Stop Dog Aggression

Dogs are naturally aggressive and we all know that dogs are able to seriously injure people and other animals. This does not mean that dog owners are completely helpless in their ability to stop aggressive dog behavior. An aggressive dog must be given obedience training immediately, before he harms you or someone else.

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Aggression towards family members and towards strangers are the most common behaviors displayed by aggressive dogs. Aggressive dog behavior can be caused by many different factors so it should be dealt with in different ways.

Aggressive Dog Behavior Towards Strangers

The most common reason for a dog taking a dislike to a person or another animal is that he hasn’t been given a chance to get used to them. Getting dogs accustomed to being with people and animals they don’t know is called socialization. Socialization is critical to training your dog. You may be wondering how socialization can prevent aggressive dogs from attacking the postman or pizza delivery guy. A socialized dog begins to realize that new experiences can be fun rather than frightening.

Your dog should learn this important lesson as a puppy. The more your dog is introduced to various types of people (such as children, teenagers, men wearing uniforms, old people, people wearing helmets or carrying umbrellas) in peaceful and enjoyable surroundings, the chances of your dog being being aggressive towards strangers are much less.

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If you are trying to find a good venue for socializing your puppy, group training sessions, frequently held by large pet stores or at a veterinary clinic, are a good idea. Your dog will learn how to behave with dogs he doesn’t know. These sessions will also teach your dog that he does not need to be afraid of people he doesn’t know. It is important that he is not overwhelmed – begin slowly to allow his tolerance to grow over time.

Aggressive Dog Behavior Towards Family Members

Dog aggression towards human family members is most commonly for the following reasons:

  • Your dog is guarding his food and toys from his owner or family members. Resource guarding is quite usual behavior for dogs.
  • Such resource guarding behavior is brought on by a feeling of dominance and relates to your dog’s perceived ranking in the pecking order of your household. Dogs perceive the family structure as being no different from a dog pack. Dogs that perceive their ranking in the pecking order to be higher than their owner or family members will probably show aggression.

Such resource guarding is common dominant behavior, as an underdog would never show aggression to a more highly ranked member of the pack.

Dog obedience training is the best way to discourage aggressive dog behavior, which will ensure that your dog understands that you are the boss. Your “alpha dog” status can be strengthened with rewards such as treats and praise when he reacts appropriately to a command, and with “time-out” for bad dog behavior.

Article written by Sandra Scott

I hope you have found this article useful. I also have a review of a great product that you might want to see: Secrets to Dog Training