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Old October 19th, 2004, 08:51 AM
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Question Alpha Roll?

Forgive me for this one. Whenever I would read the term "alpha roll" in a post, I always had an image in my mind of a training philosophy - taking the word "roll" to mean "place in the pack" (ie. "you have to take on the alpha roll in your household"). A recent post lead me to believe that it was actually a physical manouver (ie. roll on the floor). Could someone clarify this term for me? What exactly is an "Alpha Roll"??
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Old October 19th, 2004, 09:04 AM
sammiec sammiec is offline
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W4F it is a physical manouver. What it is is the human takes the dog and forcfully puts it on its back pinning it to the ground. It's very dangerous because if you have an aggressive dog it would probably bite. This manouver causes the owner to have the dogs face literally in theirs leaving a very good opportunity for the dog to strike.
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Old October 19th, 2004, 09:06 AM
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LavenderRott LavenderRott is offline
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It is very important that you play the Alpha Role in your household!

An alpha roll is when you flip your misbehaving dog off it's feet, onto it's back and (hopefully) hold it there until it calms down. This is a very dangerous move as a fearful dog or aggressive dog will most certainly defend itself with every means possible. For your dog, that means his teeth. Since most people accomplish this move by wrapping an arm around the dogs throat and the other over it's back, you have just put YOUR FACE closest to those teeth!
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Old October 19th, 2004, 09:16 AM
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Thanks for the spelling correction, LavRott! I'm usually pretty diligent about that sort of stuff, but that one got by me.

Good Lord! That sounds awful! I'm sooo glad Phoebe's a big suck. That sounds very old-school - right up there with "rub their nose in the mess - that'll teach them not to pee in the house"!
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Old October 19th, 2004, 10:00 AM
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moontamara moontamara is offline
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actually, worked great with Casey when he was little... but then again, we're talking about a toy poodle and at that age I could hold him down with one hand while reading a book with the other... I wouldn't recommend it with an agressive adult (especially large breed) dog, of course!
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Old October 19th, 2004, 10:09 AM
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My brother has 4 large boxers that I am scared poopless of them cause of their size and he has to keep the Alpha Role alive in his house. I have never had a dog that needed that TG cause I am such a softy when comes to me dogs but they are well behaved and trained well. It's funny people laugh at me when I remind Blaze to use his manners when people come in our home, that means no jumping and he know's how to use his manners. It also means no begging he knows that well too.
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Old October 19th, 2004, 10:55 AM
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Yikes, that is something I most definately owuld never want to do.
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Old October 19th, 2004, 02:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Writing4Fun
Forgive me for this one. Whenever I would read the term "alpha roll" in a post, I always had an image in my mind of a training philosophy - taking the word "roll" to mean "place in the pack" (ie. "you have to take on the alpha roll in your household"). A recent post lead me to believe that it was actually a physical manouver (ie. roll on the floor). Could someone clarify this term for me? What exactly is an "Alpha Roll"??

Hi, I would be happy to help. The term "Alpha Roll" (not 'role') means to intentionally roll the dog on his back - sometimes in an aggressive manner - and hold him there until you get some sort of sign that he is submitting to you. It is often used to correct bad behavior or aggressive attitudes in dogs. We believe it is over used and should only be used as the very last effort to correct dominance aggression and only by someone who knows what they are doing.
We promote an exercise that we call the "Love and Trust Roll" - It is when you place your dog on his back between your legs and give him a nice massage. This places the dog in a vulnerable position and teaches him to trust you while you give him a loving massage. This promotes trust and teaches him to relax while you examine him, trim his nails and spend a nice time together without resorting to aggression.
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Old October 19th, 2004, 04:10 PM
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Thanks, Tenderfoot. I certainly have no need for the "Alpha Roll" in my house - as I said, Phoebe is a huge suck. The "Love and Trust Roll" sounds like something we've been doing since she was a pup without even knowing it.

By the way, are you the "Tenderfoot Training" in Marko's newest forum?
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Old October 19th, 2004, 04:25 PM
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tenderfoot tenderfoot is offline
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Yes, we are Tenderfoot Training

Yes, we are Tenderfoot Training. We met Marko recently at the Pet Trade show in Chicago and he liked our methods - so we are now going to be a part of Pet.ca and trying to help people have a better and more balanced relationship with their dogs. Check out our web site for more information on our philosphy. Tenderfoottrainng.com
Sounds like you are already doing great things with your dog!
Let us know if we can ever help.
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Old October 19th, 2004, 05:33 PM
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melanie melanie is offline
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just wondering, when my baby was a pup i was told if she was going crazy and naughty i was to pick her up and hold her back down like a baby in my arms till she stopped moving then put her down again, is that the same thing??

ah i think i would break something doing that these days :love: but shei s good girl so no need anyway
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Old October 22nd, 2004, 07:47 PM
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Yes it is. Basically you are helping her calm down in that situation and she learns that when she relaxes and calms down then she is released - so calmness and patience on her part wins, not arguing.
We do the "Love & Trust Roll" at no particular time in her behavior pattern. It is simply that I need to teach them to trust me in their most vulnerable position in a kind manner. Again calmness is what releases them and from there I keep them in the position a little longer each time as I massage them and examine their teeth, ears, etc. It should become a nice time for both of you. My dogs line up when they see its time for the roll. They can't wait for the attention to be lavished on them.
I am so happy you have such a great dog, sounds like you did a great job raising her.
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