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Dog aggression is natural. Dogs evolved this trait over centuries to survive in the wild. Selective breeding and domestication processes have reduced and refined dog aggression. Read on to learn about why dogs behave aggressively.

What is the cause of dog aggression?

The most common causes are a lack of socialisation and experience with other people and the issue of dominance.

Stranger aggression:

It is instinctive for a dog to be cautious and suspicious. Unfamiliar situations may cause your dog restlessness if it has not had much experience with strangers and new surroundings. If you widen your dogs knowledge and consistently provide positive experiences your dog will feel at ease when confronting a new situation. Check out our Review of Charlie Lafave’s Dog Training Zone for help to stop dog aggression.

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. Positive experiences like this will reinforce in your dogs mind that meeting new people and going to new places is ok. Socialising is quite simple thing to do. Puppy pre school is a good place to meet new people and a host of other dogs. When you and your puppy feel comfortable around new dogs and people you will be able to expand your area of socialisation. You will continue to need to socialise your dog.

Aggression with family members:

It is instinctive for dogs to react aggressively towards their own family members when they feel something of theirs is being threatened. This is known as 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 power over you. Remember, dogs are pack animals. Dogs are used to structure 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 is behaving aggressively then it perceives itself to be at the top of the pack. 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. The message to your dog must be clear, that you are the boss and your dog is a lower ranking member of the pack.

Is there anything I can do about this?

Re-establish your authority with your dog by regular and consistent obedience training work. Keep your training sessions short for effective behavior modification and control. Positive praise, treats and lots of pats are important for making your training sessions enjoyable and productive.

More information about handling aggressive and dominant behaviors, as well as detailed information on a host of other common dog behavior problems, can be found at Secrets to Dog Training. Read a detailed look at Daniels Stevens Secrets to Dog Training at DogHelpdesk.com

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