Aggression & Conflict Training

Conflict aggression is a relatively new term in dog training circles, used to replace a type of aggression once called "dominance aggression." The reason for the term switch is simple: Dogs who use aggression to get what they want are not dominant; they are actually experiencing conflict in how to respond. Thus, the key to training a dog with conflict aggression is consistency in all interactions.

  1. Features

    • Conflict aggression is usually directed toward family members as a means of acheiving a goal, such as guarding a resource or avoiding something unpleasant. For example, if your dog growls at you when you ask it to get off the bed, that's guarding a resource--the bed. Another common example involves grooming. If your dog doesn't want its nails clipped, for example, and attempts to bite you, you back away with the nail clippers and don't try again. Thus, the dog has learned to successfully handle a situation with aggression.

    Human Contribution

    • Many times, conflict aggression is caused by us, the humans of the household, who still believe in outdated dominance theories when interacting with our pets. When conflict aggression is caused by fear, studies show that reacting with aggression causes increased aggression in a pet. Inconsistency can also be a problem. If you sometimes respond by allowing a dog to get what it wants and sometimes respond with aggression, your dog becomes more frightened because it cannot predict what you're going to do. Thus, the best way to train dogs experiencing conflict aggression is to use calm, non-threatening actions every time.

    Nothing in Life Is Free

    • Many dog trainers use the "Nothing in Life Is Free" program when training dogs with conflict aggression. Begin your training program by hand-feeding your dog all his meals for at least two weeks. You can do this all at once or throughout the day by making your dog work for his meals. Teach him to sit, lie down, come, go to a spot, shake, heel, or any other trick and feed him a handful of food when the desired behavior is performed correctly. You should teach commands that relate to problems your dog is specifically experiencing, such as feeding during grooming.

    Ignore Undesirable Behavior

    • During this time, don't allow your dog to initiate contact with you. If your dog solicits petting, jumps on you, or brings you a toy, ignore your dog. Make your dog work for all attention. Before petting her, make her sit or lie down. Before going on a walk, make her stay calmly while you put on her leash. By combining this approach with the hand-feeding, you are teaching your dog that you are in control of all the resources, and the one who controls all the resources is, in fact, the "dominant dog."

    Train Commands

    • It's extremely important to have a command for every action that your dog finds conflicting. For example, if your dog growls when you try to move him from the couch, teach him a "get down" command and use food rewards to teach the behavior in a fun way. In addition, keep a leash on your dog in the house so you can remove him in a non-confrontational way should you need to do so. To complete this training, think of what you would like your dog to do instead of showing aggression and teach that command in a positive way.

    Reduce Fear

    • In order to complete this training, you may also need to reduce your dog's fear of certain actions. For example, if your dog is afraid of nail clipping, don't pin her down and trim her nails. Slowly build up to reducing her fear by producing the nail clippers and rewarding her for any calm behavior. If your dog approaches you, give her a treat. Build up slowly to trimming one nail. If your dog gets frightened, you are moving too fast.