No wonder many pet owners might get the idea that this is a potentially appropriate response to perceived aggression from the dog.ДЄnd, this same performer often delivers this type of consequence for behavior described as вЂњdominant.вЂќ I donвЂ™t doubt that he might describe normal puppy biting as вЂњdominant.вЂќ So again, itвЂ™s no wonder that a pet owner might be led to perceive normal puppy biting as вЂњdominant,вЂќ and to respond in a way heвЂ™d seen repeatedly modeled on TV. In some clips, you can literally see the dogвЂ™s tongue turning blue after some time on the ground. You can watch, on YouTube and the National Geographic website, as this entertainer grabs dogs and pushes or slams them onto the ground. On the other hand, every week, millions of people watch a television star who often performs maneuvers very like the one that killed this puppy. Realistically, though, not many people read that book any more. However, the original edition is still out there I recently saw a client whoвЂ™d done a few alpha rolls on her young dog, based on that very book, which sheвЂ™d picked up secondhand. The second edition, much more recent, retracted that advice with an apology. Where, then, would an owner get the idea this was a good tactic? One popular dog training book by The Monks of New Skete advocated the вЂњalpha rollвЂќ in its first edition, about three decades ago. There are numerous other safer, saner and more effective ways to influence your dogвЂ™s behavior. Wolves may do it, but they do so extremely rarely but in any case, dogs are not wolves and even if they were, we are not wolves and do not remotely understand how and when to apply this type of serious, dangerous consequence. Dogs simply do not use вЂњholding each other downвЂќ or вЂњrolling other dogs overвЂќ as a way of punishing or enforcing status. It can also be dangerous to the dog, as in this case, where the size and strength disparity was extreme. Holding a large adult dog down puts the personвЂ™s face near the dogвЂ™s mouth, and a dog who panics, or decides not to put up with the human aggression, is very likely to target the face simply because itвЂ™s nearby. The danger can be to the person if the dog is an adult, particularly a large one. ItвЂ™s developmentally normal and almost never вЂњaggressive.вЂќ (Serious aggression in puppies this age is so rare that it causes a flurry on trainer email lists if observed many trainers simply never have seen it.) Second, holding a dog or puppy down as a form of discipline is dangerous and unnecessary. ItвЂ™s reasonable to conclude that the owner believed two things: First, that the bite to the nose was a seriously unacceptable, even aggressive act that justified severe discipline and second, that holding a puppy down with severe force is an appropriate way to discipline a dog, including a ten-week old puppy.Д«oth of these propositions are false. It appears this holding-down maneuver was intended as a consequence for a bite to the girlfriendвЂ™s nose. If we acce pt the description given, the owner deliberately held the puppy down, using quite a lot of force. Certainly, this does not match the description given. Perhaps he was really angry and lost his temper, badly enough to kill the puppy. Without further information, of course, we do not know what motivated the owner. According to the officer, the puppy was taken to an emergency vet where he вЂњcouldnвЂ™t walk, was breathing poorly and had reddish saliva and blue gums.вЂќ The puppy died. According to the article, the owner admitted holding the 10-week old Labrador puppy down for 20 seconds after the puppy bit the ownerвЂ™s girlfriend on the nose, causing what the Animal Services officer called вЂњa minor scratch.вЂќ.

I read a tragic news article: вЂњPuppy Owner Pleads Not Guilty for Choking Animal to Death,вЂќ Associated Press, February 26, 2010.

Dog trainer slams dog on ground