When you were a kid, were you ever made to say uncle? That meant being pinned down, or put in a physical and emotional position that hurt, and until you said the word “uncle,” you remained in pain.
I was in a position like this once. I was in 6th grade. I had a male relative, around my age, who was not as tall as I was, and somehow got a grip on me. “Say uncle!” he laughed. I refused. Each time, he pulled my arm tighter, I got angrier and angrier until my face was red. I was forced to say uncle to escape the escalating pain, but when he let me loose, I let loose on him.
Do you know some trainers use this “say uncle” game to dog train? Inflicting pain and releasing pain are two of four techniques to teach anyone a lesson. And you really can’t release pain without inflicting pain, so the two go together.
Think about the archaic and ineffective technique of turning a dog on its back and holding it there till it relents, which is an equivalent game to saying uncle. It’s supposed to emulate an alpha dog rolling the subservient dog on its back and holding it there to express the alpha’s power. But this does not happen between dogs or wolves. What can happen is a submissive dog offers a roll or other appeasement gestures to communicate to the more confident animal that it means no harm. But there is no forceful rolling going on.
Here is a slide show of a submissive wolf abandoning a meal to the more confident pack member. The submissive wolf relents of its own free will.
If you force a dog into the so-called alpha roll position, you are creating severe mental stress and physical discomfort to the dog, like I was in with my adolescent relative in the example above. Plus the dog has no idea what you’re trying to teach it except to be on the defensive when you approach. When using the alpha roll, you’re putting yourself in harm’s way like my family member was in after he let me go.
Did you ever think about how much damage an average-sized dog could do if he wanted to? More often than not, a dog has more composure over what humans do to them than we humans would have being put in the same situation. Don’t push your luck. Don’t do alpha rolls.
Another example of saying uncle training is when a dog is yanked to the ground by its choke or pinch collar and held there to manhandle it into lying down. It’s eventually released when the human stomping down on the leash decides to let go. The same thing can be said for a dog on a shock collar crossing the line of an electric fence. It is inflicted with a shock until it either bolts through the invisible fence line or backs off. It receives pain until it complies then it’s given relief.
These are techniques being used by some people who train dogs. And if you select such a person as your trainer, you’ll be paying them for this abuse. Before you choose a dog trainer, find out if your dog will be subjected to pain and the release of pain to train. Is this what you want your dog to go through in the name of learning? Love Wags A Tail never uses say uncle techniques to train dogs. Contact us.
Helen Verte Schwarzmann
Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Your Board-and-Train Dog Trainer for Weston, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, and Hollywood in Broward county south Florida
