Learn About the Myth of the Alpha Roll and Why You Should Never Use It For Dog Discipline

By Lynn Whinery, Bonza Canine Education

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the so-called Alpha Roll — and justifiably so since this outdated method never made any sense in the first place! Having studied the history of this maneuver and its theoretical origins, I think I can set a few things straight. I invite any correction to the information I provide here.

Alpha Dog Training:
What is a True Alpha Roll?
Is it an exercise done to a dog by a human. There are several variations, but the main steps would go something like this:

A) The Alpha Roll helps you to establish dominance over your dog. You do this by making the dog helpless and physically forcing it to stay in a belly-up position. This supposedly established you as the "Alpha" and "breaks the dog's will."

B) Place the dog in a Down. Very quickly roll the dog on its back and hold it there until it submits by lying still and looking away from your face.

C) Hold the dog in this position for several minutes. If the dog tries to get up or struggles, hold it down tightly and do not let it get up! It is testing your dominance.

D) Once in the belly-up position, some of the added niceties that are recommended are to: A) Pin the dog down by holding its neck. B) Growl at the dog. C) Shake the dog by the scruff of the neck.

Who Originated the Technique: Alpha Roll History
The technique has been around since the 1960s at least. It was one of the poisonous offsprings of a wolf behavioral study done in the 1950s. This is the infamous and, in retrospect, highly flawed wolf study that produced the concept of Pack Theory, which involves, along with other ideas, the concepts that there is a strict social hierarchy in wolf packs, that the Alpha wolf maintains this hierarchy by controlling all resources and bullying this subordinates, and that when necessary the Alpha attacks or fights his subordinate pack members to maintain his leadership.

This study also popularized the ideas of dogs being either "dominant" or "submissive." So many mistaken assumptions and conclusions were based on this study, that it would take a dozen posts to review them! Suffice it to say that more modern wolf studies have found this view of wolves to be highly exaggerated and inaccurate.

The most serious repercussion of Pack Theory was that it was immediately applied to dogs, who were thought at that time to be direct descendants of wolves. (See Coppinger, "Dogs," for a refutation of this claim.) So when we use any of the assumptions of Pack Theory to analyze or train our dogs, we must realize that we are using---a flawed and obsolete theory that was based on an incorrect interpretation and faulty observations of a single wolf pack 50 years ago; that was then applied to dogs without testing or questioning whether dogs behaved the same as wolves! (The clincher is that *wolves* don't even behave like the wolves in the study!)

When "How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend" was published in the mid-1970s by the monks of the New Skete Monastery, the Alpha Roll was recommended in their book. Since the book was a popular seller and was in many ways a positive training book for its time, it became a classic, and the Alpha Roll lived on!

However, the majority of the book was written by one monk, Job Michael Evans. He eventually left the monastery and continued to train dogs, but after the book was published, he entirely changed his mind about the Alpha Roll and was said to have greatly regretted its inclusion in the book. He actively attempted, unsuccessfully, to persuade the publisher to remove it from subsequent printings.

Finally, a new revised and updated edition of "How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners" by the Monks of New Skete was published recently, and the Alpha Roll was deleted from the text. Unfortunately, Job Michael Evans passed away before seeing this long-overdue vindication of his change of heart.

The technique was referred to as the "alpha-wolf rollover" originally by the Monks. In the new addition, the following comments are made about the technique:

"We no longer recommend this technique and strongly discourage its use to our clients... It is potentially very dangerous and can set up the owner for a serious bite in the face (or worse), particularly with a dominant dog. The conditions in which it might be used effectively are simply too risky and demanding for the average dog owner; there are other ways of dealing with problem behavior that are much safer and, in the long run, just as effective."

"There is always the chance that autocratic dog owners, having learned discipline techniques, will misuse them. Watch yourself -- owners who are physically or verbally domineering wind up with cringing, neurotic dogs."

Unlike the Monks, there are still many training books and trainers out there that advocate that the Alpha Roll as well as other "dominance" techniques be used by owners to put their dog in its place and enforce discipline through the macho method of dominating the dog.

Meanwhile, over the past years, the idea of positive training has become a popular alternative to the adversarial training methods of the past. Virtually EVERY modern canine behaviorist and modern trainer now advocate positive reinforcement as the heart of any training program.