using its weight to push the dog underneath down. I see this as a way for dogs to end a fight without injury, and in well-socialised dogs, it seems to be the preferred way to point out to a smaller challenger that it's very small and weak and would do better forgetting the whole thing.
Considering this only happens when dogs have come to blows, so to speak, I don't think it's something people should be imitating. One would hope that people are not so useless in their dog's eyes that it has come down to a physical battle. Seeing as dogs have the capacity to inflict some nasty damage on humans, I would do anything to not be in a situation where such a 'pin' would be applicable.
As for wolves, and all social animals for that matter, I think people tend to build a social hierarchy in their heads because it's the best way to explain what we see, which is two animals that both want the same thing fighting over it and one getting it. Or patterns in submissive and dominant gestures. I don't think it is ever so simple as a ladder hierarchy in which this one is always submissive to this one who is always submissive to this one and so on. I think every time two animals want the same thing, you start almost from scratch with who wants it more. As such, an animal with a lower social ranking does not necessarily always lose to an animal of higher social ranking. My feeling is that whether a fight becomes deadly or not in wolves is one of those rare cases that history counts for something. I've seen plenty of dog fights between two females that are the result of months of tiny, almost insignificant conflicts and a whole lot of simmering. Someone finally snaps and it can get quite ugly, whereas a fight between two animals that have just met seems more likely to me to be over and done with quickly with little to no bloodshed.
Melissa's family: Penny - corgi, Kit - wild hare, Bonnie - rabbit, Kivi Tarro - Finnish Lapphund
"She's always talking about her hare."