Today’s pet dogs have a lot of wild behaviors that go far back in their bloodlines. After all, their ancestors had to be aggressive to survive, to hunt 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 cause harm is just as real now as it was with your dog’s ancestors. It’s a dog’s instinct to be aggressive, and nothing people have been able to do has completely eradicated this trait. Therefore, it’s up to us as caring dog owners to learn to help our aggressive dogs deal with a trait that is a natural part of them.
As humans we have a lot of control over the aggression in our animals. Even if your dog does start showing some aggression, you can take steps to analyze what’s happening and take care of it without much problem. With dogs, there are several types of aggression. Two of the most common types are dog aggression shown to strangers and that shown to members of your family. Why does it matter 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 happen for different reasons and need to be handled differently.
Obviously, aggression in the presence of strangers is simple to observe. You know your dog well, so you’ll know when he gets very upset by watching him pace around the room, bark, whine, and be startled by the smallest of sounds. Or, alternately, if he becomes very quiet, remaining in one place and never taking his eyes off the stranger, be it the postal carrier, a friend, or someone meandering down the street. Some dogs just don’t adapt quickly to people they don’t know. They’d rather be in the company of people they are used to and who they feel comfortable with. Most times this occurs because they haven’t been been introduced to a lot of social situations so that they can become adapted to the thought 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 different situations?
You can help your dog become a more social being by helping him get used to being with both strange animals and people. You may have never thought about it prior to this, but this is a major priority for you to include when training your dog. Beginning at a very young age, immediately after he’s had all of his vaccinations, he should be exposed to a large variety of different people, surroundings, animals, and experiences. By doing this, you’re training your dog from the start that meeting new people and trying new experiences is both safe and a lot of 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 an umbrella, teens, and a variety of others. He will learn to be less aggressive around strangers, and they won’t present a threat to his world any longer. Waiting until he’s grown up and then trying to relieve his fears by cuddling him and telling him it’s fine just isn’t going to validate it.
How can you go about socializing your puppy so that he will not grow up with a wariness of strangers? To start with, you can take him to a puppy preschool. This will include going to puppy classes, such as those taking place at veterinary clinics. A group of around ten dog owners and their puppies will gather with at least one qualified trainer who will start training 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 bigger benefit to taking part in these classes. Not only will your puppy develop joyful thoughts about visiting the vet’s office, but he’ll also experience play sessions during the classes when he’ll be allowed to be off-leash and frolic with the other puppies.
Talk about learning great social skills right from the git go! He’ll be able to assimilate how to get along with a cross section of strange dogs while being exposed to a group of people he is unfamiliar with. Since a trainer will always be there, the environment will stay safe, secure, and in control. Don’t get the idea that puppy preschool is the lifelong answer to aggressive behavior, however. Socialization is an on-going process that you will have to work on throughout your dog’s life. No matter what age he gets to be, he will always benefit from being taken to new places and being in the vicinity of new people. The key is never to allow him to be exposed to more than he can deal with. Start slowly, with or without puppy preschool, and gently raise the stimulus he’s exposed to.
There are two basic 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 something else he has come to feel is his. It doesn’t appear to be a major problem, does it, because you understand you aren’t opting to take away his possessions, but there are more underlying problems that you need to be aware of. The reason that he’s acting so possessively about his things is because he’s not comfortable with the way you and other family members are treating or handling him.
At this point, your dog is exhibiting a trait that is not unusual amongst dogs and which is called resource guarding. This trait 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 stares if you try to take a toy away from him. Dogs are a great deal like people in that they all feel possessive sometimes, even if what they’re being possessive of doesn’t seem too valuable to anyone else. You may observe your dog acting possessively about a hunk of garbage, wadded up papers, 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 playful and at ease suddenly get all nerved up 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 controlled community. Within this pack, each animal has its own rank as part of the power structure as compared to every other animal in the pack. Each dog comprehends 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.
