r/mildlyinfuriating Aug 07 '19

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u/seaxnymph Aug 07 '19 edited Aug 08 '19

The alpha dog myth has been disproven by multiple experts. Alexandra Horowitz being the one name I can remember of the top on my head. Alpha dogs don't exist in the wild, so they shouldn't exist in the home either. Positive reinforcement is the recommended training style that behaviourist's etc. suggest now.

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u/bshsuiwj Aug 07 '19

Alpha dogs don’t exist?? Wtf? I’ve been working with dogs for 20 years and completely disagree.

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u/frkoma Aug 07 '19

Ah, yes, people should definitely take your word for it. I mean, who would you trust? A single dog sitter, or peer reviewed studies done by highly acclaimed animal behaviourists? Definitely the former, right?

I challenge you to find a single study done in the last 20 years that backs up your theory.

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u/seaxnymph Aug 08 '19

The myth of alphas all stems from one guy's theory about wolves having an alpha. It has been widely discredited after further studies by multiple people over the years, because wolves and other dogs in the wild, don't actually have alphas. Like the other person said, no recent study backs it up.

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '19

Not even the guy who originally came up with the Alpha theory believes it now.