Dogs have an ingrained pack mentality. If you're not asserting leadership over your dog, your dog will try to compensate by showing dominant or unstable behavior.
Dogs never "think they are humans"...If you are telling people your dog thinks he's a person, chances are he's a dog who knows he's your leader.
In a dog's world, you're either stable or unstable, a leader or a follower.
-- Cesar Milan "Be the Pack Leader"
Recently, I have been reading books about dog behavior and training, and watching TV shows about dogs to better understand my super-energetic, willful 4-year old Cattle Dog/Labrador mix. The training books/shows tend to focus on maintaining a pack leadership relationship to establish control and to train one's dog in spite of his/her genetic traits or away from the bad behaviors he/she has developed. Somehow, intuitively, that just didn't seem right. It was time to research the science of how dogs have developed and if there is anything to the pack leader concept.
A dog is an animal "domesticated". This means that the dog has evolved not just from pure animal genetics but from human ones. The dog's appearance, behavior and preferences are a result of human intervention.
The present-day wolf is not the ancestor of the dog. Instead, they and dogs share a common ancestor. The difference between dogs and present-day wolves are due to centuries and centuries of breeding. Here are some examples of the larger differences between wolves and dogs.
Puppies' eyes don't open for 2-3 weeks. Wolf pups open their eyes in 10 days. This means that dog puppies have more leisure to learn about others and to become accustomed to objects within their view. During this time, they learn who their peers are, how to behave and form attachments. Wolf pups, on the other hand, have a smaller window to determine who is familiar and who is foe.
The dog is a member of the human social group. Dogs socializing with humans is natural. They show a preference or attachment to the primary caregiver (often human) over others. Wolves are born into a pack and leave to find a mate, create a new pack or join an existing pack. Though wolves greet other members of the pack when they reunite after being apart, they don't seem to show attachment to particular figures.
Dogs make eye contact and inspect the human face for information, for reassurance and for guidance. Wolves avoid eye contact.
Stray dogs do not take on wolf-like qualities. They do not self-organize socially into packs. They don't build dens or provide food for their pups as wolves do. Free-ranging dogs may form a social ordering but it is organized by age more than by the victors of battles. Stray dogs do not hunt cooperatively. They scavenge or hunt small prey by themselves.
What the domesticated dog has inherited from wolves is the sociality of a pack. Dogs are social opportunists. They are attuned to the action of others. We humans are pretty communicative and are perfect for dogs to direct their focus. Humans and dogs have become a "benign gang" rather than a pack. We share habits, preferences, homes. We agree to the rules of conduct in our home.
The dog's breed is a huge factor in your dog's appearance, temperament, intelligence, energy level and health. The breed, however, does not guarantee that the dog will behave as genetically created. The breeds fall into seven groups. (See if you can find the breed groups of your dog.)
Herding dogs: These dogs were originally bred to control livestock. They are highly intelligent, independent and energetic.
Hounds: Hounds were originally bred to be hunting dogs -- either sight hounds (with excellent vision, speed and stamina) or scent hounds (with a powerful sense of smell and tracking ability).
Sporting dogs: These dogs were originally bred to be the hunter's helpers by pointing, retrieving or flushing game. They are deeply loyal and highly trainable.
Terriers: Terriers were originally bred to dig, burrow and chase pests and prey. They are tenacious and independent.
Working dogs: Working dogs are the most powerful, bred to perform jobs like guarding, drafting or working with police or military personnel.
Non-sporting dogs: This is a catch-all group for dogs that were once bred for jobs that no longer exists (i.e., Shar-pei, Bulldog, Boston terrier, Dalmatian, Lhasa Apso, Poodle, etc.).
Toy: Many of these breeds have roots in other dog groups but were bred to be pint-size companions. They are protective and loyal.
Understanding the breed helps to identify certain tendencies of the dog. For example, beagles, like all hounds, were bred to chase foxes, rabbits and other small game -- running ahead barking and baying so their owners could follow. They have good communication skills. Barking is their strong point. This means that, as a trainer or owner, you're likely not to take the barking tendency out of the dog but could train him/her to stop barking on command. The Maltese dogs were bred as pampered pets of privileged people -- dogs that would stay near, not take up too much space and make noise if a stranger gets too close. They're not likely to take anyone down but they will get territorial, barking and even biting to protect their owners.
So am I supposed to be a pack leader? In the sense of behaving like a member of a wolf pack, no. Temple Grandin (Ph.D. in animal science), famous for offering insights into animal behavior from her position of the intersection of autism and science, provides the perfect answer to the pack leader mentality:
"Dog owners do need to be the leader, but not because a dog will become the Alpha if they don't. Dog owners need to be the leader the same way parents do. Good parents set limits and teach their kids how to behave nicely, and that's exactly what dogs need, too."
Sources:
Horowitz, Alexandra "Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know"
Grandin, Temple "Animals Make Us Human"
McMillan, Brandon "Lucky Dog Lessons"
Millan, Cesar "Be the Pack Leader"