Dog Aggression
A
dog is an aggressive animal by nature. In the wild,
aggression is a necessity: dogs needed aggression
to hunt, to defend themselves from other wild animals,
and to defend resources such as food, a place to sleep,
and a mate. Selective breeding over the centuries
has minimized and refined this trait significantly,
but there’s just no getting around it: dogs
are physically capable of inflicting serious harm
(just look at those teeth!) because that’s how
they’ve survived and evolved. And Mother Nature
is pretty wily – it’s hard to counteract
the power of instinct!
But that doesn’t mean that we, as dog lovers
and owners, are entirely helpless when it comes to
handling our dogs. There’s a lot that we can
do to prevent aggression from rearing its ugly head
in the first place – and even if prevention
hasn’t been possible (for whatever reason),
there are still steps that we can take to recognize
and deal with it efficiently.
- Different aggression types -
There are several different types of canine aggression.
The two most common ones are:
- Aggression towards strangers
- Aggression towards family members
You may be wondering why we’re bothering categorizing
this stuff: after all, aggression is aggression, and
we want to turf it out NOW, not waste time with the
details – right?
Well … not quite. These two different types
of aggression stem from very different causes, and
require different types of treatment.
- Aggression towards strangers -
What is it?
It’s pretty easy to tell when a dog’s
nervy around strange people. He’s jumpy and
on the alert: either he can’t sit still and
is constantly fidgeting, leaping at the smallest sound,
and pacing around barking and whining; or he’s
veerrrry still indeed, sitting rock-steady in one
place, staring hard at the object of his suspicions
(a visitor, the mailman, someone approaching him on
the street while he’s tied up outside a store.)
Why does it happen?
There’s one major reason why a dog doesn’t
like strange people: he’s never had the chance
to get used to them. Remember, your dog relies 100%
on you to broaden his horizons for him: without being
taken on lots of outings to see the world and realize
for himself, through consistent and positive experiences,
that the unknown doesn’t necessarily equal bad
news for him, how can he realistically be expected
to relax in an unfamiliar situation?
What can I do about it?
The process of accustoming your dog to the world
and all the strange people (and animals) that it contains
is called socialization. This is an incredibly important
aspect of your dog’s upbringing: in fact, it’s
pretty hard to overemphasize just how important it
is. Socializing your dog means exposing him from a
young age (generally speaking, as soon as he’s
had his vaccinations) to a wide variety of new experiences,
new people, and new animals.
How does socialization prevent stranger aggression?
When you socialize your dog, you’re getting
him to learn through experience that new sights and
sounds are fun, not scary.
It’s not enough to expose an adult dog to a
crowd of unfamiliar people and tell him to “Settle
down, Roxy, it’s OK” – he has to
learn that it’s OK for himself. And he needs
to do it from puppyhood for the lesson to sink in.
The more types of people and animals he meets (babies,
toddlers, teenagers, old people, men, women, people
wearing uniforms, people wearing motorcycle helmets,
people carrying umbrellas, etc) in a fun and relaxed
context, the more at ease and happy – and safe
around strangers - he’ll be in general.
How can I socialize my dog so that he doesn’t
develop a fear of strangers?
Socializing your dog is pretty easy to do –
it’s more of a general effort than a specific
training regimen.
First of all, you should take him to puppy preschool.
This is a generic term for a series of easy group-training
classes for puppies (often performed at the vet clinic,
which has the additional benefit of teaching your
dog positive associations with the vet!).
In a puppy preschool class, about ten or so puppy
owners get together with a qualified trainer (often
there’ll be at least two trainers present –
the more there are, the better, since it means you
get more one-on-one time with a professional) and
start teaching their puppies the basic obedience commands:
sit, stay, and so on.
Even though the obedience work is very helpful and
is a great way to start your puppy on the road to
being a trustworthy adult dog, really the best part
of puppy preschool is the play sessions: several times
throughout the class, the puppies are encouraged to
run around off-leash and play amongst themselves.
This is an ideal environment for them to learn good
social skills: there’s a whole bunch of unfamiliar
dogs present (which teaches them how to interact with
strange dogs), there’s a whole bunch of unfamiliar
people present (which teaches them that new faces
are nothing to be afraid of), and the environment
is safe and controlled (there’s at least one
certified trainer present to make sure that things
don’t get out of hand).
Socialization doesn’t just stop with puppy
preschool, though. It’s an ongoing effort throughout
the life of your puppy and dog: he needs to be taken
to a whole bunch of new places and environments.
Remember not to overwhelm him: start off slow, and
build up his tolerance gradually.
- Aggression towards family members -
There are two common reasons why a dog is aggressive
towards members of his own human family:
- He’s trying to defend something he thinks
of as his from a perceived threat (you).
This is known as resource guarding, and though it
may sound innocuous, there’s actually a lot
more going on here than your dog simply trying to
keep his kibble to himself.
- He’s not comfortable with the treatment/handling
he’s getting from you or other members of the
family.
What’s resource guarding?
Resource guarding is pretty common among dogs. The
term refers to overly-possessive behavior on behalf
of your dog: for instance, snarling at you if you
approach him when he’s eating, or giving you
“the eye” (a flinty-eyed, direct stare)
if you reach your hand out to take a toy away from
him.
All dogs can be possessive from time to time –
it’s in their natures. Sometimes they’re
possessive over things with no conceivable value:
inedible trash, balled up pieces of paper or tissue,
old socks. More frequently, however, resource-guarding
becomes an issue over items with a very real and understandable
value: food and toys.
Why does it happen?
