What does Alpha mean?

Folks, I get to see a lot of dogs.  I meet lots of different personalities, and lots of variations on the perception of where that particular dog sits in the pack order.  What I see a lot of, unfortunately, are dogs who have been labeled "Dominant" or "Alpha," by people who either think bad behavior can be explained away by those terms, or by people who observed a more pushy pup, and immediately labeled it this way.

This is usually incorrect.
I know I have touched on this subject before, but the last time I did, we were discussing 'dominant.' This time, I'd like to talk about the word Alpha.  The word itself is Greek.  It is the first letter of the Grecian alphabet, and it has become a synonym for "first" or "top-dog" to the English speaking peoples.  In an animal society, the alpha is usually the highest ranking individual, or pair, and the other members of the society defer to them.  They commonly enjoy "firsts;" First to eat, most desirable mate, best place to sleep, etc.

In a dog's world, there are very few true Alpha's.  We have bred that tendency right out of them.  We have selectively bred our pets to defer to Us.  We are, in essence, the Alpha of the household.  Now, we can make mistakes, by not giving our dogs boundaries and not training them, and give the dog the unfortunate idea that we need them to assume the role.  But because we have done such a great job of removing their leadership capabilities, they are terrible at it, and thus, become "out of control," or socially unstable.  They make bad choices, but they are working with whatever they can.  Sort of like taking the weakest, most disorganized guy at the office, and suddenly making him a CEO.

A dog with a truly Alpha characteristic does not have to prove it.  They are usually aloof, and don't enjoy working for a person.  They are their own boss after all.  She shows up at the park, ignores the other dogs, and it seems she never shows belly, or submission of any kind.  You won't see many snarls and snaps, it's like the other dogs instinctively know she is not to be messed with.

But this kind of behavior can also be breed specific (take the Basenji--little dude is practically wild, and not very interested in doing anything that doesn't serve him) or even fear-based.  A dog who appears uninterested in being around Humans, or is rude to other dogs in a home, may be socially insecure.  A dog who refuses to work for you, may not be even close to Alpha, but rather he may just be trying to communicate that the method you have chosen is not compatible with him as an individual.

When the term was originally tagged onto canine packs, the scientists that were using it were observing captive wolves.  These wolves were not from the same family, and as a result, were presenting behaviors that were later proved to be very imbalanced from what a healthy, wild pack shows us.  Constantly trying to take the spot as 'alpha' is not what lower ranking members typically do.  Naturally they saw more fights than would present themselves in the wild; those wolves may actually have been too many high-ranking individuals from different packs, in one captive space.  Wolves in their own family unit work more cohesively than that.  These observations and the labeling thereof, have not completely cycled their ways out of the vernacular of some trainers, as they are still using old models for behavioral modification.  *see my article "Alpha What?!" from earlier posting*

In my opinion, it is true that you must be the boss in the relationship with your dog.  This doesn't mean that you have to physically dominate the animal.  This doesn't mean that, if you actually do have an "alpha" personality on your hands, you can't have a wonderful working relationship with that dog.  It just means you may have to work a little harder; be more on your game in certain situations. You will need to give your dog more "jobs."  If you have a dog who is constantly challenging you, or being too pushy, or is constantly attempting to "rule" the other dogs in your house, not only is that an insecure personality, you may be looking at a "Social Climber."

Social Climbers will never be satisfied with their position in the pack.  It won't matter what kind of structure you offer, this dog will always be trying to do things his way or the fight-way.  These kinds of dogs are even more rare then the so-called Alpha's.  And they are dangerous.  An 'alpha' is predictable.  The Social Climber not-so-much.

A dog who is constantly scrapping with your other dogs can also be suffering from the following:
Fear
Anxiety
Bully-syndrome (like the kid who takes your lunch money)
Lack of confidence
Not Enough Exercise
Resource Guarding
Lack of Pack Structure
Poor Nutrition
Genetic Issues, such as seizures, or neurological imbalance
Rage Syndrome (very rare, and still not scientifically proven to a satisfactory degree; but none-the-less, supported by some veterinarians, and shown to be more prevalent in certain breeds)
Poor Leadership from You
May not be cut out for living with other dogs, and is being forced to.....

You can see where blaming this on simply Alpha or Dominant is grossly incorrect.  Even that list is not complete.

A puppy who pushes his brothers and sisters around at the breeders, may be labeled "alpha."  He gets all the food first, he takes the best spot near mom, etc.  But that same pup may be a totally different guy when you take him home.  He may not be an "alpha" at all.  And just because he was pushing his brothers and sisters around, did not make him alpha.  He may be the most bold, or rambunctious, but at that age, it is very rare that someone can accurately label the grown potential of your dog's personality.  After all, it has been proven that how the animal is raised, trained, and kept, has a far greater bearing on your end result then what they come in with.  Sure, there are some things that genetically you will deal with, a shy or fearful pup for instance, or one that freaks out and bites to get his way, but these are things that can be behaviorally modified through proper handling.

So, the bottom line?
If you have a dog that someone has labeled Alpha...Perhaps it may be time to get a second or even a third opinion.  If the training approach that was presented to you is creating more stress, or the dog is just not getting better at all, it is time to reevaluate.