People often forget that dogs have an aggressive trait by nature. It is what helped them to survive and evolve out in the wilderness. However, if your dog shows aggressive behavior, this does not mean that there is nothing you can do to prevent or correct it.
First of all, it is important to distinguish between aggression towards strangers and aggression towards family members. Although this differentiation might seem to lack importance (the dog is aggressive after all), there is a good reason behind it, since they originate in very different causes.
Let us start with aggressive behavior towards strangers. It is usually easy to recognize when a dog is uncomfortable around strangers. He is either restless, jumping around, whining and barking, or he is very still, observing the stranger carefully. The reason behind this behavior is quite simple: The dog is uncomfortable because he has never learned to get used to strangers. You have to keep in mind that a dog relies entirely upon you to acquire a good knowledge of the outside world and people. That means: If you did not take your dog out to experience different surroundings, situations and meet different kinds of people when he was a puppy, you should not expect him to be relaxed in unknown situations. The whole process of familiarizing a dog with his environments is called socialization and is crucial to prevent your dog from becoming aggressive under unfamiliar circumstances.
One of the best options to socialize your dog is to take him to puppy preschool. Apart from learning basic commands like sit or stay, in these dog training courses puppies also get to play with each other a lot. This means that they get used to interacting with diverse breeds, as well as with other people, and at all times safely under the supervision of a qualified dog trainer. Of course, this is just the start of socializing your dog. Little by little, take your dog to new surroundings and you will see that his tolerance will increase step by step.
If your dog is aggressive towards family members, the causes are entirely different. Usually it boils down to two reasons: Resource guarding and handling. Resource guarding refers to an aggressive possessive behavior. The dog will snap, growl or even bite to protect his food or toy. In order to understand this behavior you have to keep in mind that by nature, dogs are pack animals. Dominance is the key issue. In a pack, there is an established hierarchy that is well respected by each dog. If your dog considers himself of superior rank than other family members, he will demonstrate aggressive behavior, because that is the right of a higher-ranked dog.
The solution to this problem lies in realizing obedience work on a regular basis. You have to make it clear to your dog who is in charge and that he has to obey you. The methods you can use to accomplish this are either to reward desirable behavior or to isolate him for undesirable behavior. Be consistent in your training: Short, but frequent ten to fifteen minute sessions two or three times a day will do the trick. In difficult cases you might consider getting help from a professional dog-trainer or attend dog training courses.
If you experience aggressive behavior problems while handling your dog, he probably did not get used to physical contact when he was a puppy. Also, unpleasant grooming experiences may have caused your dog's aggressiveness. Usually these experiences are related to bathing or nail-clipping. It is possible to improve your dog's behaviour, although clearly it is much easier to achieve this when your dog is still young. In that case, simply get him used to physical contact like being touched, hugged or rubbed, getting a bath or having his paws being touched with a nail-clipper. In older dogs, though, it might prove much more difficult. Take things very slowly, make sure your dog is relaxed, and when he gets uncomfortable stop and give him time to relax again. Use a lot of praise and try disguising the whole process as a game.
Best Blogs of WorldFirst of all, it is important to distinguish between aggression towards strangers and aggression towards family members. Although this differentiation might seem to lack importance (the dog is aggressive after all), there is a good reason behind it, since they originate in very different causes.
Let us start with aggressive behavior towards strangers. It is usually easy to recognize when a dog is uncomfortable around strangers. He is either restless, jumping around, whining and barking, or he is very still, observing the stranger carefully. The reason behind this behavior is quite simple: The dog is uncomfortable because he has never learned to get used to strangers. You have to keep in mind that a dog relies entirely upon you to acquire a good knowledge of the outside world and people. That means: If you did not take your dog out to experience different surroundings, situations and meet different kinds of people when he was a puppy, you should not expect him to be relaxed in unknown situations. The whole process of familiarizing a dog with his environments is called socialization and is crucial to prevent your dog from becoming aggressive under unfamiliar circumstances.
One of the best options to socialize your dog is to take him to puppy preschool. Apart from learning basic commands like sit or stay, in these dog training courses puppies also get to play with each other a lot. This means that they get used to interacting with diverse breeds, as well as with other people, and at all times safely under the supervision of a qualified dog trainer. Of course, this is just the start of socializing your dog. Little by little, take your dog to new surroundings and you will see that his tolerance will increase step by step.
If your dog is aggressive towards family members, the causes are entirely different. Usually it boils down to two reasons: Resource guarding and handling. Resource guarding refers to an aggressive possessive behavior. The dog will snap, growl or even bite to protect his food or toy. In order to understand this behavior you have to keep in mind that by nature, dogs are pack animals. Dominance is the key issue. In a pack, there is an established hierarchy that is well respected by each dog. If your dog considers himself of superior rank than other family members, he will demonstrate aggressive behavior, because that is the right of a higher-ranked dog.
The solution to this problem lies in realizing obedience work on a regular basis. You have to make it clear to your dog who is in charge and that he has to obey you. The methods you can use to accomplish this are either to reward desirable behavior or to isolate him for undesirable behavior. Be consistent in your training: Short, but frequent ten to fifteen minute sessions two or three times a day will do the trick. In difficult cases you might consider getting help from a professional dog-trainer or attend dog training courses.
If you experience aggressive behavior problems while handling your dog, he probably did not get used to physical contact when he was a puppy. Also, unpleasant grooming experiences may have caused your dog's aggressiveness. Usually these experiences are related to bathing or nail-clipping. It is possible to improve your dog's behaviour, although clearly it is much easier to achieve this when your dog is still young. In that case, simply get him used to physical contact like being touched, hugged or rubbed, getting a bath or having his paws being touched with a nail-clipper. In older dogs, though, it might prove much more difficult. Take things very slowly, make sure your dog is relaxed, and when he gets uncomfortable stop and give him time to relax again. Use a lot of praise and try disguising the whole process as a game.
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