Dog Social Hierarchy Behavior

Dogs that form part of a wild pack live within a dog social hierarchy that is organized in order starting by a leader. The biggest, strongest, and smarter ones become the dominant ones, while the weaker and less apt ones serve the role of subordinates. A social structure of hierarchy insures that the bigger and stronger dogs get the best food, have access to the best places to sleep in and have the opportunity to produce offspring and transmit their genes over to the next generation.

Top dogs: The ancestors of our dogs, wolves, naturally have a strong sense of hierarchy. Knowing this reduces the amount of fights within the pack because each member is perfectly aware of his place and they are very careful not to cross that line. This type of sense is an important tool wolves use in order to survive especially since wolves have very powerful jaws that are capable of inflicting terrible wounds. Fewer fights within a pack allow the pack to work together in order to hunt enough prey to ensure the survival of the whole pack.

Companion dogs type: Companion dogs are very happy once they know what and are clear about their hierarchy status is within a family and they have no problem whatsoever remaining this way. There are dogs that live within big families that learn that their place within that family is to be under everyone else and who live very happily (there are even dogs that allow the cat to be above their status!) A dog that has learned this, is a friendly and good-natured dog that feels content doing whatever his owners command him to do and he allows his human family to make all the decisions and take full responsibility over him. 

Children dogs type: If you have children, it is very important you teach them the correct way to treat the dog and for the dog to learn that the children are above him. A dog that has learned this has no problem obeying orders from a child and going where the child wants to go etc. Remember that dogs grow to be a lot stronger than children so it is very important they learn from the moment they are puppies.