Dog Training Basics

Posts Tagged ‘stop dog aggression’

What is dog on dog aggression and what can you do about it? It can be a real problem if your dog becomes highly aggressive with another dog or dogs. Some dog owners think they can avoid the problem by having a one-dog household and keeping their pet away from others. But what happens if you need to go to the groomer’s, the vet or even a walk in the yard with another passing dog?

It can end in disaster when your dog attacks another dog or when she even tires to attack. If your dog is too aggressive, not only do you face dangers as the owner of the dog, but she could be killed, injured or animal control could take her away.

Mostly it’s not good for your dog’s overall well being. She shouldn’t be afraid to see other dogs or to socialize with others of her kind. If your dog is well-balanced, she’ll feel comfortable in social situations such as these. There are steps that can be taken to help your dog overcome any problems from her past that may have lead to this dog on dog aggression and help her to feel more comfortable.

One of the first things you can do to stop dog on dog aggression is to determine its cause. Is your dog being territorial? Is it possible that she might be jealous of a new addition to the family that is getting more of the attention? Is it possible that your dog had a bad experience in the past that is causing the anxiety and fear that she now exhibits around other dogs? Check to see if there is some type of medical condition that could be responsible for this aggression?

You can make an appointment with your veterinarian to make sure your dog doesn’t have any physical problem causing the dog on dog aggression, if you’re not sure what is causing it. After doing that, make an appointment with a dog behavior specialist who can offer you help in finding out what is causing your dog to act aggressively.

You can seek help for the problem, once you have pinpointed what is causing it. Aggressions is not going to disappear on its own so, you can’t just wait for it to pass. You also need to put the safety of other people and other dogs first and foremost in your mind if you have an aggressive dog.

There are many self-help programs and training plans you can try at home to stop dog on dog aggression today. These techniques are fast and easy to learn and you can do many of them yourself right in your own home. You don’t need to have formal training on how to deal with dog aggression or even for training dogs to learn how to do this.

It will also be helpful as a bonding experience between you and your dog or an opportunity to grow closer in your relationship while giving your dog a better quality of life and building trust.

You also need to avoid situations that will make your dog tense and aggressive until you know she is ready to handle it. You need to know how to take control of the situation from a training perspective and be able to reduce the dog on dog aggression for your sake and that of your dog’s.

Aggression is instinctive to dogs. This attribute of dogs developed over many centuries ensuring their survival in the wild. Many centuries of selective breeding techniques have reduced dog aggression traits. Read on to learn about why dogs behave aggressively.

What makes my dog aggressive?

Many factors can cause aggression in dogs but the most common is minimal socialisation with other people and the issue of dominance.

Stranger aggression:

It is natural for a dog to be cautious and suspicious. Unfamiliar situations may cause your dog anxiety if it has not had much experience with strangers and new surroundings. If you widen 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 it?

The key to your dog feeling comfortable with a wide variety of experiences is starting from a young age. You will want to make sure your dog experiences new places, new people and new animals. Experience will teach your dog how much fun other places, people and animals can be. Make socialising your dog fun and you will soon see how easy it is to do. Puppy pre school is a good place to meet new people and a variety of other dogs. Once your puppy is at ease with new people and dogs, you’ll be able to expand this experience. You will continue to need to socialise your dog.

Aggression with family members:

Dogs are commonly aggressive towards members of their own human family when they are trying to protect something they think of as their own. Resource guarding is the term used for this behavior. If your dog gets snarly or growls at you when you are near where it is eating or playing with a toy, then you know you have a resource guarding problem. Your dog will behave like this if it thinks it has power over you. Remember, dogs are pack animals. Dogs are used to structure and are ranked according to a hierarchy of position and power in relation to everyone in their family or pack. Since your dog does not have a dog family, it will rank itself against its human family and this ranking will tell it how to behave at all times. If your dog perceives himself to be at the top, it is his job to behave aggressively. A lower ranking member of the pack will behave in a passive, submissive way and would never growl or snarl at a higher ranking member if you approached its food or toys. You need to make it clear to your dog that you are the boss and he is a lower ranking family member.

Is there anything I can do about this?

Working with your dog regularly and consistently in obedience training will help to re program your dogs preception of you as the pack leader. Short and regular training sessions are critical to effective behaviour modification. Make each training session enjoyable: play a game by giving your dog lots of praise, pats and treats when it has worked well with you.

For more detailed information about dog training and other behavioral problems, check out Secrets to Dog Training. Read a detailed look at Daniels Stevens Secrets to Dog Training at DogHelpdesk.com

Different methods to Stop Dog Aggression

There may be certain reasons why a dog might become aggressive toward other dogs.  Some dogs might get nervous or fearful around other dogs.  In other cases the dog is striving to be the dominant dog.Under certain circumstances, the dog might be very aggressive since defending its territory is its priority.The dog can also be taught to be aggressive by it’s master rather than being socialized to the other dogs.Some dogs might also be extremely protective of their masters and become very aggressive.

Tips

One way to stop dog aggression is to make sure that a dog is socialized as a puppy to other animals.  Puppies should be allowed to play with other dogs that are mature and well behaved.  In this way, they learn the proper dog behavior from the older animals.  The puppy earns that other dogs are okay and that he does not have to fight to defend the territory or protect the owner from the other animals.

Another way to stop dog aggression when a dog starts to become aggressive is to address the issue immediately each time it happens.The dog should not be allowed to get away from this type of dangerous behavior.A head collar or muzzle can be effective while the dog is in training to stop dog aggression, but is not the solution to the problem.

A way to stop dog aggression is through strict training so that the dog is gets used to the instructions of its master rather than focusing on the other animal.The dog should be trained to focus on the owner so that his attention is there and the owner can give a different command to the dog, such as ‘down’ or ’sit’ while there is another dog around.  The owner should also teach himself to control his anxious feelings and behavior, as small as it might be, so that the dog does not take a nervous cue from the owner.  This can help to stop dog aggression since the dog always takes its cue from the owner.  Once the dog has been trained to focus, the dog can also be distracted by being trained to look for a treat when there is another dog around.The treat can be thrown to the ground and the dog can be told to find it, thus distracting the dog from other dogs and stop the dog aggression before it starts.