As far as your dog is concerned, your family unit is just like a dog pack. He has established the hierarchy of power within the family and ranked each member. He also understands his own place in the rankings. Due to these innate behaviors, being 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-important. He’s going to act cocky and start treating everyone with more aggression. When he has decided that he is the top dog 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 control him as the one in command. As long as he thinks that no one in the family is more authoritative than him, he feels he has a right to his aggression, and he’ll never believe that anyone will aggressively pursue whatever he chooses to have.
So what do you do when your dog starts exhibiting aggressive behaviors that show he is taking the role of the most authoritative member of the pack? The answer is that you need to firmly work on his obedience training, and do it twice a day. These sessions will help him to acknowledge that you, in fact, are the dominant member of the pack. Give him two 15-minute sessions a day, and he’ll soon understand 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 goodies to reinforce the behavior you’re looking for. If he doesn’t behave as you’d like him to, put him in “time out” by putting him outside or in another room.
It always helps to be in the know aboutany subject you’re involved with, so take a bit of time to educate yourself about dog psychology and ways to communicate with your dog. When you start conductingsessions with your pooch, keep them short and focused. As you probably already know, most dogs aren’t going to allow you to be lovey-dovey with them. In their experience, allowing you to cuddle them and put your arms around them means that they are agreeing 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 as a puppy, he isn’t going to be at ease with it as an adult. If someone tries to hug him, he’s going to become tense and show dog aggression. If your dog’s aggressive behavior is out of order and you don’t feel qualified to do the training yourself, you need to think about finding a dog trainer to accomplish the task for you.
Another reason that dogs become aggressive when being handled is that they’ve had at least one bad experience while being groomed. Two of the most common bad experiences dog have in grooming are bathing and nail-clipping. Many dogs go crazy when faced with being confined and bathed. Pet owners have trouble coping when their perfect pet suddenly starts to be all agitated and upset in the midst of a bath. They often want to add more restraints which only makes the problem worse. More restraint will mean more panic, and the dog will once again conclude that having a bath is a bad experience to be avoided if at all possible. He may even decide he needs to protect himself by baring his teeth and growling at his owner. Nail clipping can be even more traumatic to a dog. When clipping his nails, it’s easy to clip too deep and cut the blood vessel that runs through the claw. When this occurs, it creates 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 may be wondering if he can be altered in order to make the sessions easier for everyone involved. Although it’s much simpler to start when your dog is a tiny puppy, it isn’t impossible. If you’re working with a puppy, make sure you give him a lot of touching and rubbing all over his body so that he’ll become an adult who will enjoy being handled. Older dogs that were not given this type of touching as puppies have a tougher time accepting being touched. With your older dog’s dislike of clippers, start by holding one of his paws and touching gently with the clippers. Teach him that clippers don’t usually mean pain. Since he’s undoubtedly already had some less than positive grooming experiences, you need to teach him to stay calm because there’s nothing that’s going to hurt him.
For the adult dog that doesn’t like bathing, you need to practice the bathing procedure with him making it a pleasurable experience for him. Put him in the warm bathtub if that’s an option. If you have to take him outdoors, don’t do it when it’s too cool for a comfortable bath. He won’t learn to enjoy a bath by being sprayed with icy-cold water. While you’re giving him the water bath, give him lots of praise, hugs, and even occasional treats to help him understand that you’re pleased with his behavior. A key factor in these practice sessions is to give your dog his freedom if he starts to feel uncomfortable and stressed out. Keep the complete process fun and enjoyable for your dog. Don’t push him too far or too fast, and if he gets agitated, stop what you’re doing right away.
There’s a reason that dogs exhibit aggression. They’re warning you that you need to stop what you’re doing or face the consequences. If you try practicing the grooming tips outlined above and your dog still can’t handle being groomed, it’s time to hire a professional. Your vet will be glad to clip his nails. Make sure you let the vet know that your pooch becomes an aggressive dog during clipping times so that your vet will safeguard himself for the possibility of aggressive behavior. Dog grooming services abound where for a price you can have trained professional groomers wash, brush, and clip your dog for you. Once again, let them know in advance about your dog’s aversion to grooming.
If you’d like more information on unwanted behaviors that your dog is exhibiting, such as dog training barking or dog 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.