Put a Stop to Your Dog’s Aggression

Mar 28
00:24

2009

Brandi Park

Brandi Park

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All dogs have the potential to be aggressive. It is a natural instinct that comes in very handy when they need to hunt and defend themselves. They may not just feel the need to defend themselves either. They can become protective of their mate, food, and the place where they sleep. Dogs have a natural and very powerful desire to survive and that desire to survive can also drive them to become aggressive and protective.

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Breeding over the centuries has significantly refined this trait,Put a Stop to Your Dog’s Aggression Articles but let’s face it, dogs have the ability to inflict much harm with their very powerful teeth.

So what can we the dog owners and handlers do? Are we helpless? No, we are not helpless there is a lot that we can do to prevent aggression. If prevention is not possible there are steps that can be taken to deal with the aggression.

There are different types of aggression. Aggression towards strangers and aggression towards family members are the most common.

It will be pretty easy to tell if your dog is aggressive toward strangers. Either he will be jumpy and on alert and pacing around whining and barking. Or he might be very still staring hard at the stranger who has dared to trespass on his territory.

What has happened to cause this dog to become aggressive toward strangers?  He has never had the opportunity to get used to them. He has not been socialized. Your dog relies completely on you to take him out to meet and greet neighbors, friends and children. He needs to be taken out to see the world with positive experiences so that he can relax and not be fearful of strangers. Socializing your dog needs to start from a very young age if possible.

What about aggression towards family members? There are a couple of reasons why a dog becomes aggressive towards a member of the family. Your dog may be trying to guard his food or a favorite bone, this is resource guarding. He may also be extremely protective of one particular member of the family.

Your dog thinks of the family as a pack. Your dog has ranked the family members and has his own ideas as to where he fits into that environment. Your dog considers himself to be higher in rank than you or another member of the family. Because dominance and aggression go hand in hand he out ranks you and shows aggression to show he is leader of the pack.

So what can you do about it? The best way to show your authority over your dog is to obedience train your dog. Just fifteen minutes a day will make it very clear to your dog that you are in charge and he must submit.

For more information on dog behavior checkout Secrets To Dog Training, a great resource for training and loads of detailed information on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors. Written by a professional dog-trainer, it's a fantastic guide that deals with all the subjects a dog-owner could ever want to know about.

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Brandi

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