Dog Aggressiveness Tips

Causes of Aggression

• If you hope to change your dog's behavior, you must first understand why it is acting aggressively. This is because different types of aggression have different solutions. If your dog is responding to a threat to its social standing, it is exhibiting dominance aggression. Dogs with this type of aggression may growl when restrained or disturbed. Fear-based aggression occurs when a dog feels as if it is in danger. Your dog may snap if it thinks it is about to be attacked. Other fears can cause aggression as well. Dogs can be afraid of just about anything, from thunderstorms to skateboards. Your dog is showing territorial aggression if it growls to protect its turf. It may be possessive of food, bones, toys, the yard or even people. Dogs with territorial aggression are acting to protect things, places or people that they see as their own.

Check for Health Problems

• If your usually friendly dog suddenly becomes aggressive, you should take it to a veterinarian. Health problems can trigger aggression in dogs, just as you might feel cranky when you have the flu. Dogs do not understand the cause of pain, and might snap if you irritate a sore back. It is your dog's effort to protect itself, but the aggression might also be your first sign that something is wrong.

Don't Punish Your Dog

• Punishing your dog for acting aggressively can make the problem worse. It causes mistrust between you and your dog. For a dog with fear-based aggression, punishment can reinforce the fear and encourage more aggression. When you respond negatively to a situation, your dog starts to think that its fear is justified. If your dog shows dominance aggression, your anger presents a challenge. Punishing your dog for aggression also shows it that the behavior is acceptable. This is the opposite of what you intended. Look at it from a dog's point of view. When it responded to a situation with aggression, you did as well. By getting angry and punishing your dog, you can inadvertently reinforce the behavior.

Recondition Your Dog

• The most effective way to deal with aggression is to teach your dog to behave differently. This is done through a process known as behavior modification, or reconditioning.

  If your dog shows aggression because it is afraid of skateboards, your job is to teach it that skateboards are not a threat. Put your dog on a leash and tell it to sit. Have a friend ride a skateboard at a distance. Wait patiently if your dog begins to act aggressively by growling, barking or pulling toward the skateboard. Have it sit again, and reward it if it does. You will reward the dog every time it is calm around the skateboard. Gradually bring the skateboard closer and closer until your dog can remain calm while you ride a skateboard next to it as it walks.

Use Caution

• If you know that your dog acts aggressively in certain situations, it is your responsibility to ensure that people or other animals are protected. You may need to muzzle your dog when you walk until the behavior is changed. Your dog might have to stay in another room when strangers come to visit, and you may have to invest in "Beware of Dog" warning signs for your fence.

Seek Help

• Sometimes an aggression problem is too severe for you to fix on your own. If you feel overwhelmed, don't hesitate to call a professional dog trainer to help. Trainers understand how dogs think and can help you find a solution to your dog's aggression. Some trainers specialize in behavior modification and are qualified to help your dog overcome its aggressive habits. Professional trainers are more expensive than doing it yourself, but they are the fastest and most effective way to cure your dog of aggression.