Stopping Dog Aggression
Aggression is instinctive to dogs. Survival in the wild required the evolution of this trait over many centuries. Some instinctive traits such as aggression have been minimised through selective breeding techniques. Below are some reasons why your dog could be displaying aggressive behaviour.
What is the cause of dog aggression?
Factors such as lack of exposure to other people and dogs as well as dominance are the most common causes of dog aggression.
Aggression directed at strangers:
It is natural for a dog to be cautious and suspicious. If your dog isn’t used to being in unfamiliar situations it may become quite on edge around strangers and new environments. If you increase your dogs knowledge and consistently reinforce positive experiences your dog will feel at ease when confronting a new situation. Check out our Review of Charlie Lafave’s Dog Training Zone for more ideas to stop dog aggression.
What can I do about dog aggression?
The key to your dog being at ease with a wide variety of experiences is starting from a young age. Make sure you include other people and animals in your choice of experiences. Your dog will learn that new situations are safe and fun. Make socialising your dog an adventure and you will soon see how easy it is to do. Puppy pre school is a good place to meet new people and a range of other dogs. Exposure to new people and other dogs will increase your confidence about where you can take your dog. Socialisation is an ongoing process for the rest of your dogs life.
Dogs who are aggressive towards family members:
It is usual for dogs to react aggressively towards their own family members when they feel something of theirs is being threatened. This is called resource guarding. Resource guarding usually appears as snarling, growling or over possessiveness. This is caused by a misunderstanding about where your dog fits in to the pack. Pack animals such as dogs need to know who is the boss. Packs are structured according to power and position in relation to everyone else in the pack. Dogs rank themselves against their human family as a substitute for a dog family and their ranking tells them how to behave in any situation. The top ranking dog is expected to behave aggressively and if this how your dog is behaving, then it believes it has a higher ranking than you. If your dog behaves in a submissive/passive way it perceives its self to be ranked lower than other family members and wouldn’t dare growl or snarl if you approached during eating or if you took away a toy. The message to your dog must be clear, that you are the boss and your dog is a lower ranking member of the pack.
What can I do about my dogs aggressive behavior?
Regular and consistent obedience training work will re-establish your authority over your dog. Keep your training sessions short for effective behavior modification and control. The more enjoyable you make these sessions, the more your dog will want to please you and remember to use lots of praise and treats.
For more detailed information about dog training and other behavioral problems, check out Secrets to Dog Training. Browse an in-depth review of Secrets to Dog Training at DogHelpdesk.com
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Tags: aggressive dog behavior, dog aggression, stop dog aggression, training aggressive dogs