> Good point about the one person dog theory.
>
> I read that a 100lb dog can overpower a 300lb man. A 3:1 ratio. So I was very scared that my parties could kill me if I allowed them to be alpha. The technique I used was to flip the dog on its back and to not let go until they relaxed, essentially giving up control to me. I raised two lover pit bulls this way.
Most dogs have a hierarchical social system hard-wired into them. They're perfectly willing to be your lieutenant and take orders, but if you don't DO that, the same dog is perfectly willing to take charge and give YOU orders.
Rolling them is an excellent training technique, best started when they are LITTLE puppies -- 3-5 weeks old. I lay them on their backs between my legs, holding them firmly with one hand, petting with the other. BARK a loud NO! If they struggle or bite, maybe shake then a little, like mommy would do.
Then continue to do this regularly, although less and less frequently (to remind them I'm alpha) as they grow up.
Often the hardest time is puberty, when they really start pushing their boundaries to see what they can get away with. But we can end up with a 90-pound "alpha" male who's perfectly happy to go limp on his back in your lap, as long as your lap can tolerate it. <grin>
We also do bite inhibition -- when the 6-week-old bites on a hand, we slip their lips over their sharp little baby teeth, and they quickly figure out that somehow biting *people* hurts their mouth, while biting anything *else* doesn't.
A 100 pound pit cross can crush your forearm -- if the bones don't break, the muscles will at least be seriously damaged. My Borzois -- even the biggest males -- would do very little *crush* damage, but could tear you up pretty well. What they normally do with prey is pick them up by the neck, shake them hard, and fling them across the yard (a 20 pound groundhog, 15-20 feet, a 50 pound dog only about 6-8 feet).
But a 70 pound dog hitting a 200 pound man, pointy end first, at 25 mph, is DEFINITELY going to take him down (I think I have already related the story of a friend who was attacked by a mugger while walking her Borzoi).
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