Yes it can. Dominance can't be used to base training on, if you think going thru a door first, or not letting them on your bed, or eating first, is going to solidify you as an "alpha" or top dog in your dogs eyes. Those are useful to train, just for manners and you train your dog, but they won't do much other than keep your dog off your bed or from running you over with exuberance to get out the door.
the owner might think of themselves as "dominant" by their definition, but the relationship isn't really affected by those acts. It's affected by how you might train those things, but the simple acts themselves don't really do anything in terms of dog/human relationships.
So in that regards, it's pretty useless.
But take the food situation. There are those, that have said there is no dominance or heirarchy between dogs or between dogs and people. I say there is, thru my own readings and my own observations. I don't think it's like those that base training on it, but it doesn't mean that some training can't come from it. I've seen dogs come in that want to eat who ever they can when they get here. You can't feed them or you will get eaten yourself.
But one person will go to give them food every day, and as long as the dog is aggressing, none is given, but on that day when they decide that the food is more important than whatever is motivating them to be that aggressive, and they allow that one person to come in and give them the food and they learn that this person controls their food, the bond is obvious, and it is plainly visible to me that this simple act has a profound effect on the dog's psyche. This effect seems to flow over all aspects of the relationship and further training.
That simple act does make me "dominant" by lay and behaviorist definitions, and it is very useful for further training and the relationship with your dog, or any dog. So, dominance can be useless and useful.
the owner might think of themselves as "dominant" by their definition, but the relationship isn't really affected by those acts. It's affected by how you might train those things, but the simple acts themselves don't really do anything in terms of dog/human relationships.
So in that regards, it's pretty useless.
But take the food situation. There are those, that have said there is no dominance or heirarchy between dogs or between dogs and people. I say there is, thru my own readings and my own observations. I don't think it's like those that base training on it, but it doesn't mean that some training can't come from it. I've seen dogs come in that want to eat who ever they can when they get here. You can't feed them or you will get eaten yourself.
But one person will go to give them food every day, and as long as the dog is aggressing, none is given, but on that day when they decide that the food is more important than whatever is motivating them to be that aggressive, and they allow that one person to come in and give them the food and they learn that this person controls their food, the bond is obvious, and it is plainly visible to me that this simple act has a profound effect on the dog's psyche. This effect seems to flow over all aspects of the relationship and further training.
That simple act does make me "dominant" by lay and behaviorist definitions, and it is very useful for further training and the relationship with your dog, or any dog. So, dominance can be useless and useful.