Stop Aggressive Dog Behavior
Aggressive dog behavior can be triggered by a number of different causes. The first step in stopping aggression is to eliminate any possible medical cause.
Eliminate any medical reasons
As there are a number of possible medical reasons that can cause or trigger aggressive dog behavior. A full veterinary check up including a blood test, is recommend to eliminate any possible medical reason.
Understand what is triggering the aggression
Once you have established that your dogs aggression is a behavior problem, it can be very helpful to identify the triggers for this undesirable behavior. The most common triggers of aggressive dog behavior are fear, dominance and territorial. As with most issues there is often a combination of factors causing this behavior in your dog.
Dogs are individuals and they will respond to situations and triggers in their own way. If the aggressive behavior is severe you may need expert help and guidance from a professional dog trainer.
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Aggression is learned, it can be un-learned
In most cases you can work on the problem by training your dog. Your dog learned that aggression got the result they wanted, now they need retaining. Obedience is the next step in stopping aggressive dog behavior and that means teaching you dog to respond to basic commands quickly.
Begin in a safe environment and do all that you can to to ensure success, so that ideally your dog will learn to obey the basic voice commands with just some consistent practice. Reward your pet (with affection, treats or toys) when they obey.
However it is important that you do not allow the dog to continue to ignore your commands. In this case you may need to position your dog . Some people use a head halter or collar, which will allow you physical control over your dog with only the minor discomfort of holding the dogs mouth shut.
When you give the “sit” command and pull forward and upward on the halter, the dogs head is turned towards you and the dog will retreat to a sit position. If you allow your dog to disobey or ignore you you are compounding the problem of aggressive dog behavior.
Temporarily restricting your dog may be appropriate
If you are having trouble getting your dog to obey and you prefer not to use a head halter, it may be necessary remove all privileges by confining your dog to a small restricted area or a crate.
This is not cruel, the rewards are only effective when they are used appropriately. You will have a happier and more settled dog without aggressive dog behavior, once you have established the rules.
You need to teach you dog that to get what it wants (food, attention, treats, affection, play, toys etc) it must do what you want. During the restriction period your dog is only allowed out, to go the bathroom at regular intervals and for a daily walk.
During the walk you do not play with the dog, you do not allow the dog to walk you. If your dog is aggressive towards other dogs try to exercise you dog away from others at this stage.
You only reward the dog with your attention or affection etc when the dog is calm and well behaved. Again a head halter can help establish initial compliance with your commands.
The head halter is not intended as a long term solution, only as a way to get initial compliance until your dog learns that you are the boss and that his obedience to your voice has it own rewards.
When feeding you dog during the restriction period insist that he or she sits before placing their food bowl in the restriction area.
Reward good behavior
As good patterns of behavior become established, your dog earns greater freedom and privileges are gradually returned.
When you dog recognizes you as the person in charge, that you own the toys and you are the controller of his basic needs, in most cases your dogs aggressive behavior will disappear.
Particularly when any sign of aggressive dog behavior is quickly and consistently corrected by diverting the dogs attention with an instruction.
Knowing you are in charge will alleviate fear of dog for whom fear is the trigger. When you are in charge, you determine what the dog is to protect or be territorial about. When you are the one in charge, you determine who is the dominant one and your dogs place in the family.
Click here for the best guide to stopping aggressive dog behavior