What You Need to Know to Stop Aggressive Dog Behavior

If left unchecked, aggressive dog behavior can quickly get out of hand and possibly put you and your family in a dangerous situation with your dog. If you begin proper training at an early age and at the first signs of aggression, you will have a much easier time at curbing the behavior, however there are some things that you need to know in order to stop aggressive dog behavior properly.

The first thing that people need to realize when they notice aggressive behavior in their dogs is that there are different types of aggression. In order to properly stop the aggression, you must first determine what type you are dealing with. The different types of aggressive dog behavior include:

• Dominant Aggression
• Fear Aggression
• Territorial Aggression
• Possessive Aggression
• Punishment Aggression
• Pain Aggression
• Predatory Aggression
• Maternal Aggression
• Dog Aggression (Towards other dogs)
• Redirected Aggression (When a dog is already exhibiting aggression at something,  and a person interrupts, the dog may turn their aggression to the person.)

Got An Aggressive Dog? Click Here to Learn How to Stop The Aggressive Behavior.

By evaluating your dog and determining what type of aggression they are exhibiting, you have a much better chance at effectively removing the behavior. This is the first step in any good training program, however it can take some time to determine. Some dogs may only have one type of aggression while others may exhibit multiple forms. If your dog exhibits multiple forms of aggression, you will need to conquer each type individually.

The next step in stopping dog aggression is to realize that with some forms of aggression, you may have to not necessarily accept the aggression, but learn to respect the dog’s boundaries. If your dog experiences pain aggression due to an illness or an injury, that should be respected. Just like people, dogs experience pain. How would you feel if you were injured, and someone was constantly bothering you? If your dog is injured, take proper care at aggravating him and causing him pain. Pain aggression is your dogs way of telling you, “I’m hurting and in pain, please don’t bother me.” Rather than punishing your dog, get him the medical attention he needs to make him feel better.

Another type of aggression that you need to respect is maternal aggression. A mother dog is of course going to be very protective of her puppies. In most cases, a female dog that has been raised in a family will not experience maternal aggression with family members in the home. Most maternal aggression is directed towards strangers she is unfamiliar with or towards people who are doing things to her puppies that make her uncomfortable. People coming to your home, and your own family, need to respect the mother with her puppy. This type of aggression virtually disappears once the puppies are weaned and grown, and is nothing to worry about long term.

Other types of aggression however, need to be addressed quickly and properly to stop the behavior. There are various training methods used for stopping the different types of dog aggression, and many will vary in their tactics depending on the type of aggression the dog has. It can take time for your dog to learn that aggression is not acceptable behavior in your home, and some types of aggression are much more difficult to deal with than others. But by starting behavior modification at the first sign of aggression, you will be much more successful in your training.

Got An Aggressive Dog? Click Here to Learn How to Stop The Aggressive Behavior.