[Rant] I’m so sick of non-dog owners “educating” me about how I need to show my dog I’m the alpha and be domineering

@johnykirty Yes!! I tried being nice at first and I saw the trend of certain people wanted to argue even more w me so now I’m just like uh huh, yea have a good time I’d rather be w my dog. lol you’re a much better person than I am! I don’t think I could say “I appreciate you want to help” bc usually I want to say “you’re a dumb a$$” or “stfu!” when I try to be polite I say “actually Milan is heavily criticized in the dog behavior community bc his methods are harmful and terrorizing, there are hundreds of books all about reactivity that go against this one man’s horrible methods” … of course it all falls on deaf ears or they try to talk over me.

@laguna_greg I find there’s no point in trying to educate or enlighten these people bc they’re arrogant, aggressive, and hell bent on being right. I laugh inside bc it’s like right, so you think you going off on me about how I’m a bad dog owner is going to want to have me join you in whatever it is you’re inviting me too? F*ck off, I don’t want to be around to hear more stupidity lol thanks for your comment it really made me feel supported

@kaccy My dog has a "move" command which basically means "gtfo of the way" because his favorite thing is to stand in front of you in a tight space and wag his tail and slowly moonwalk while you try to get him to move out of the way.

Was at a friend's and he was engaging in his favorite passtime and didn't move when I said it the first time. So my friend goes "use your alpha voice!" and I couldn't help but laugh. Wtf does that even mean?

Dominance theory is so dumb. It doesn't work. Non dog owners don't get it because of how wildly popular it used to be, especially with Cesar Milan and early Victoria Stilwell.

The best you can do is shrug it off. Changing minds is nearly impossible especially if they have based their view on a "credible source."

@tonyluc2021 Wowwww “use your alpha voice” lmao!! Some people, right?? That’s what these acquaintances were saying to me!! I need to having a booming dominance over my dog so he knows I’m boss. Why the hell would I want to scare my dog when he trusts me so much?? Thanks for your comment and support, I appreciate you sharing w me!

@kaccy I read into the actual nature of a wolf pack one day because I felt certain this logic was a discovery channel fallacy.

Dominance is not being assertive and coarse in the moment. Or maybe it is and we can forget the word entirely when it comes to relationships with a domestic animal.

Your dog begins to understand you provide it sustenance nearly every meal of its life. You provide it shelter, stimuli, and love. You have complete authority over your dog by the nature of things. Sure, dogs are not good at generalizing, and sometimes need demonstration.

I believe that you can't get any more dominant than you are as an owner. To "act" dominant is foolish, impatient, finnicky nonsense.

@xrustyx THIS!!!! Yessssss!!! Thank you!!!!

I honestly feel like my dog looks to me as a leader bc he knows he’s completely dependent on me. He’s got great recall (when he’s not triggered), he walks next to me or follows me everywhere but will want me to go ahead of him to lead the way, he waits on me, and I don’t know, to me it’s very clear that he sees me as his loving owner that I don’t need to break his trust or make him feel uneasy/uncomfortable/scared/nervous by being aggressive towards him. Absolute rubbish! I find dogs respond so much better to love and nurture than threats and yelling! Thanks for your comment and letting me vent this out. I really appreciate your comment

@kaccy If they don't have a PhD I tell them to F off I work in a neurodevelopmental lab doing actual animal behavior work. It's that or dump a ton of technical jargon on how they're wrong.

@txlove LMAO trust me deep down I want to be so rude and be like oh I’m sorry you’re stupid enough to believe that sht, please fck off and stop talking down to me about me and my dog!

P.s. really cool work you do!! Do tell me more!!

@kaccy My least favorite thing about this is that you dog should meet your expectations not other peoples.