Is Your Dog Dominant or Submissive? Advice from a Dog Obedience Trainer

Anniina is a dog obedience trainer in Sydney and the owner of Eazy Dog Training

When it comes to dominance and submission in the dog world, we step into a very confusing world that is hard for us to determine. As a professional dog obedience trainer in Sydney, I often hear owners often say things like, “He’s an alpha!” or “She’s really submissive with other dogs.” But, just like us, dogs aren’t always in charge or always ready to yield to others. For example, my own dog is a very gentle and tolerant dog – most of the time. She usually ignores other dogs, no matter what they are doing. But recently I’ve noticed her not allowing this one particular bulldog in our area to approach her at all. Which is understandable since this bulldog is a real bully. Most dogs don’t like him and snap at him.

So it seems that “rank” is fluid, and depends on various factors.

DOMINANCE

A dominant dog tries to make himself look as big as possible by standing tall. The body is stiff and hackles may be raised. He may stare. Ears are up and forward. The tail is held high and may be curved over the back. If there is wagging, it is most likely in a stiff, moderate arc. The head or chin may be placed over the shoulder or back of another dog. A dominant dog might even stand over other dogs.

SUBMISSION

A submissive dog wants to make himself appear as small as possible. The body is usually lowered to the ground. Ears are back and eyes are averted. The tail is held low and possibly even tucked. The dog might even lie on his back, exposing his belly.

There is a lot more to the dominance-submission paradigm, however, and it can be very confusing.

As a dog obedience trainer I never determine a dog dominant for training purposes. It’s irrelevant. Dogs don’t consider us to be of their species, they know very well we aren’t. So there’s no need for us to show “who’s dominant”. But understanding dominance and submissive behaviours between dogs when they interact with each other is important for our understanding of canine behaviour.