Yes Mark we do seem to disagree. 
I don't claim to be any expert - in fact far from it. Great thing with dogs is you never stop learning and nothing pleases me more than to learn from experienced people. No clicker training isn't for me but i gave it a go under instruction as like you I like to be open-minded and I didn't find artifical aids of benefit with working with several dogs. I also don't like the idea of stuffing dogs with food every five minutes. - just my preference...
A bitch doesn't have a clicker to correct her pups she uses body language, nuzzles them, licks them, stands over them etc etc. I prefer methods that mimic how dogs communicate with each other rather than the use of human artifical aids that goes for contraptions like harnesses and haltis too.
Yes it has been said before I do like Ceasar Milan's approach & theories. Jan Fennel is a no no for me though- ignoring dogs and not disagreeing with bad behaviour in my limited experience doesn't get you anywhere.
I agree a domestic dog isn't a wolf but the way they communciate has been evolved from wolf pack behaviour. Have you seen sheep dogs at work? They work together to hunt, it's the handlers instructions that keep them from making a kill. Have you ever been out on a hunt and followed the hounds? Ask the hunt master if the hounds are a pack? If they mimic wolf pack behaviour. I know of several breeders that keep several numbers of dogs and they will all tell you there is a pecking order, theres always a dominant dog and under dogs.
Why not go along to Sarah's next seminar or hire her yourself? I think you will find she isn't as pricey as some dog behaviourists 
or gimicky - she won't be teaching you how to train your dog to do silly tricks she will show you how to communicate with your dog effectively, gain their trust and respect, the nitty gritty - bare bones of dogs, then you can make a proper informed opinion. Anybody that can work/walk 12 dogs off lead under full control, work dogs to sheep from miles off, has competed twice in the international trails - a very mean feat!!, manages a large pack of dogs co-habiting at home, has turned around dogs with severe behavioural problems - gets my respect. I don't think she has one qualification in dog behaviour just years of experience with living/working with dogs and for me counts far more than a piece of paper.
I do agree that dogs communicate through posture and body language and indeed some that is so subtle that we humans miss it all together.
I also agree with you that in large groups of working dogs their is a social structure between them. wild wolf packs are more like a family group where the Alpha male and female are the breeding pair and dominance/ submition contests are very rare.
Studies carried out on artificial packs of captive wolves revealed more of a linear hierarchy akin to what you suggest
with regards to packs of hounds or working sheep dogs.
However this social structure is dependant on the circumstances and the environment they are placed into.
The common denominator is as I have said before the hunt which is what these dogs are used for.
Even sheep dogs working are using their natural motorpatterns to hunt prey, the only part of the sequence missing is the grab bite / kill dissect.
Do you think these dogs find this rewarding?
Of course they do and that is their motivation to work not someone dominating them and waving a big stick.
Dogs like this are bred for purpose and the ones who don't show aptitude or sufficient prey drive for the job are discarded by even the best trainers.
You need the raw material to make a top dog in any discipline.
with regard to stuffing treats into dogs that tells me how little you understand how i work as each dog is different and in any form of training the skill is in finding the key motivating factor that the dog will want to work for.
With sheep dogs and hounds the ultimate motivation is the sheep and the hunted prey so what would be the point in dishing out food rewards when the most powerful reinforcer's are naturally occurring in the dogs environment.
pet cocker's however are a different story but self rewarding behaviours such as hunting and the retrieves can be used to reinforce good behaviour.
I said in my last post that the key thing is that dogs learn in the same way through reward and punishment I choose reward based methods to work in harmony with my dogs I do not need intimidation which is an image conjured up by the word dominance.
The best trainers understand their dogs and what motivates them and control the rewards they do not need to physically impose themselves as someone to be obeyed it just happens that the dog hangs off your every word because you control the access to all good things in its life.
I also agree that bitches do not have clickers and indeed much dog training has been done without them over the years to good effect, but we are not dogs and cannot communicate like dogs so the clicker does give a very definite marker signal to the dog to say that's right.
Some of the early dog trainers who shaped the direction of traditional dog training were using the principles of clicker training even though they didn't realise it
Konrad Most used both primary and secondary reinforcer's (which is what a clicker is) without a clicker in sight.
Experience is vital when training dogs but please don't put down academic qualifications as study broadens your horizons and outlook allowing you to make an informed choice as to which path is the best for you.
I prefer to base my training around the scientific principles of how dogs learn in the same way all trainers do, some just don't realise they are doing it.
Experience alone in my oppinion can make a trainer too one dimensional in their approach but if they are happy with what they do and achieve results then so be it.
My argument is you cannot apply the methods you might use with a group of collies or a pack of hounds to the domestic canine as the motivation and environment is far removed.
Domestic dogs have had a lot of the drive selectively bred out of them and have become scavengers rather than hunters so the need to pack has diminished.
So as you can see I do not disagree that dogs in some circumstances will form complex social structures but this is Dependant on breeding and the specific environment dogs find themselves in.
Why then try to impose a rank structure that is completely alien to most domestic pet dogs?
Much better to teach a few silly as you put it tricks that your dogs find fun and rewarding to enhance your relationship through mutual cooperation.
Mark
