Canine Nation

We humans have been trained that the best way to train our dogs is through the use of coercion — and punishment and rewards. But Eric Brad has learned through his studies of behavioral science that just because something works doesn't mean it's right or the only way. In this article, Eric takes a groundbreaking look at kinder, saner and logical ways to build good, respectful relationships with our dogs.

Alpha Dominance is one of the most persistent lies in all of what we know about dogs. It’s amazing to me how a culture like ours, so rooted in science and technology, can hang on relentlessly to myths and half-truths but no basis at all in fact. With all the talk of “pack leadership” and “calm assertive energy” these days, I would suggest that we need to look at the facts about the social dynamics of dogs and treat them as they really are: members of our households who are very much our dependents.

What do you do when everything you thought you knew about dogs and how to train them fails? Confrontation after confrontation with our dog Vince pushed us closer and closer to what might have been a devastating end to our relationship with this special dog. Everything we had learned about dog training to that point told us that we had to "show him who's boss" and be the "Alpha" leader of the household. Vince met our aggression at each new level. It was when we couldn't push this escalation any further that we made some discoveries that would change the way we lived and worked with our dogs forever. What if we could communicate with dogs? It turns out that we can! And it's more amazing and more fun that we could ever have dreamed.