Dominance and pack theory questions
TLDR: I adopted a dog about a year ago and have been obsessed with learning everything I can about dogs since then! I am looking for resources on dominance theory, pack theory, dog body language, and resources about how dogs behave in groups.
I want to start by saying I am newish to learning about dogs and dog training. I LOVE to read about different theories and expand my knowledge about everything. I see a lot of people say on different subreddits “dominance doesn’t exist” and people mentioning pack theory as well. I am wondering if these are different things, and I am looking for resources to learn more about this. I also want to add I’m not working with a trainer that says anything indicating they work from a “dominance theory” perspective. They are a balanced trainer, but I haven’t ever been told to alpha roll my dog or anything. I am asking from a place of curiosity and trying to learn more.
Does anyone know of any studies/good resources that “debunk” pack theory/dominance with dogs? Or if anyone is willing, possible ELI5 what people mean when they say, “dominance isn’t a thing”? I have tried googling (obviously) but since people have varying opinions, I am not even sure if I am reading something from a source that is reputable or not.
For example, I found this: https://positively.com/dog-training/article/ethology-why-pack-theory-is-wrong
But then also this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15857815/
And this: https://theonlinedogtrainer.com/the-truth-behind-pack-leader-theory/
As someone new to this, the amount of conflicting information is incredibly confusing.
Most of my reading has been regarding force free vs. balanced training so far (that was a DOOZY sorting through information) but I haven’t really read much about “dominance theory” dog training. I am curious about this from a training perspective, but also when it comes to learning more about how dogs behave in groups.
NOT IMPORTANT/CAN SKIP READING IF SHORT ON TIME: I am getting more interested in this, as I have started attending a socialization class with my dog once a week. It’s essentially a “safe” version of a dog park. Dogs must first work with a private trainer from the organization and then pass a class in order to attend this socialization group. There are 3-4 trainers in the class, and a max of 9 dogs. It’s been fascinating, but I am also having a very hard time believing “dominance isn’t a thing” between these dogs. For example, there is a specific dog in the room that lived in a pack of stray dogs on a reservation for years. Every single dog in the room gives this dog a ton of space. He can literally just walk past a dog, and the dog will slow down their playing/check-in with the dog in a way of almost saying, “I’m still good? Ok, cool.” Basically, I’d love to read more about dog-dog interactions so that I can understand more about what is going on between the dogs in this class, and I am also interested in reading/learning more about what people mean when they say, “dominance theory has been debunked”. I appreciate your help in advance!