Most of us that have owned several dogs are bound to run into trouble with aggressive behavior eventually, especially if we own more than one dog at a time. So if you are a dog lover who always has a four legged friend next to you, the question probably isn't "Will I run into aggression?" but more "What will I do when I run into aggressive behavior?".
First, we must acknowledge that we have a problem. I am finding more and more people who are afraid to admit they have a problem because they think there is no solution. There are several different types of aggression that can be handled in different ways, but there ARE solutions out there! We shouldn't ignore that our dog has an issue, or simply try to avoid situations where they may exhibit these bad behaviors. When we do, we are not enjoying our dog to the fullest and gambling every day that those situations may throw themselves at us when we have no control over them. A great (non-aggression) example of this is owners who know their dog does not come when he is called so they simply never let him off leash anywhere. Unfortunately, chances are they will get out of the fence, dart out of the car, or out the front door at some point, no matter how hard we try to keep it from happening. At this point, we have no ground to stand on because instead of working on the issue, we have just avoided it like the plague. Instead, we should acknowledge the problem and take steps to manage it.
Now that we have acknowledged that we have a problem, we need to be realistic about our goals with our aggressive dog. A dog who has a history of aggression, no matter what the motive, is a dog that can be managed, not cured. Aggression is a topic very close to my heart because I have an aggressive dog. Yes, I admitted it to the world! I have a dog who does not like other dogs, she doesn’t even particularly like one of the dogs she lives with! Her name is "Cena" and there is a lot I will never know about her past. I found her on the side of a gravel country road when she was about 4 months old. I can only guess what breeds she may be and what her life may have been like before her first owners decided to give up on her. She has always been food aggressive towards other dogs and any dogs who do not cower to her dominance. She is now 6 years old and still has the same personality but we now have it managed. So what does "management" look like? Well for Cena, it is that she controls her urges to "put other dogs in their place" and if she doesn't feel like she can control herself, she comes to me and asks me for help. I have seen her many times try to deal with a dog and if she can't she simply comes to sit next to me (or behind me) and expects me to keep the dog at a distance from her. Cena is not "cured", she didn't go from being aggressive to loving all dogs but she is "managed" in that she controls her urges, and when she can't, she lets me know instead of the other dog.
So we know we have a problem, and we know we need to be realistic about the outcome. Next, we should decide what kind of aggression we are dealing with because this will dictate how we handle it. The best way to evaluate which type of aggression you have is to ask a professional to come and assess your dog safely. While there are several different types of aggression, they can usually be put into one of three categories: Predatory, Dominance, and Fear.
Predatory: Fortunately, in my experience, this is the least frequent motive behind aggression but does occur. Usually, it is triggered by motion (i.e. bikes or cars) or smaller animals (i.e. cats, squirrels, even smaller dogs). This is a dog who enjoys being aggressive and seems to get some kind of fulfillment out of it. Before you picture a dog frothing at the mouth and acting crazy, think about the fact that we have developed breeds to carry out jobs where this type of behavior is necessary and encouraged. Terriers entire reason for existence was to keep the rodent population under control where they lived so it is no surprise that terriers can sometimes have this type of aggression. We wanted them to! Usually a training program for this type of behavior would include many exercises that work on impulse control and conditioning a better response to these stimuli.
Dominance: Ask 10 people about dogs ,packs, pack leaders, dominance, and aggression and you will get 10 very different answers. Do dogs see us as a part of their pack? The answer is we will likely never know unless we find a way to teach them to speak English and ask them. However, I do feel that it would be silly to think that they do not interpret our behavior in the way they would communicate to each other. Therefore, it is important for us to realize that the fact that they are hardwired as pack animals does effect our relationship with them, whether they deem us a member of their pack or not. Some dogs are born with the personality to be a leader, they want to be in charge, are good at it, and will look for even the tiniest sign that they are in said position. If we are not careful, they can assume the role of leader above their owner. If this happens, they literally think that all of your possessions are theirs. They may even think YOU are their possession. Dogs who are overprotective of you, territorial, or resource guarders (have possessions they do not want you or anyone else to have such as a bone), usually fall into this category. While we love the fact that our dogs would protect us if ever in a dangerous situation, if they are protecting you in situations that are not dangerous, chances are it isn't because they love you but because they own you. Training programs for dominant dogs include behavior modification as well as communicating to your dog that YOU are the leader, not he. Make sure the trainer you choose to work with has a program that is not confrontational or intimidating. A true pack leader uses subtle means of communicating that they are in charge and there is very little conflict, oppression, or intimidation. I have a program that I use called the "Work for a Living Program" that fits this bill and works very well on dogs with these issues. Dr. Sophia Yin also has a similar program called the "Learn to Earn Program". You can read more about Dr. Yin's program here: http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/the-learn-to-earn-program
Fear: This may be the most common reason for aggression that I see. Your dog is afraid of things so they choose to try and scare it away before it has a chance to hurt them. This type of aggression is most common with dogs who were not properly socialized as a puppy. When dogs are about 8-16 weeks old, their curiosity outweighs their fear of the world. This is a perfect time to socialize your puppy because as they get older they are more likely to be afraid of something new than be curious about it. Training programs for this type of aggression will focus on disrupting the pattern of fear, training more appropriate responses to these stimuli and desensitization (the more they are exposed to these stimuli in a positive manner, the less afraid they will be). Disrupting the pattern of fear simply means that we will not allow them to get more and more worked up. Imagine you are lying in bed one night and hear a strange noise, you can choose to go see what it is or lie in bed wondering. The longer you wonder about it, the scarier it gets. However, if you would just get up and investigate you might find that it was not something scary at all.
