Ok, this little tidbit is one of THE easiest ways to assert your dominance in the pack multiple times every day- without having to get a leash out, or take any real time out of your routine...

In the article, part of the list of "dominant behaviors" are these:

Persistence about going in and out of doorways before humans

Persistence about walking in front of humans while on a lead

Persistence about getting through the doorway first
I train all my dogs to obey the word "wait". (wait is similar to "stay"... but doesn't mean that the dog MUST stay in place, no matter what. On a farm, with working dogs, it's a safety issue- there have been dogs killed because they were obedient in a "stay"... even as the herd of cattle ran over them and killed them. I do teach stay... I just don't use it in many situations)

Anyway... when you get a new dog, EVERY TIME you both are going to go through a door, or up or down stairs, make the dog WAIT. I use the "stay" signal with my hand (open palm, facing the dog, pushed towards their face in a "stop" signal) and say "wait".. and then I make them stay waiting until I go through the door, or get to the top (or bottom) of the stairs. I then say "ok, that'll do. Come!"... and praise them when they come to me. (that'll do is a Border Collie/working dog command. For real working Borders, they don't use "come" as a command, because "come by" means "go around the flock clockwise". So for Borders, "that will do" means "stop working, and come to me". I use it to mean "you did it... now quit". If I decide I want to start training Borders for herding sheep, I'm going to have to retrain ME, and find a different command for "come".

Now, I sort of lied... you MUST take enough time when you start this to enforce it! The first few times, make a real point of having enough time to show the dog what you want, and then make it stick.

But after the dog understands the basics, then it's just up to you to keep it up- and that means always making the dog wait to go until you are through.

This can be a real safety issue... the last thing anyone needs is a dog dashing through their legs while they're climbing the stairs!

All of this is minor- but absolutely non-negotiable if you want to have a dog who is a delight to have around, not a constant aggravation. I swear, I've repeated "no paws" and "don't jump" to Dixie a thousand times... maybe ten thousand. But the result is, at a little over a year old, she now sits at anyone's feet, rather than jumping all over them. And she has replaced the pawing for attention and jumping up with a mild "nose bump" into your leg if she's feeling ignored.

I acknowledge the "request" for petting/attention about half the time by giving her a few minutes of loving... and the other half telling her "not now, I'm busy. Go lie down". EVERY positive thing you give the dog needs to be on YOUR terms... not an automatic response to their demand.

And, as always... the vast majority of dogs won't become a dangerous problem even if the humans don't hold the Alpha spot. They won't necessarily be nice dogs to own or keep, but they won't show overt aggression. With most people, they don't have to!! The owners let them have their way over almost everything!

But with a dog who has those dominant Alpha tendencies, the humans MUST "win" pretty much every encounter (and until you get it sorted out who is boss, EVERY encounter will be at least a minor battle). Obviously, a big dog who is also Alpha is more dangerous than a toy dog with the same disposition, but you might be surprised (Meemur wouldn't be!!) at how many truly NASTY small dogs are out there. Too often, the owner thinks they're fragile, and their nasty behavior is seen as "cute". The end result is a nasty dog who really isn't at all happy, and an owner who either wonders what happened, or who is in complete denial (the dog is chewing the hell out of guest's ankles, and the owner is saying 'oh, don't hurt Fluffy!")

(read James Herriot's books for some absolutely hilarious stories, including several about some truly SPOILED small dogs!)

Summerthyme