When integrating dogs into a new group, trainers often intentionally create a specific hierarchy. This serves to keep the dogs from creating it themselves via f

When integrating dogs into a new group, trainers often intentionally create a specific hierarchy. This serves to keep the dogs from creating it themselves via fighting, and can allow for one dog to be a leader, for example if you need them to cooperate in pulling a sled. One of the key ways of creating the hierarchy is to feed the alpha dog first, and only feed the other dogs when the alpha dog is done. This is of course not the only way to create a hierarchy, and as you point out one would exist even if food was so abundant that it wasn't an issue.