Dog Training Basics

Posts Tagged ‘training aggressive dogs’

Every canine is transcended from wild dogs so the possibility of aggression is always there. Some people believe that certain breeds of dogs are naturally aggressive but the truth is that the dogs that get a bad rap for being aggressive are the ones that people tend to train to be aggressive.

Lets take the pit bull breed for example. In the long and short of it pit bulls are not overly aggressive by themselves. In fact they can be very mild tempered and sweet dogs. However people love to train the pit bull to be a mean aggressive dog.

While all dogs of a breed are not aggressive all dogs have their own distinct personality. If you find that you have an aggressive dog you need to use caution around them especially if they are around children.

So what do you do if you’ve adopted an aggressive dog besides wondering “is my dog aggressive“?

Well other then to get your dog trained, the answer depends on how aggressive your dog is and what sets them off.

One of the common signs dogs exhibit is the getting down low to the ground and barking. One of the best ways to curb this type of behavior is to simply ignore your dog. Any form of eye contact will be taken as a challenge by your dog and the game will continue on.

Never push at your dog or try to spank him when he is doing this or it will turn into a game. Once it becomes a game for your dog it will be very hard to break him of doing it.

If your dog’s aggression is related to food then you might want to consider staying around him when he is eating. Do not touch an aggressive dog when he is eating. Start out by staying on the other side of the room while he eats and slowly get closer every meal.

Use caution when doing this and pay attention to the signs your dog is giving you. If he is getting agitated then do not get any closer to him.

When you have a very aggressive dog the best thing you can do is to use caution when around your dog and talk to a dog trainer to get the best advice on how to handle your individual situation and to get more information on training aggressive dogs.

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.

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Dogs are instinctively aggressive and we all realize that dogs are able to seriously injure people and other animals. This does not mean that dog owners are completely helpless in their ability to stop aggressive dog behavior. An aggressive dog must be given obedience training immediately, before someone is injured.

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Aggression towards family members and towards strangers are the most frequent behaviors shown by aggressive dogs. Dog aggression can be triggered for many different reasons so it should be reacted to in different ways.

Aggression Towards Strangers

Dogs will often dislike unfamiliar people and other animals until they have an opportunity to get used to being around them. Socialization is the method used to familiarize dogs with new environments, and strange people and animals. It’s impossible to overemphasize the importance of socialization in your dog’s training. You’re probably wondering how socialization can stop aggressive dogs from attacking the postman or pizza delivery guy. A socialized dog starts to understand that new experiences can be enjoyable rather than scary.

He needs to learn this lesson as a young dog. The more frequently your dog gets to interact with different people (for example, men in uniform, elderly people, young children, teens, people with umbrellas or wearing helmets in peaceful and enjoyable surroundings, the safer your dog will be around strangers.

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Puppy group training courses (often run by pet stores or at a vet office) are an excellent place to socialize your pup in a controlled environment. Your dog will learn how to behave with unfamiliar dogs. He will also learn that there is no reason for him to be afraid of the unfamiliar people at these sessions. He should not feel overwhelmed at these sessions – allow his tolerance to build gradually by starting off slowly.

Aggression to Family Members

Aggressive dog behavior towards human family members is most commonly for the following reasons:

• Your dog is trying to protect his possessions (food, toys, etc.) from an apparent threat (namely you or your family members). Such excessively possessive behavior or resource guarding is not unusual in dogs.

• As dogs are pack animals, it is a question of dominance and your dog’s perception of his ranking in the pecking order of the household. Dogs perceive the family make up as being no different from a dog pack. Dogs that perceive their ranking in the hierarchy to be higher than their owner or family members will probably show aggressive behavior.

Resource guarding is definitely an act of dominance – a lower ranked dog would never show aggression towards to a more highly ranked member of the pack.

Providing consistent dog training is the best way to stop aggressive dog problems, which will make it clear to your dog that you are the “alpha dog”. Your “alpha dog” status can be strengthened with rewards such as treats and praise when he responds appropriately to a command, and with “time-out” for bad dog behavior.

I hope you have found this article useful. For a review of the top selling dog training product, check out: Secrets to Dog Training