The Alpha Roll

From LoveToKnow Dogs

What is an alpha roll? An alpha roll is the act of flipping your dog onto his back and holding his throat. The idea for the alpha rollover technique was born from short-term studies done of wolf packs in the 1940s. Supposedly this training method will teach your that you are alpha and he will respect you for this act. This training method is now thought to be obsolete because it is dangerous for both the human performing the alpha roll and the dog being rolled.

This dog was not alpha-rolled.
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The Alpha Roll Facts

Alpha rolling is now mainly deemed dangerous and unnecessary as a training technique. By performing what seems like an attack to a dog, humans leave themselves vulnerable to a bite to the face, and they lower the trust and respect their dogs have for them. An alpha roll can have dire consequences for dominant or fear aggressive canines. An alpha roll can increase aggression in an already dominant dog. In a submissive dog, the alpha roll will add more feat to the dog's psyche and can lead to submissive urination, loss of trust and possible fear biting. The alpha roll is not a good way to build a sound, healthy relationship. A stable leader shows his dog the rules in a fair, gentle and firm manner, built on clear communications and mutual respect.

In the dog world, the only reason one dog will forcefully flip another dog on its back is to kill it. In the alpha roll over, physical force is used. We see many dogs flip over on their backs of their own accord to show submission, but this action is not the same as the alpha roll. It is completely voluntary. Confusing the two acts is like comparing apples and oranges.

"Alpha" does not mean physically dominant. It means "in control of resources." Many, many alpha dogs are too small or too physically frail to physically dominate. They have earned the right to control the valued resources in their domain without using physical prowess. You can be the alpha in your house without using the alpha roll.

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Alternative Training

There are more constructive ways to train a dog to accept your leadership. Young puppies benefit from early socialization with people and other dogs. By offering your puppy exposure to a variety of new situations during this crucial development period, he'll learn to adapt easier to other changes that may come along later in life. This is easily accomplished by enrolling your pet in a puppy socialization class at your local dog training facility.

Older puppies, typically at least four to six months old, and even adult dogs benefit greatly from basic obedience training. This course teaches you how to teach your dog a standard set of commands that will give you better control over his behavior. The course is not designed to increase your dominance over your pet, but rather to increase your leadership skills. When trained in a positive environment, your dog will develop a deep trust in you and happily obey your commands. This allows you to keep his attention when he may be otherwise distracted, and it could just save his life in a dangerous situation.

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Comments

Hi Sammy,

No, I don't think the original writer had any special agenda in the gender language. However, as the editor of this channel, I don't agree with the personification of the dog, so I have removed that section.

Thanks for your input, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the site. :)

Kelly Roper, Group Editor with LoveToKnow

-- Contributed by: Kelly

Is there a reason why you characterized your bad human example as a female and why your good doggie as a male?


-- Contributed by: Sammy

i think the views were a bit bias.... i view the "holding a dog LIGHTLY from its chest (not actually its neck to choke), making it immovable, without hurting it" as a part of play, not a technique created to be used on dogs to train them..... , i used to play like that with my dog... not because i had the intention to train him and correct him.... for me, it was only a part of a game like of playing hide & seek with my friends.... we played a lot, and ran around chasing, and i would catch him down and then his turn would come and he would catch me too.. with his fangs of course, but when dog knows its a play he can never hurt anybody...... i would hold him down on his back sometimes if i had to get my socks from his mouth.....hold him with a little more strength when he was reluctant to go to the vet… i was never hurt… we had the trust between us …….i'm not saying that i used "alpha roll" to build the trust, but i would play with him a lot... because he was the only dog in my house, i would try to play like a dog with him, to try to act like his dog play mate and to understand him... and i would hold him down from his chest or tickle him as a part of our play… sometimes, whole of my wrist would be in his mouth but i never got a bruise… i think that is how dogs love to play, showing off their skills, strength and cunningness..….we never played the ball fetching game….... i know it sounds weird but i don't think there's anything wrong with playing with a dog in a a dog's way, and as his playmate, not just as a human owner... therefore, i don't view "alpha roll" as a bad thing.....as i think that that's the way dogs play, understand, learn and start rethinking, having new opinions..... if an example is needed, then we can look at any dog moms... they don't always groom their pups out of love, to show their worth or so that they can teach them things easily.... when time comes to discipline their pups, they can do anything from, growling, yanking or biting legs or holding other from their neck or chest..... this isn't necessarily a bad thing just because we, humans don't act that way to our children......... it's just the way dogs communicate, from the BODY LANGUAGE, not always the words........ only thing is that it should not be taken as a TECHNIQUE created for a human..... and use just because you think its a technique to train/ tame your dog...... the way i view it is as a part of how you communicate with your dog...... not as a technique or a punishment for dogs.... and i don't think it necessarily means to choke dogs with killing intent whether it's to communicate or correct or train... i don't think it is necessarily an attack……. it's a good thing that "alpha roll" is called dangerous because otherwise, people would just try to do it calling it a technique and would just create a lot of casualties.... but i couldn't really understand some of the points you made............ maybe i'm just totally wrong or stupid or just childish...

-- Contributed by: ikchha
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