It all boils down to the issue of dominance. Let
me take a moment to explain this concept: dogs are
pack animals. This means that they’re used to
a very structured environment: in a dog-pack, each
individual animal is ranked in a hierarchy of position
and power (or “dominance”) in relation
to every other animal. Each animal is aware of the
rank of every other animal, which means he knows specifically
how to act in any given situation (whether to back
down, whether to push the issue, whether to muscle
in or not on somebody else’s turf, etc etc).
To your dog, the family environment is no different
to the dog-pack environment. Your dog has ranked each
member of the family, and has his own perception of
where he ranks in that environment as well.
This is where it gets interesting: if your dog perceives
himself as higher up on the social totem-pole than
other family members, he’s going to get cheeky.
If he’s really got an overinflated sense of
his own importance, he’ll start to act aggressively.
Why? Because dominance and aggression are the exclusive
rights of a superior-ranked animal. No underdog would
ever show aggression or act dominantly to a higher-ranked
animal (the consequences would be dire, and he knows
it!)
Resource guarding is a classic example of dominant
behavior: only a higher-ranked dog (a “dominant”
dog) would act aggressively in defence of resources.
To put it plainly: if it was clear to your dog that
he is not, in fact, the leader of the family, he’d
never even dream of trying to prevent you from taking
his food or toys – because a lower-ranking dog
(him) will always go along with what the higher-ranking
dogs (you and your family) say.
So what can I do about it? The best treatment for
dominant, aggressive behavior is consistent, frequent
obedience work, which will underline your authority
over your dog. Just two fifteen-minute sessions a
day will make it perfectly clear to your dog that
you’re the boss, and that it pays to do what
you say.
You can make this fact clear to him by rewarding
him (with treats and lavish praise) for obeying a
command, and isolating him (putting him in “time-out”,
either outside the house or in a room by himself)
for misbehaviour.
- If you’re not entirely confident doing this
yourself, you may wish to consider enlisting the assistance
of a qualified dog-trainer.
- Brush up on your understanding of canine psychology
and communication, so that you understand what he’s
trying to say – this will help you to nip any
dominant behaviors in the bud, and to communicate
your own authority more effectively
- Train regularly: keep obedience sessions short
and productive (no more than fifteen minutes –
maybe two or three of these per day).
Why doesn’t my dog like to be handled?
All dogs have different handling thresholds. Some
dogs like lots of cuddles, and are perfectly content
to be hugged, kissed, and have arms slung over their
shoulders (this is the ultimate “I’m the
boss” gesture to a dog, which is why a lot of
them won’t tolerate it.) Others – usually
the ones not accustomed to a great deal of physical
contact from a very young age – aren’t
comfortable with too much full-body contact and will
get nervy and agitated if someone persists in trying
to hug them.
Another common cause of handling-induced aggression
is a bad grooming experience: nail-clipping and bathing
are the two common culprits.
When you clip a dog’s nails, it’s very
easy to “quick” him – that is, cut
the blood vessel that runs inside the nail. This is
extremely painful to a dog, and is a sure-fire way
to cause a long-lasting aversion to those clippers.
Being washed is something that a great many dogs
have difficulty dealing with – a lot of owners,
when confronted with a wild-eyed, half-washed, upset
dog, feel that in order to complete the wash they
have to forcibly restrain him. This only adds to the
dog’s sense of panic, and reinforces his impression
of a wash as something to be avoided at all costs
– if necessary, to defend himself from it with
a display of teeth and hackles.
Can I “retrain” him to enjoy being handled
and groomed?
In a word: yes. It’s a lot easier if you start
from a young age – handle your puppy a lot,
get him used to being touched and rubbed all over.
Young dogs generally enjoy being handled – it’s
only older ones who haven’t had a lot of physical
contact throughout their lives that sometimes find
physical affection difficult to accept.
Practice picking up his paws and touching them with
the clipper; practice taking him into the bath (or
outside, under the faucet – whatever works for
you, but warm water is much more pleasant for a dog
than a freezing spray of ice-water!), and augment
the process throughout with lots of praise and the
occasional small treat.
For an older dog that may already have had several
unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, things are
a little more difficult. You need to undo the damage
already caused by those bad experiences, which you
can do by taking things very slowly – with an
emphasis on keeping your dog calm.
The instant he starts to show signs of stress, stop
immediately and let him relax. Try to make the whole
thing into a game: give him lots of praise, pats,
and treats.
Take things slowly. Don’t push it too far:
if you get nervous, stop.
Dogs show aggression for a reason: they’re
warning you to back off, or else! If your dog just
can’t seem to accept being groomed, no matter
how much practice you put in, it’s best to hand
the job over to the professionals.
Your vet will clip his nails for you (make sure you
tell him first that he gets aggressive when the clippers
come out, so your vet can take the necessary precautions!).
As far as washing and brushing goes, the dog-grooming
business is a flourishing industry: for a small fee,
you can get your dog washed, clipped, brushed, and
whatever else you require by experienced professionals
(again, make sure you tell them about your dog’s
reaction to the experience first!)
Further Reading
For more information on handling aggressive and dominant
behaviors, as well as a great deal of detailed information
on a host of other common dog behavior problems, check
out Secrets To Dog Training.
It’s a complete owner’s guide to owning,
rearing, and training your dog, and it deals with
all aspects of dog ownership.
To get the inside word on preventing and dealing
with problem behaviors like aggression and dominance
in your dog, Secrets To Dog Training is well worth a look.
You can visit the Secrets To Dog Training site by
clicking on the link below:
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SecretsTo Dog Training
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