I have read this before but found this on Facebook:.
“An Alpha Roll is when you physically force your dog onto its side or back into a submissive position and hold it there, supposedly to show them that you are the dominant one in the relationship and they should defer to you.
Original studies of wolf behavior conducted in the 1940s were held in a captive environment. These wolves were unrelated and brought together at various stages in their lives. This led to tension, and there could be a struggle within the group hierarchy.
Since then, as evidenced by renowned wolf behavior expert David Mech and others, in their natural wild environment, a pack is usually composed of related individuals, there is not generally a hierarchical struggle, and the "Alpha" concept is outdated.
You very rarely see a wolf pin down another pack member in a bid to dominate them. More commonly, when there is tension within a group, you may observe a member voluntarily roll over into a passive, submissive position.
Dogs also offer this appeasement behavior; they are showing they are no threat and only have peaceable intentions. An Alpha Roll is not a natural behavior amongst dogs or wolves.
The alpha roll technique first came to popularity during the late 1970s. A book titled “How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend” was published by the Monks of New Skete and relied heavily on the alpha technique. However, by the 2002 edition of this book, the alpha roll had disappeared from the recommended techniques.
Many people still consider the book a classic in dog training. More and more professional and amateur dog trainers shy away from the alpha roll technique in favor of alternative methods. The whole concept, based on a theory of dominance, has since been disproven and largely considered outdated.”
In the past 35 years we have adopted 11 dogs. We have learned how to train them in that period of time. We have made some mistakes but mostly we have learned from those mistakes and the dogs were excellent in teaching us. We studied and grasped all we could learn to make us better dog parents. Fortunately we made few mistakes and learned early that love, compassion and understanding were the best teachers.
For us a eureka moment came about 23 years ago. We visited a wolf refuge and decided to sponsor a wolf named Lucas. He was an all black timber wolf and the leader of his pack. What we learned from Lucas was that he was more than the leader he was the ultimate leader. He was alpha but not because he was the biggest or strongest but because he truly loved each member of his pack and put their interest first.
He put the pack first and ahead of himself but was by no means weak. He served and put the best of the pack first and foremost. He could have been the most dominant physical presence in the pack but it wasn’t necessary because each pack member respected and loved Lucas in return. He was the overwhelming pack leader and even when he grew old none of the other males even tried to challenge him due to his intense love for the pack.
Bcause of his large size he could have easily been the dominant force in the pack but he did not do that he just loved his pack members more than any other wolf. Even when he was old and vulnerable, not a pack member challenged him for leadership. He was the unanimous leader until the day he died. It was with great sadness when we were told our sponsored wolf died but it was with great joy that what Lucas taught his pack he also taught us.
We have given a great deal of thought to what Lucas taught us on how to lead. We visited the refuge several times and always watched Lucas and his pack. His pack was very orderly, well organized and always content. We have applied his principles over the years and our dogs have responded just like Lucas’ pack did for him. Each of our dogs when they realized how much they were loved responded in 100 times as much love in return.
We do not talk loud to them, yell, and correct lovingly and gently. They don’t disappoint us ever but they would be devastated if they thought they did. In return they have taught us so much about the canine species and have all made excellent pack/family members.We call it the Lucas method and we have found that it works very well. In fact, I would not recommend any other method especially the one at the top of this blog.
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