The concept of dominance in animal behavior should be understood through the lens of resource access rather than human sociological definitions, which can lead to misunderstandings in pet care. When a dog moves into your space quickly, it may see itself as the leader in the relationship, but this interpretation can be contentious as we often lack the language to understand animal behavior accurately.

When we observe animal behavior, we should avoid labeling it as dominance and instead look for alternative explanations based on the animal's behavior and context.

I would label a dog backing away when confronted as a fearful reaction rather than a submissive one, as it does not indicate priority access to resources.

Dogs have innate mechanisms for recognizing self versus other species, which prevents them from attempting to mate with different species unless it's a dominance behavior.

Children test boundaries to understand social hierarchies, often acting out in new situations to gauge the power structure.

The display of wealth and status in humans can be seen as a modern form of signaling vigor and dominance, similar to behaviors observed in primates.

Evolution shaped flow as a response to scarcity, driving us to either compete for resources or collaborate to create new ones.

Different dog breeds have varying preferences for touch and space, and understanding these differences can improve our interactions with them.

Dogs have a strong innate drive to read the emotional and hormonal states of other dogs through scent, which serves as a form of social media for them.