Let me ask you a simple question. Do you know how important it is to socialize your dog? Do you even know what socializing your dog is? Discover how this important part of dog training will help to prevent aggression in dogs from developing later on.
What Does Socializing Your Dog Mean?
Actually, it’s pretty simple. What you’re doing is getting your dog accustomed to strangers, both human and animal.You also need to take your dog lots of different places so that he’s not afraid of new environments.
This process can be so much fun that most people don’t take it seriously. But if your dog hasn’t been socialized properly, he may become timid and fearful.A pup who’s easily frightened is more likely to develop bad dog behavior problems that are difficult to get rid of. Aggression toward strangers can lead to biting people, while aggression toward other animals leads to fights with other dogs.
Fear Aggression In Dogs
If your pooch is not exposed to lots of different people when he’s between the ages of three and twelve weeks, he may develop fear aggression in dogs as he gets older. This is characterized by him displaying suspicion and mistrust around people he doesn’t know.
A dog that shows a lot of fear around strangers when he’s very young has a good chance of becoming fear aggressive as he gets older. If your pup backs away from strangers while barking at them, this is a tip-off for you that this condition could be his problem. In this case, you really need to concentrate on getting your dog used to other people.
Aggression Towards Other Animals
If your dog is not friendly towards other dogs, he probably doesn’t know how to interact with other canines. This is because he never learned the proper social skills as a puppy.
Sometimes a dog owner unknowingly causes aggression between strange dogs. If you tighten the leash and pull your dog closer every time you see a strange canine, you’re communicating your unease to your dog. If this happens repeatedly, your dog learns to get tense whenever another dog gets close. He wants the other dog to stay at a distance, so your dog growls and barks at the stranger to accomplish this.
Plus, tightening the leash tells your dog that he can’t run away. The only option he has left is to fight. Pulling back on his leash also forces him to lean forward on his front feet. The other dog may think he’s being threatened, and the result can be a dog fight.
Socializing Your Dog Prevents Aggressive Dog Behavior
You can see that neglecting to socialize your dog at a young age can lead to many dog behavior problems as he gets older.To avoid your pup developing fear aggression in dogs when he’s around strangers, it’s important to be sure he’s around a wide range of people.
Even more important is to make sure your young puppy has plenty of opportunity to interact with other pups. This is how he learns to be a dog, and how to behave around other dogs.
You need to watch your own behavior to be sure you’re not inadvertently training your dog to be aggressive towards other dogs.
Now that you have this information, you can take steps to socialize your dog properly to prevent aggressive dog behavior.