The pack mentality and multiple dogs?

Question

First, can there be two alphas? For instance, if two adults own a dog, would both adults be an alpha?

Second, in a household with multiple dogs and an alpha owner, do they form a heirarchy amongst themselves? Or is the owner the alpha and all the other dogs have equal non-alpha status?

Answer 1

My dogs all know the humans that live in the house are alpha. They also each know their own place in the pack. I have a male that is head dog( only we have alpha status) and a female that is also second in command (so to speak) the other five are all subordinates and are kept in line by the rank. Currently I have a year old male that is challenging the older male and I am the one who puts him in his place. I make sure he doesn't get to eat before the older male, gets attention only after and if I see aggressive or dominant behavior from him towards the other male I let him know it will not be acceptable. Sometimes they get in to it but, I keep an eye on it and assert my status of control. So to answer your guest ions in my house I am the alpha female, my bf is the alpha male and the kids are alpha humans and so on and so on right down the line. Every dog in a pack has a status from top dog to lowly subordinate. That's the way pack instinct works.


Yes there are always two alphas in a pack........Alpha Male and Alpha female.......Where do you people get these answers??

Answer 2

First, can there be two alphas? For instance, if two adults own a dog, would both adults be an alpha? - Could be yes but usually by 2 different dogs. Generally, they may respect and mind both adults but there will be one that the dog sees as head pack leader.

Second, in a household with multiple dogs and an alpha owner, do they form a heirarchy amongst themselves? - Usually yes but not always. It depends on how dominant all of the dogs feel. Usually there will be one that will demand more respect and leadership than the others.

Or is the owner the alpha and all the other dogs have equal non-alpha status? - See answer above.

Answer 3

There can be two "alphas", a male and a female. Remember that their relatives (the wolves) are contolled by an alpha pair (which for wolves is the breeding pair of the pack).

With a larger group, they do form a heirarchy. The "second" in command is called the beta. In my house, we fought for years with one dog because he wanted to be alpha. He's accepted that he is beta and he is over all the dogs.

However si\ome people (like Cesar Milan) believe you can and should make the whole pack on one level with you and any humans above them. This keeps them from fighting with one another.

So far, I my own situation, I have had no trouble with the pack structure (I have 5 dogs).

Answer 4

St. Lady's got it nailed.

the links provided regarding alpha conditioning are all well and good, however, dogs, like people, have personalities, and because of that, some are more likely to fight for a dominant position in the pack. Were this not the case, then the same two dogs would lead a pack until they died of old age. When they couldn't breed anymore, then the pack would die out.

Nature has created dogs that are content to follow, and dogs that will challenge to lead. Knowing as much as you can about the canine mind will be the best weapon in your dog training arsenal. Knowing your dogs temperament will also be very important.

Respecting pack order in your house, and enforcing it as the "alpha" is paramount. Dogs don't eat together unless they are all okay with it. Lesser status waits. Lesser status is okay with that. Higher status is not okay with lesser status sharing dinnertime.

Answer 5

Nope- has nothing to do with it. I have six dogs and two distinct pack leaders, which we have had to keep separated for the last 2 years. Our oldest dog (not the one we've had the longest, mind you) is the definite head of one which includes our standard manchester. The other is headed by our oldest ddb (whom we've had the longest) and includes our 2 year old female ddb. These two groups do not mix regardless of any training or supervision we have tried so we have resigned ourselves to the fact that they won't get along which is fine. Our other two dogs are younger (a year old ddb bit** and a six month old ddb dog) and they can go between the two without trouble. I personally find it is pointless to assume that no dog is dominant over the others- it simply isn't true- if you have all softer personalities in your house then it's unlikely that you would even notice. I have 5 intact dogs in my house-when the oldest ddb goes into heat, the manchester will try to assert dominance by pooping outside her crate. This time when she was in whelp, the manchester bagged up and started leaking milk. The mannie is the "adopted daughter" of our coonhound mix, who is the only spayed bit** in the house, is the oldest, and is also very dominant personality wise. The oldest ddb is very dominant as well and they have had dust-ups where neither would back down and ended up with both requiring stitches. the ddb is twice the weight of the coonhound so we simply keep them separated and the other dogs have fallen in naturally where they fit. you would do well to read a book called The Social Lives of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas who is an animal behaviorist. She really explains how the pack mentality of domestic canines works.

Answer 6

There can only be one alpha male in the house and one alpha female. The rest of the pack of dogs will sort out their pecking order. The human status needs to be establised early on in life, from the time the dog is a puppy. Serious problems will take place if it is not. Some dogs are very dominant and will look at any real or perceived weakness on the part of the alpha as an opportunity to get his position. This has taken place in my house several times with adult dogs coming in and being VERY dominant dogs. That is why I laugh every time I read an answer here about dogs being treated in the same level as humans. The dog does not know anything about us being a different specie, we look alike funny looking dogs to him. And as I mentioned earlier, a dominant male or female WILL challenge for that position, if they detect a weakness on the humans part. My dogs all know where they belong in the pack and they do not fight among themselves because the alpha male, me, will not allow that non-sense. I like a degree of dominance in my dogs because of work and competition, however, I do not want or need to be challenged every day for my status. I have a male malinois that is extremely dominant and I know that when I bought him. As a result, he never comes in the house, he never experiences anything that an alpha would experience. We have had our problems and he will be a very dominant dog for the rest of his life. What is funny is when some people do not recognize the signs of dominance and mistake it for attention or affection seeking behavior. It is not. Only an alpha dog has the right to demand attention or affection or anything else from his pack. Only an alpha dog eats or sleeps wherever he wants and mates with a female of his choise. Any behavior like that afforded to a dog is dangerous and will only create problems.

Answer 7

It's all about hierarchy and pecking order. I'm going through some changes in the social structure of my household and it's really confusing the furries (my 2 dogs) as it's always been me and then them. Now there are a lot more humans in the house and they're trying to establish their positions in the hierarchy of the house. Dog packs, like wolf packs have a social order as to who lies where in the grand scheme of things.
In your situation, where the dogs are being blended from separate house orders, each dog will view it's own "Master" as the Alpha until they observe a confrontation where one submits to the other, and then the winner of the argument will become the true Alpha.

Answer 8

The "Alpha Dog"/linear hierarchy concept has largely been discredited. Here are some articles on pack dynamics.

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2004/Debunking.pdf
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/dominance.htm
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/hierarchies.htm
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/macho.htm
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/whycant.htm
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=153&A=1723&S=1
http://www.apbc.org.uk/article13.htm
http://www.k9chops.com/articles/dognotwolf.html
http://www.4pawsu.com/MOVING%20BEYOND%20THE%20DOMINANCE%20MYTH.pdf
http://wcco.com/petcorner/local_story_131124949.html

Certainly watching my pack I would not be able to tell you that one was "Alpha". I am the leader, that is unquestioned, however whether a dog will stand up for what it wants depends not only on the individuals involved, but also on the matter under discussion. If Rainbow is sleeping in a basket, nobody better disturb her, but she will not kick a dog out who already occupies the basket. Who gets posession of the bone depends on how badly each one wants it. Even I can be won over if the dog cares more about an issue than I do. ("All right, sleep on my head, just do it quietly......")

Answer 9

There cannot be two alpha, but the dog should know that all humans "out rank" him. The dogs will form a hierarchy of their own as well.

Answer 10

there cannot be two alphas in a pack. if you have two people who own dogs that are alphas, then usually one dog will submit to the other. if that doesnt happen, then there will be a fight.

this is going to sound wierd, but if you actually let the dogs sniff each others butts, for some reason they accept each other better that way.