Dogs Are Trying To Take Over The World

Really, dogs ARE trying to take over the world! Just go to any dog-type forum and you will see this.  I belong to a couple Berner forums - most of them I have quit because I got too annoyed so I left before I said something that would get me kicked off.  It seems like on a nearly daily basis someone is asking for advice because their dog is trying to be the "alpha".

 I actually just finished writing a response to someone with a four month old puppy who is biting and jumping because she is trying to be the "alpha". They even tried poking her like Cesar does but it didn't help, so she must really be trying to assert her dominance!  Oh brother!!  How about an overstimulated puppy that needs to learn self-control, manners and what is and isn't appropriate. Puppies bite and jump and have tantrums, that is part of being a puppy and it is our job to teach them what it is we want them to do. I was very nice in my response to the guy who wrote the post - you can catch more flies with honey, right?  Well, actually you can probably catch more flies with a big pile of dog crap, but, I would prefer not getting kicked off one of the only Berner forums that I can still tolerate.  You can be sure I didn't recommend rolling the puppy, or poking her or pinning her to the ground so she learns "her place in the pack".

There is so much good information out there about dog behaviour and training, I don't know why people are stuck on the outdated notion of the dominance theory. Especially when you have a Berner who tend to be gentle, willing to please and sometimes a bit sensitive. I don't know why this stuff bothers me so much. I guess because I couldn't imagine how terrified a little, impressionable puppy would feel if they were suddenly pinned to the ground by the person that was their world. It makes me sad.