With positive training methods many dogs can be retrained to be more relaxed and polite around strangers or children, but it takes skill and experience owners often don’t possess. The responsible owner needs to recognise the early signs of aggression and act quickly to contain, then reduce, then eliminate the behavior.
Your dog has the potential to become aggressive if it:
- Snaps at people, especially children
- Stiffening, showing teeth or growling when approached or handled
- Snapping when defending food, toys, bedding etc
- Cringing and hiding behind you when strangers approach
- Nipping when excited or playing
- Gives you a long hard stare that could last for minutes
- Attacks other dogs
Some breeds are born with a greater tendency to become aggressive, but the problems only occur when the aggression is encouraged either unwittingly or wittingly. Early socialization to the family, children, other people, and other animals can dramatically reduce the chances that the dog will become aggressive.
Remember that aggression is a serious business and you should not rely on a book, see the local training club of your veterinarian for advice.
TYPES OF DOG AGGRESSION
Dominance Aggression towards humans
The dog growls or bites you or a member of your family. This is a challenge and has been carefully thought out by the dog, which thinks the time is right. You must immediately assert your right as pack leader. Physical punishment rarely works as it is provocative and may work against you.
Assert your dominance using strong body language, deep growls, and facial expression to reassert your authority. Attach a lead to the dog’s collar and move the dog away so it is isolated. When you believe the dog has been sufficiently punished, say an hour in isolation, release and finish with positive behavior.
Remember that YOU walk through the door first, YOU eat first, YOU do the training; it is in this way the owner asserts their role of pack leader.
Dominance Aggression towards other dogs
Dogs are dogs and when there are two or more they need to have a hierarchy and they will live naturally within that hierarchy. You must work out which dog is the Alpha dog and treat it accordingly. That dog becomes the first to be fed, the first to be patted, and any attempt to try and change the hierarchy will only create problems.
Maternal Aggression
A female canine will do anything to protect her litter; mothers do not mess around. Early socialization can help reduce the likelihood of maternal aggression but a curious aspect of the female dog is that regardless of whether they are pregnant or not, most females go through a phantom pregnancy. During this time she may become possessive with certain items such as shoes, toys etc and attempt to hide them under beds etc. Neutering can avoid this problem.
Fearful Aggression
Fear is the most common reason dogs bite strangers. Fear biting is most likely to occur in dogs that did not have the opportunity to meet lots of people as pups – once again, it is under-socialized dogs that are the problem. Fearful pups display submissive body language. They may hide behind you, run away, or roll over to appease when they are frightened. When they are frightened they will bite to make the perceived threat go away. Shy pups need extra attention to boost their self-confidence.
Predatory Aggression
Dogs chase, dogs were BRED to chase, and dogs want to chase all moving things – that is what they evolved to do. Some dog breeds, such as terriers, herders, sighthounds, and scenthounds are superprimed for chasing. Some dogs chase for fun, some nip and bite and some kill at the end of the chase. This is a primitive and very basic form of aggression and is potentially present in all dogs.
Once again early socialization and channelling your puppy’s desire for chasing into chasing after a ball are the best ways of prevention. If the dog wants to chase cyclists, joggers or cars, get a friend involved and when the dog chases, have the friend squirt water from a water pistol. Its aversion therapy and it works.
Territorial Aggression
Your home, your yard, and your car is where your dog is the most self-confident and the dog wants to protect these territories. Initially it will be by barking but could progress to biting. Do you recognize these behaviors: the postie arrives on bike, makes noise, the dog barks, the postie leaves or the rubbish collector arrives in truck, the dog barks, the collector leaves. The dog thinks that it is their barking that fixes a problem, so it’s all-good.
You can prevent this by having the postie give the dogs some treats for a while as they stop by. The postie will probably be happy not to have the dog barking each time he pulls up. If you have a delivery person coming, have a toy or treat ready at the front gate for them to give to the dog as they arrive. Once again, its all about socialization.
Food and Toy Aggression
Never allow your dog to treat his or her food or toys as something that nobody else can touch. Teach your pup that being touched while eating is OK and that hands near the food bowl will not take the food away. When you feed the dog, kneel down and, while he is eating, offer something tastier such as a liver treat or carob piece. When the dog is used to this, put your hand in the food bowl and, when it noses up to your hand, open it and give the treat. Allow the dog to finish the meal. The dog will learn that your presence at meal times is something to be enjoyed.
If your dog becomes persistently possessive about a toy, take the toy away – forever.
It has been discovered that there is some correlation between the health of dogs and aggression. The thyroid function could be an underlying cause of aggression in dogs that weren’t previously aggressive and also brain tumors have also been associated with aggression.
Learned Aggression
Some people like to teach their dogs to be aggressive. The dog may then think that the owner is superman, but what about the rest of the family, the neighbors, and friends. Teaching a dog to attack is best left to the professionals and even then - why have a loaded gun in the house. If you want home protection, then teach the dog to bark, not attack.
Neutering can solve some forms of aggression but not all; early socialization and effective training can prevent many aggression problems and finally, consult your vet when you start to notice early signs of aggression.
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