Alpha What?

Let me make this as clear as possible:
Stop.  Alpha Rolling.  Your.  Dog.

When all other aspects of your relationship with your dog scream that you have no control of the situation, your sudden launch of attack is confusing.  Not only is it confusing, it is dangerous.  It is an emotional battle you don't need to fight with your dog. 


Yes, I know you saw it on Dog Whisperer, but let me tell you something about Cesar Millan:  He knows what he is doing, and to which dogs.  I do wish that the warning they run at the beginning of his shows, you know, the one about not attempting the techniques you see unless under the guidance of a professional, would be put up in the middle of the episodes before you watch something like a 'roll.'   You may be rolling your dog, when what you really need is to learn how to exercise better pack structure in all other areas of your relationship with your dog.  Or did you forget all the stuff he said to the family on the show about how important Exercise, Structure and how you conduct Your Energy is to your dog because you were so impressed with how 'calm' the roll made the dog on t.v......

Or maybe your "trainer" told you to roll your puppy, but forgot to explain at what point you need to let it up, or let it go, or to stop doing it altogether.  So there you are, thinking you are "controlling" things, when really, you are scaring the tar out of your poor dog, or holding it down so long that it has past the point of any lesson it may have gained, and is growing angry:  More apt to struggle and to bite, and to dislike interacting with you.

The Alpha Roll in a natural setting only happens when one wolf is actually going to seriously injure or damage another wolf.  What observing scientists originally saw was play, and sometimes a subordinate dog rolling himself over to show belly in a gesture of apology to a higher ranking member of the pack.  Rolling your dog is a great way to get bit.  It's a good way to create submissive urination issues too.

In Nature, there are no lectures.  We, as a reasoning species, tend to want to 'drive a point home' too long when dealing with our dogs.  We stand there with our stern faces and loud, angry voices and lecture our dogs well past the actual correction.  "Bad Dog!  What the heck is wrong with you?!  Do you see this mess?!  Do You?!!!  Bad Dog!?  Look at me when I'm talking to you!  Bad!  No! NO! No!" 

 

Chicken and beef.
The time it took for you to read that phrase, is about how long a correction would last in a natural pack.

You are not a dog, and while I do advocate communicating with your dog with body language that your dog can more easily understand, I still realize I am a Human.  I am not going to get on all fours and snarl at my dog over an incident of "dominance."  That's a great way to invite my dog to fight me like he would another dog who challenged him....And something tells me he's faster than me.

Not only that, but if I'm using nonsense like that, my dog expects all other Humans to communicate to him like that, and if they don't, then he may not respect them; he may choose to challenge them, or to try and boss them when visiting my home.

There are many, many ways to gain your dogs respect and get control of his or her behavior that don't require you to physically smash them into the floor.  Stop it.