Dog aggression is natural. Dogs evolved this trait over centuries to survive in the wild. Some instinctive traits such as aggression have been minimised through selective breeding techniques. Some tips to help you to understand your dogs aggressive behaviour are below.

Why is my dog aggressive?

Many factors can cause aggression in dogs but the most common is minimal socialisation with other people and the issue of dominance.

Stranger aggression:

Dogs are naturally cautious and suspicious. Unfamiliar situations may cause your dog restlessness if it has not had much experience with strangers and new surroundings. You are responsible for making sure your dog is exposed to new experiences in a positive way. Read our Review of Charlie Lafave’s Dog Training Zone for inspiration to train aggressive dogs.

How can I change my dogs aggressive behaviour?

Start with your dog when it’s young and expose it to a wide range of experiences. You will want to make sure your dog experiences new places, new people and new animals. Your dog will learn that new situations are safe and fun. Socialising your dog doesn’t need to be worrying. You might want to begin with puppy pre-school. Exposure to new people and other dogs will increase your confidence about where you can take your dog. Your dog will continue to need socialisation, to stay stranger friendly.

Aggression with family members:

When dogs feel they need to protect something that is theirs, they can react aggressively towards their family members. This is called resource guarding. If your dog gets snarly or growls at you when you are near where it is eating or playing with a toy, then you know you have a resource guarding problem. Your dog will behave like this if it thinks it has dominance over you. Pack animals such as dogs need to know who is the head of the pack. Dogs are used to organisation and are ranked according to a hierarchy of position and power in relation to everyone in their family or pack. Dogs rank themselves against their human family as a substitute for a dog family and their ranking tells them how to behave in any situation. If your dog perceives himself to be at the top, it is his job to behave aggressively. A lower ranking member of the pack will behave in a passive, submissive way and would never growl or snarl at a higher ranking member if you approached its food or toys. It is up to you to reinforce in your dog that you are the leader and it is a lower ranking member of your pack.

What can I do to change this?

Regular and consistent obedience training work will renew your authority over your dog. Regular behavior modification sessions are key to positive and effective progress. The more enjoyable you make these sessions, the more your dog will want to please you and remember to use lots of praise and treats.

For more detailed information about dog training and other behavioral problems, check out Secrets to Dog Training. Read a detailed review of Secrets to Dog Training at DogHelpdesk.com

Related posts:

1. Understanding & stopping Aggression in Dogs.
2. Stopping Dog Aggression to Other Dogs
3. Stop Dog Aggression Towards People
4. Dealing With German Shepherd Aggression
5. Ways to Stop Dog Aggression

Tags: aggressive dog behavior, dog aggression, stop dog aggression, training aggressive dogs

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 26th, 2009 at 2:05 pm and is filed under Dog Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.