What you think alpha rolling does to your dog
As you’ve probably been led to believe by reading a dated book, or by watching the more recent “Dog Whisperer” by Cesar Millan, you’re under the impression that your dog needs to be told who’s in charge and that the best way to do that, is via an alpha roll. In your head (and I don’t blame you), this will effectively establish you as the “pack leader”, and the dog will be content now knowing it’s proper place in the “pack hierarchy”.
Ask a Professional Trainer: Do Alpha Rolls Work?
Alpha rolls do not work.
What alpha rolls claim to do boils down to displaying dominance while telling the dog not to do a particular behavior.
But this is not what is communicated to a dog who is being alpha rolled.
While alpha rolling a dog may interrupt her behavior, it does not inform a dog exactly what she did that the person didn’t like. In fact, the experience is so terrifying to the dog that the learning part of her mind turns off as the survival fight/flight/freeze portion takes over.
Since a dog being alpha rolled cannot fight or flee, the only option left is to “freeze.” Alpha roll proponents call this “calm submission.”
However, when a dog is forced to submit in this way, she is certainly not calm. Instead, the dog is displaying her abject terror of the situation and the person laying on top of her.
As alpha rolls continue to be used, a dog’s fear of the situation or person grows, and so do her feelings of insecurity. Often, dogs who are alpha rolled eventually display aggressive behaviors fueled by this fear.
Accordingly, alpha rolls tend to do the exact opposite of what proponents say they can accomplish. People who attempt to change their dog’s behavior with alpha rolls are creating a pet who is fearful, anxious, bereft of trust, and is more likely to be aggressive with familiar people.
What you think alpha rolling tells the dog about you
You think that a firm alpha rolls shows the dog that you are strong, and willing to take charge.
How to Pin down a dog / Side submitting dominate dogs! Become alpha and calm down a dog in minutes!
If you are not familiar with the term, an Alpha Roll is when you physically force your dog onto its side or back into a submissive position and hold it there, supposedly to show them that you are the dominant one in the relationship and they should defer to you.
Advocates of the technique liken dogs to wolves and suggest that to have a successful relationship, you must take charge, or your dog will try to assert its dominance over you.
Science-based, force-free training methods, however, are proven to be more effective and also ensure that you develop a much healthier, happier relationship with your dog.