Dog behavior refers to the collection of behaviors by the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris, and is believed to be influenced by genetic, social, situational and environmental causes.
The domestic dog is a subspecies of the gray wolf, and shares many of its behavioral characteristics. Although there are important and distinct differences between dogs and wolves, contemporary views of dog behavior are heavily influenced by research on wild wolves.
The social unit for dogs is the pack. From research on wolf packs that are formed in captivity, the pack has traditionally been thought of as a tightly knit group composed of individuals that have earned a ranking in a linear hierarchy, and in which there is intense loyalty within the group.
It is believed that dogs were able to be domesticated by and succeed in contact with human society because of their social nature. According to this traditional belief, dogs generalize their social instincts to include humans, in essence "joining the pack" of their owner/handler.
However, much of this traditional view is based on findings from grey wolf packs that are formed of unrelated animals in captivity, and thus may not apply to natural wolf packs, natural dog packs, or dogs incorporated into a human household.
Research in packs formed in the wild indicates that wolves form a family group, including a breeding pair and their offspring. In these familial packs, the terms "dominance," and "submission" are less useful than "parent," and "offspring," and bring with them a number of misconceptions.
While the majority of research to date indicates that domestic dogs conform to a hierarchy around an Alpha-Beta-Omega structure, domestic dogs, like their wild wolf counterparts, also interact in complex hierarchical ways.
Dr. David Mech of the University of Minnesota, who has studied wolves in their natural habitat, claims that much of what is widely believed about wolf packs is mistaken. From observations of wolf packs on Ellesmere Island over more than a decade, he claims that natural wolf packs are not at all similar to those formed in captivity by unrelated wolves.
He attributes many of the misconceptions about wolf packs to generalizations from these unnatural packs in captivity, and equates this to erroneous inferences we might draw from generalizing human behavior from studying refugee camps.
Dr. Mech argues that the natural wolf pack is typically a family, with a breeding pair of adult wolves and their offspring. In such cases, the terms "alpha" and "dominant" are less appropriate than "parent." Of course, the parent wolves are both "alpha" and "dominant" (by definition), but he argues that these terms are misleading because they imply that a pack of wolves typically include multiple families and that the members assume a place in a linear hierarchy.
A wolf pack should not be seen as a tribe of individuals who have an established place in a hierarchy until a younger dog usurps the role. Rather, a wolf pack should be seen as a family unit, with young wolves of age dispersing into new territories of their own, to find other wolves and begin their own family units.
Mech also states that dominance is rare in wild wolves, and does not arise from sexual competition. Because young wolves usually disperse before age two, and almost always before age 3, there is little sexual tension within a pack.Instead of "dominance" and "submission", he uses the terms "assertiveness" and "passiveness" to reflect the role of the wolf in the pack. Dominant breeding pairs led the pack most of the time (71%), and initiated most new behaviors (70%). Leadership behavior in subordinate pack members tended to be followed by dispersion.
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