Great Ways to Deal with Aggressive Dogs
Today’s domesticated dogs have a lot of wild instincts that go far back in their bloodlines. After all, their ancestors had to be aggressive to survive, to hunt for food and shelter, and to mate. A lot of selective breeding has occurred over the centuries which has stopped a lot of the aggression in dogs; however, the ability to attack and cause harm is just as relevant now as it was in previous ages. It’s a dog’s nature to be aggressive, and nothing people have been able to do has completely eradicated this behavior. Therefore, it’s up to us as caring dog owners to learn to help our aggressive dogs handle a trait that is natural to them.
As humans we take a lot of control over the aggression in our pets. Even if your dog does begin exhibiting some aggression, you can take steps to comprehend what’s happening and take care of it without much problem. With dogs, there are several types of aggression. Two of the most usual types are dog aggression shown to strangers and that shown to those living in your household. Who cares who the dog’s aggression is targeted at? Why would we want to use our time defining two varieties of aggression? Essentially, it’s because although both of these types are aggression, they happen for different reasons and need to be handled differently.
Obviously, aggression in the vicinity of strangers is easy to see. You know your dog well, so you’ll be able to tell when he gets excessively agitated by watching him pace around the room, bark, whine, and jump at the smallest of sounds. Or, also, if he becomes very tense, remaining in one place and never taking his eyes off the stranger, be it the postal carrier, a friend, or someone meandering down the street. Some dogs just don’t take quickly to people they don’t know. They prefer to be around people they are used to and who they feel at ease with. Most times this happens because they haven’t been taken into a lot of social situations so that they can become adapted to the idea of strangers. If you keep your dog isolated at home all of the time, how is he ever going to become used to the idea of strangers and unfamiliar situations?
You can help your dog become friendlier by helping him get used to being near both strange animals and people. You may have never thought about it prior to this, but this is an important need for you to think about when training your dog. Starting at a very young age, shortly after he’s had all of his shots, he needs to be exposed to a wide variety of different people, places, animals, and experiences. By doing this, you’re teaching your dog early on that meeting new people and trying new experiences is both safe and enjoyable. You want to make sure you slowly introduce him to many unique people: the toddler next door, a motorcyclist wearing a helmet, senior citizens, both men and women, a person carrying a skateboard, teens, and many others. He will learn to be less aggressive around strangers, and they won’t present a threat to his world any longer. Waiting until he’s fully grown and then trying to relieve his fears by patting him and telling him it’s all right just isn’t going to take care of it.
How can you go about socializing your puppy so that he doesn’t grow up with a wariness of strangers? For starters, you can take him to a puppy preschool. This consists of going to puppy classes, such as those offered at veterinary clinics. A group of about ten dog owners and their puppies will get together with at least one qualified trainer who will start teaching the puppies the important obedience commands, such as sit and stay. You’ll like the fact that your puppy is learning to obey, but there’s an even larger plus to attending these classes. Not only will your puppy develop positive thoughts about going to the vet’s office, but he’ll also have play sessions during the classes during which can be off-leash and frolic with the other puppies.
Talk about developing great social skills right from the git go! He’ll be able to learn how to get along with a lot of strange dogs while being exposed to a group of people he is unfamiliar with. Since a trainer will always be present, the environment will be safe, secure, and in control. Don’t get the idea that puppy preschool is the lifelong solution to aggressive traits, however. Socialization is an on-going process that you will need to work on throughout your dog’s life. No matter how old he is, he will always benefit from visiting to new places and being around new people. The key is never to give him more than he can handle. Start slowly, with or without puppy preschool, and slowly raise the stimulus he’s exposed to.
There are two general reasons that dogs demonstrate aggression towards those living in your household. One is that he’s taking care of something that he considers to be his. This may be a toy, his bed, his food dish, or another item he has come to feel belongs to him. It doesn’t sound like a large problem, does it, because you realize you aren’t trying to take away his belongings, but there are extra underlying problems that you need to be aware of. The reason that he’s acting so possessively about his things is because he’s uneasy with the way you and other family members are treating or handling him.
At this point, your dog is demonstrating a trait that is common amongst dogs and which is regarded as resource guarding. This trait may include being overly-protective of his things, snarling at you if you come close to him while he’s eating, and giving you cold, hard stares if you try to take a toy away from him. Dogs are much like people in that they all feel possessive once in awhile, even if what they’re being possessive of doesn’t seem too valuable to anyone else. You may observe your dog acting possessively about a chunk of garbage, wadded up papers, worn out socks, and other trash items. Other times you are able to understand his possessiveness more fully when it’s over food or toys.
Why would a dog that has seemed congenial and at ease suddenly get all nerved up over the ownership of a possession? In order to answer this question, we once again need to look at the start of dog behavior. Originally, dogs were members of a pack which is a very hierarchical community. Within this community, each animal has its own rank to fit into the power structure as compared to every other animal in the pack. Each dog comprehends exactly where he and each other dog fits into the hierarchy of power, and, therefore, knows whether he should stay out of or become the aggressor in any given situation.
