Here are some interesting comments from Donna Haraway, author of The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness. These comments are from her lecture Birth of the Kennel: [quote]I found fascinating cross talk and interaction between different communities of expertise, usually...

Jan Fennell, who coined the term "gesture eating", says, in her book, "The Dog Listener": "By ensuring they eat first at meal times, the Alpha pair signal in unequivocal terms that they are the leaders. By giving their leaders first refusal at every meal time, the rest of the...

[quote user="Cassidys Mom"]Keefer took to it so well that even now at 82 pounds he'll climb in my lap if I sit on the floor. [/quote] Three of mine will climb in my lap -- in my recliner! Cara only doesn't because of her hips. But DH picks her up because she loves to be held. [quote...

[quote user="glenmar"]I, as a person, am not comfortable with using force, so I don't use it. [/quote] You may not use physical force (touch), but I find it hard to believe that you (and anyone here) don't force their dogs to abide by the rules of the house, whether it be by physical...

The term "alpha roll" is so emotionally charged that I am even hesitant to use it. But I have used the maneuver on all 4 of my dogs (probably 2-3 times per dog), when they were puppies and without emotion, aggression or anger of any kind. The reason I did it was basically to make them comply...

[quote user="Chuffy"]So hang on (here comes the perplexed bit) - so with most dogs it doesn't MATTER if they see themselves as leader?[/quote] CM's premise: MANY behavioral problems result because of lack of "leadership" (or whatever you want to call it). In other words, many...