Holly was never aggressive toward me, but she is highly aggressive
toward strangers who show up in the driveway.  She charges them,
snarling and barking with her hackles up, with her big fangs gleaming
and dripping.  She looks fully ready to kill.  Any kind of protest on
my part makes the reaction worse.  But gradually I have worked with
her to turn it into a kind of scripted performance so people can see
immediately that she is under my control.  

The most important thing is recall.  Anything less than 100 percent
with a dog like Holly is asking for trouble.  And that level of
reliability requires trust and deep affection for which no substitutes
will work.  A shock collar on a hunting dog may be one thing, but not
on a protection-oriented dog.

Holly's daddy came from Haiti, where people need tough dogs they can
depend on.  Her ferocity melts in the presence of children, and she
instinctively knows what to do.  She will freeze if a toddler needs to
lean on her to steady himself, and she will bark and follow a toddler
who starts to wander off.  She is protective toward domestic fowl and
cats, which is why it has taken her so long to become comfortable
playing with Tweaker.  If you ever have seen the "Good Dog Carl"
books, that's my Holly.  You probably can't tell from this post, but
I'm very proud of her.

I think this "alpha" business has caused untold grief to dogs and
their owners.  Dogs instinctively know their human owner is in charge.
Most "bad behavior" arises from stress rather than a sense of
unrestrained liberty.  An owner who is always sympathetic, always
kind, and patient enough to teach the dog effectively, will make the
dog feel secure and will achieve good behavior, within the parameters
of the breed.

Also, recent research suggests that early observers were mistaken in
which wild canids they identified as "alphas."  Some canids do indeed
use physical dominance to successfully ward off competitors for food,
etc.  But they are not at the top of the hierarchy.  The top dogs are
generally passive and calm, avoiding disputes with courteous behavior
and judicious accommodation.  Careful, long-term observation shows
that they are the ones who consistently get preferential treatment
from the other dogs.  I can cite this if need be.

As far as I can see, cats can never be made fully tame and reliable.
Their affection and compliance is conditional, whereas a good dog is
categorically subservient to the master's will.

Charlie

Yes.  Most of the people in that group are fairly stupid, for one
thing.  There are some women from Baltimore who have given me a new
appreciation for John Waters as an astute local colorist.  RPDB is a
good outhouse for trolls to take a big smelly dump, but otherwise it's
useless.

Charlie