Your dog can be just one of these types or can be a combination. It is best to enlist the help of a professional to decide which categories fit your dog and decide on a training program that will make you and your dog happier. Remember, you are not alone, there are many owners out there dealing with the same issues you are experiencing and there is hope!
First, we must acknowledge that we have a problem. I am finding more and more people who are afraid to admit they have a problem because they think there is no solution. There are several different types of aggression that can be handled in different ways, but there ARE solutions out there! We shouldn't ignore that our dog has an issue, or simply try to avoid situations where they may exhibit these bad behaviors. When we do, we are not enjoying our dog to the fullest and gambling every day that those situations may throw themselves at us when we have no control over them. A great (non-aggression) example of this is owners who know their dog does not come when he is called so they simply never let him off leash anywhere. Unfortunately, chances are they will get out of the fence, dart out of the car, or out the front door at some point, no matter how hard we try to keep it from happening. At this point, we have no ground to stand on because instead of working on the issue, we have just avoided it like the plague. Instead, we should acknowledge the problem and take steps to manage it.
Now that we have acknowledged that we have a problem, we need to be realistic about our goals with our aggressive dog. A dog who has a history of aggression, no matter what the motive, is a dog that can be managed, not cured. Aggression is a topic very close to my heart because I have an aggressive dog. Yes, I admitted it to the world! I have a dog who does not like other dogs, she doesn’t even particularly like one of the dogs she lives with! Her name is "Cena" and there is a lot I will never know about her past. I found her on the side of a gravel country road when she was about 4 months old. I can only guess what breeds she may be and what her life may have been like before her first owners decided to give up on her. She has always been food aggressive towards other dogs and any dogs who do not cower to her dominance. She is now 6 years old and still has the same personality but we now have it managed. So what does "management" look like? Well for Cena, it is that she controls her urges to "put other dogs in their place" and if she doesn't feel like she can control herself, she comes to me and asks me for help. I have seen her many times try to deal with a dog and if she can't she simply comes to sit next to me (or behind me) and expects me to keep the dog at a distance from her. Cena is not "cured", she didn't go from being aggressive to loving all dogs but she is "managed" in that she controls her urges, and when she can't, she lets me know instead of the other dog.
So we know we have a problem, and we know we need to be realistic about the outcome. Next, we should decide what kind of aggression we are dealing with because this will dictate how we handle it. The best way to evaluate which type of aggression you have is to ask a professional to come and assess your dog safely. While there are several different types of aggression, they can usually be put into one of three categories: Predatory, Dominance, and Fear.
Predatory: Fortunately, in my experience, this is the least frequent motive behind aggression but does occur. Usually, it is triggered by motion (i.e. bikes or cars) or smaller animals (i.e. cats, squirrels, even smaller dogs). This is a dog who enjoys being aggressive and seems to get some kind of fulfillment out of it. Before you picture a dog frothing at the mouth and acting crazy, think about the fact that we have developed breeds to carry out jobs where this type of behavior is necessary and encouraged. Terriers entire reason for existence was to keep the rodent population under control where they lived so it is no surprise that terriers can sometimes have this type of aggression. We wanted them to! Usually a training program for this type of behavior would include many exercises that work on impulse control and conditioning a better response to these stimuli.
Dominance: Ask 10 people about dogs ,packs, pack leaders, dominance, and aggression and you will get 10 very different answers. Do dogs see us as a part of their pack? The answer is we will likely never know unless we find a way to teach them to speak English and ask them. However, I do feel that it would be silly to think that they do not interpret our behavior in the way they would communicate to each other. Therefore, it is important for us to realize that the fact that they are hardwired as pack animals does effect our relationship with them, whether they deem us a member of their pack or not. Some dogs are born with the personality to be a leader, they want to be in charge, are good at it, and will look for even the tiniest sign that they are in said position. If we are not careful, they can assume the role of leader above their owner. If this happens, they literally think that all of your possessions are theirs. They may even think YOU are their possession. Dogs who are overprotective of you, territorial, or resource guarders (have possessions they do not want you or anyone else to have such as a bone), usually fall into this category. While we love the fact that our dogs would protect us if ever in a dangerous situation, if they are protecting you in situations that are not dangerous, chances are it isn't because they love you but because they own you. Training programs for dominant dogs include behavior modification as well as communicating to your dog that YOU are the leader, not he. Make sure the trainer you choose to work with has a program that is not confrontational or intimidating. A true pack leader uses subtle means of communicating that they are in charge and there is very little conflict, oppression, or intimidation. I have a program that I use called the "Work for a Living Program" that fits this bill and works very well on dogs with these issues. Dr. Sophia Yin also has a similar program called the "Learn to Earn Program". You can read more about Dr. Yin's program here: http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/the-learn-to-earn-program
Fear: This may be the most common reason for aggression that I see. Your dog is afraid of things so they choose to try and scare it away before it has a chance to hurt them. This type of aggression is most common with dogs who were not properly socialized as a puppy. When dogs are about 8-16 weeks old, their curiosity outweighs their fear of the world. This is a perfect time to socialize your puppy because as they get older they are more likely to be afraid of something new than be curious about it. Training programs for this type of aggression will focus on disrupting the pattern of fear, training more appropriate responses to these stimuli and desensitization (the more they are exposed to these stimuli in a positive manner, the less afraid they will be). Disrupting the pattern of fear simply means that we will not allow them to get more and more worked up. Imagine you are lying in bed one night and hear a strange noise, you can choose to go see what it is or lie in bed wondering. The longer you wonder about it, the scarier it gets. However, if you would just get up and investigate you might find that it was not something scary at all.
Your dog can be just one of these types or can be a combination. It is best to enlist the help of a professional to decide which categories fit your dog and decide on a training program that will make you and your dog happier. Remember, you are not alone, there are many owners out there dealing with the same issues you are experiencing and there is hope!
RSS Feed