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 search for food and shelter, and to mate. A lot of selective breeding has happened over the centuries which has tamed a lot of the aggression in dogs; however, the ability to attack and inflict harm is just as prevalent now as it was back then. It’s a dog’s nature to be aggressive, and nothing human beings have been able to do has completely eliminated this trait. Therefore, it’s up to us as caring dog owners to learn to help our aggressive dogs control a trait that is natural to them.
As humans we take a lot of control over the aggression in our animals. Even if your dog does begin showing some aggression, you can take steps to analyze what’s taking place and take care of it without much problem. With dogs, there are quite a few types of aggression. Two of the most commonly found types are dog aggression shown to strangers and that shown to those living in your household. Who cares who the dog’s aggression is directed towards? Why would we need to waste time defining two types of aggression? Actually, it’s because although both of these types are aggression, they occur for different reasons and need to be handled differently.
Obviously, aggression in the vicinity of strangers is simple to see. You know your dog well, so you’ll know when he gets very agitated by watching him pace constantly, bark, whine, and jump at the smallest of sounds. Or, on the other hand, if he becomes very silent, sitting in one place without taking his eyes off the the strange person, be it the postal carrier, a friend, or someone walking down the street. Some dogs just don’t adapt quickly to people they don’t know. They prefer to be in the company of people they are familiar with and who they feel comfortable with. Usually this occurs because they haven’t been spent time in a lot of social situations so that they can get used to the concept 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 unknown situations?
You can help your dog become friendlier by helping him get accustomed to being around both strange animals and people. You may have never realized it prior to this, but this is a major facet for you to think about when training your dog. Beginning at a very young age, shortly after he’s had all of his innoculations, he needs to be exposed to a big variety of different people, places, animals, and experiences. By doing this, you’re teaching your dog right from the beginning that meeting new people and trying new experiences is both safe and fun. You want to make sure you slowly introduce him to many unique people: the baby next door, a motorcyclist wearing safety equipment, senior citizens, both men and women, a person carrying a cane, teens, and a variety of others. He will learn to be less aggressive around strangers, and they won’t seem to be a threat to his world any longer. Waiting until he’s fully grown and then trying to assuage his fears by patting him and telling him it’s okay 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 fear of strangers? For starters, you can take him to a puppy preschool. What this means is going to puppy classes, such as those taking place at veterinary clinics. A group of around 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 mind, but there’s an even larger benefit to attending these classes. Not only will your puppy develop happy thoughts about a trip to the vet’s office, but he’ll also have play sessions during the classes during which he’ll be allowed to 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 cross section of strange dogs while being introduced to a group of people he is unfamiliar with. Since a trainer will always be around, the environment will stay safe, secure, and in control. Don’t think that puppy preschool is the lifelong solution to aggressive behavior, however. Socialization is a never ending process that you will need to work on as long as you have your dog. No matter how old he is, he will always benefit from being introduced to new places and being around new people. The key is never to overwhelm him. Start slowly, with or without puppy preschool, and gently increase the stimulus he’s exposed to.
There are two common reasons that dogs demonstrate aggression towards family members. 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 anything else he has come to feel belongs to him. It doesn’t seem to be a huge problem, does it, because you realize you aren’t trying to take away his possessions, but there are more underlying problems that you need to be aware of. The reason that he’s behaving 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 often seen amongst dogs and which is called resource guarding. This condition may include being overly-protective of his things, growling at you if you come near him while he’s eating, and giving you cold, hard glares if you try to take a toy away from him. Dogs are much like people in that they all feel possessive sometimes, even if what they’re being possessive of doesn’t seem too important to anyone else. You may find your dog acting possessively about a chunk of garbage, wadded up tissues, worn out socks, and other trash items. Other times you will be 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 agitated over the ownership of a possession? In order to find an answer for 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 group, each animal has its own rank as part of the power structure as compared to every other animal in the group. Each dog understands exactly where he and each other dog fits into the chain of command, and, therefore, knows whether he should keep away from or become the aggressor in any given situation.
