How Is Pack Behavior in Dogs Manifested?

Dogs are pack animals. In the wild, the survival of the individual depends on it being part of a pack. A lone dog in the wild cannot hunt as successfully or repel predators as forcefully as a pack. A well-ordered, settled pack is vital to survival. Infighting wastes energy and risks unnecessary injury. For this reason, much of a dog's natural instinct is geared toward pack harmony. These instincts are linked to survival. Understanding them will help you understand why your dog behaves the way it does.

  1. Dominance

    • This is aggression, rather than dominance. It's important to know the difference.

      Packs have a hierarchy. The dominant male eats first and typically mates with the dominant female. Although dogs are domesticated now, their instinct to establish an order remains strong. Dominance must not be mistaken for aggression. It is a dog's way of asserting itself among the pack. Pack hierarchy, once established, is rarely broken. Dogs are happiest when they know which pack members are their superior and which are their subordinate. If you have two dogs and one "bullies" the other, pushes past it or steals its toys, this is natural behavior. Don't interfere with it.

    Submissiveness

    • Submissiveness is opposite of dominance. Showing the belly, moving out of the way and bowing the head are all signs of a dog ceding superiority. Your dog may do this to family members and to other dogs in the house. It is not a sign of weakness, but a sign that the dog is happy with the order of the pack and doesn't wish to challenge for superiority.

    Separation Anxiety

    • Howling is a natural manifestation of pack behavior.

      Since the pack is so intrinsically linked to survival, dogs have a strong aversion to being isolated. You can train your anxious dog by showing it that being isolated isn't permanent, but the initial anxiety is entirely natural. A dog with separation anxiety may howl, scratch at the door, become destructive and in extreme cases, urinate on the floor. Never punish inappropriate urination, since it compounds the anxiety.

    Barking

    • Barking is a manifestation of pack behavior. If a dog becomes separated from the pack, or misunderstands which group is the pack, it will bark to identify itself. In the wild, the first reaction to becoming separated from the pack is to bark. Pack mates hear this and bark back, and the dog then follows the sound and is reunited with the pack. Barking is also a way for dogs in the pack to communicate. A dog barks to communicate alarm, fear or stress and to initiate play.

    Food-aggression

    • The more senior the dog, the sooner it eats. In the wild, this is manifested by lower-ranked dogs waiting patiently to eat scraps while the dominant ones gorge. In the house, a dominant dog may become aggressive if it is fed at the same time and in the same place as an inferior dog. While not intentional, the top dog may see this as a challenge to its seniority.