To your dog, your family unit is similar to a dog pack. He has made his own decisions about the hierarchy of power within the family and ranked each member. He also sees his own place in the rankings. Due to these natural behaviors, being with your dog can get interesting. If he sees himself as more of an authority figure than other members of the family, he’s going to become very self-assured. He’s going to act like a smart alack and begin treating everyone with more aggression. When he has decided that he is the supreme being in the pack, he’s going to act on that perception. He understands that none of the others in the pack have a right to aggression or to try to control him as the one in command. As long as he feels that no one in the family is superior to him, he feels he has a right to his aggression, and he’ll never imagine that anyone will try to take whatever he opts to have.
So how should you react when your dog starts demonstrating aggressive behaviors that show he considers himself the dominant member of the pack? The answer is that you need to repetitively work on his obedience training, and do it frequently. These sessions will help him to understand that you, in fact, are the dominant member of the pack. Give him two 15-minute sessions a day, and he’ll soon understand that you’re the boss and that he has to do what you expect him to do. During these sessions, when he obeys you should heap on the praise and treats to reinforce the behavior you want. If he doesn’t behave as he should, put him in “time out” by putting him outside or in another room.
It always helps to be informed aboutany topic you’re involved with, so take a small amount of time to get some of the basics about dog psychology and ways to communicate with your dog. When you start initiatingsessions with your pooch, keep them short and directed at the problem. As you probably already know, most dogs aren’t going to allow you to be cuddly with them. In their world, allowing you to cuddle them and put your arms around them means that they are agreeing that you are the boss. If your dog allows you to cuddle him, you know you’ve won the stature of the superior dog in the pack. If a dog wasn’t subjected to a lot of physical contact when he was young, he isn’t going to be easy with it as an adult. If anyone tries to hug him, he’s going to become tense and show dog aggression. If your dog’s aggressive behavior is out of hand and you don’t feel qualified to do the training yourself, you need to consider hiring a dog trainer to do the job for you.
A second reason that dogs become aggressive when being handled is that they’ve had at least one bad grooming session. Two of the most common bad experiences dog have in grooming are bathing and nail-clipping. Many dogs go crazy when faced with being confined and bathed. Pet owners have trouble coping when their perfect pet suddenly gets all nervous and upset in the middle of a bath. They often resort to more restraints which only exacerbates the problem. More restraint will mean more excitement, and the dog will once again decide that having a bath is a bad experience to be avoided if at all possible. He may even think he has to defend himself by baring his teeth and growling at his owner. Nail clipping can be even more traumatic to a dog. When clipping his nails, it’s easy to clip too deeply and cut the blood vessel that runs through the claw. When this occurs, it causes a lot of pain for the dog and makes him even more leery of those nail clippers.
If your dog is one of these pets that becomes frightened during grooming sessions, you could be wondering if he can be retaught in order to make the sessions easier for everyone involved. Although it’s much simpler to begin when your dog is a little puppy, it can be done. If you’re working with a puppy, make sure you give him a lot of touching and rubbing all over his body so that he’ll grow up and enjoy being handled. Older dogs that were not given this type of touching as puppies have a lot harder time accepting being touched. With your older dog’s nervousness with clippers, start by holding one of his paws and touching it with the clippers. Teach him that clippers don’t always mean pain. Since he’s likely to have already had some negative grooming experiences, you need to teach him to remain calm because nothing is going to hurt him.
For the adult dog that dislikes bathing, you should practice the bathing process with him making it a happy experience for him. Put him in the warm bathtub if you can. If you have to take him outdoors, don’t do it when it’s too cool for a comfortable bath. He won’t learn to enjoy a bath by being sprayed with icy-cold water. While you’re administering the water bath, give him lots of praise, hugs, and even occasional treats to let him know that you’re pleased with his behavior. A major factor in these practice sessions is to give your dog his freedom if he becomes uncomfortable and stressed out. Keep the complete process fun and enjoyable for your dog. Don’t shove him too far or too fast, and if he gets scared, stop what you’re doing immediately.
There’s a reason that dogs exhibit aggression. They’re giving you a warning that you need to stop what you’re doing or face the consequences. If you try practicing the grooming techniques outlined above and your dog still won’t tolerate being groomed, it’s time to call in a professional. Your vet will be happy to clip his nails. Make sure you let the vet know that your pooch might be an aggressive dog during clipping times so that your vet will take measures against the possibility of aggressive behavior. Dog grooming services abound where for a price you can have licensed professional groomers wash, brush, and clip your dog for you. Once again, let them know ahead of time about your dog’s dislike of grooming.
If you’d like more information on unwanted behaviors that your dog is exhibiting, such as dog training barking or dog eating grass, you’ll probably be interested in taking a look at Secrets to Dog Training. It’s a complete, A-Z manual for the responsible dog owner, and deals with recognizing, preventing, and dealing with just about every problem dog behavior under the sun. You can check out Secrets to Dog Training by clicking here: dog behavior digging.