To your dog, your family unit is just like a dog pack. He has made his own decisions about the hierarchy of power within the family and ranked each member. He also perceives his own place in the rankings. Due to these natural behaviors, cohabiting with your dog can get interesting. If he sees himself as superior to other members of the family, he’s going to become very self-satisfied. He’s going to act like a smart alack and begin treating everyone with more aggression. When he has decided that he is the superior animal in the pack, he’s going to act based on that perception. He understands that none of the others in the pack have a right to aggression or to try to dominate him as the one at the top. As long as he thinks that no one in the family is ranked higher him, he feels he has a right to his aggression, and he’ll never dream that anyone will challenge his right to have whatever he chooses to have.
So how should you react when your dog starts demonstrating aggressive traits that show he considers himself the highest-ranking dog of the pack? The answer is that you have to firmly work on his obedience training, and do it twice a day. These sessions will help him to understand that you, in fact, are the leader of the pack. Give him two 15-minute sessions a day, and he’ll soon learn that you’re the boss and that he needs to do what you expect him to do. During these sessions, when he obeys you should lavish on the praise and rewards to reinforce the behavior you want. If he doesn’t behave as expected, put him in “time out” by shutting him outside or in another room.
It always helps to be informed aboutany situation you’re coping with, so take a bit of time to educate yourself about dog psychology and ways to communicate with your dog. When you start havingsessions with your pooch, keep them short and focused. As you probably already know, most dogs aren’t going to give you a chance to be huggy-kissy with them. In their world, allowing you to cuddle them and put your arms around them means that they are acknowledging that you are the boss. If your dog allows you to cuddle him, you know you’ve achieved the stature of the superior being in the pack. If a dog wasn’t wasn’t allowed to become used to a lot of physical contact at an early age, he isn’t going to feel comfortable with it now that he’s grown. If a person tries to hug him, he’s going to become upset and show dog aggression. If your dog’s aggressive behavior is out of hand and you don’t feel you’re able to do the training yourself, you need to think about employing a dog trainer to take care of it 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 held and bathed. Pet owners have trouble coping when their perfect pet suddenly gets all agitated and upset in the midst of a bath. They often think they need more restraints which only adds to the problem. More restraint will mean more frenzy, and the dog will once again reach the conclusion that having a bath is a bad experience to be avoided if at all possible. He may even decide he has to defend himself by baring his teeth and growling at his owner. Nail clipping can be even more upsetting to a dog. When clipping his nails, it’s easy to clip too far and hit the blood vessel that runs through the claw. When this happens, it means a lot of pain for the dog and makes him even more leery of those nail clippers.
If your dog is one of these pooches that is scared 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 less difficult to begin when your dog is a tiny puppy, it can be done. If you’re working with a puppy, make sure you afford 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 attention as puppies have a much more difficult time adapting to being touched. With your older dog’s dislike of clippers, start by taking hold of one of his paws and touching the clippers to it. Demonstrate for him that clippers don’t usually mean pain. Since he’s probably already had some negative grooming experiences, you have to teach him to remain calm because nothing is going to hurt him.
For the mature dog that dislikes bathing, you must practice the bathing process with him making it an enjoyable experience for him. Sit him in the warm bathtub if that’s an option. If you need to take him outdoors, don’t do it during cold weather. He won’t learn to like a bath by being sprayed with icy-cold water. While you’re giving him the water bath, give him lots of praise, petting, and even occasional treats to let him know that you’re happy with his behavior. A main factor in these practice sessions is to allow your dog his freedom if he becomes uncomfortable and stressed out. Keep the entire process fun and enjoyable for your dog. Don’t push him too far or too rapidly, and if he gets scared, stop what you’re doing as soon as possible.
There’s a reason that dogs show aggression. They’re warning you that you have to stop what you’re doing or face the consequences. If you try practicing the grooming techniques outlined above and your dog still can’t handle being groomed, it’s time to call in a professional. Your vet will be willing to clip his nails. Make sure you let the vet know that your pooch can be an aggressive dog during clipping times so that your vet will take precautions because of the possibility of aggressive behavior. Dog grooming services are available where for a price you can have qualified professional groomers wash, brush, and clip your dog for you. Once again, let them know ahead of time about your dog’s aversion to grooming.
If you’d like more information on unwanted behaviors that your dog is exhibiting, such as stop a dog from barking or stop dog from 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: how to stop a dog from digging.