Is My Dog Aggressive? Signs to Look For
Aggressiveness in dogs can happen for a number of reasons. If you find yourself thinking ‘is my dog aggressive?’ then there are some things you should consider.
Dog to Dog Aggression
Does your dog bark uncontrollably at other dogs walking past your home or out while you’re walking in the park? This can often be a sign of nervousness as your dog simply doesn’t know how to relate to other dogs.
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The best way to curb this type of aggressive is to give your dog plenty of socialization with other dogs while he’s still a puppy. However, if your dog is already past puppy stage and proving to be a problem with other dogs now, then you need to learn to reward your dog for good behavior before the nervous aggression can begin.
Pack Aggression
Sometimes older dogs will become less patient or tolerant of younger dogs threatening their territory. As they age, they slow down and become less able to keep up with the boundless energy of a playful pup. This can lead to some severe skirmishes as your dogs try to work out an acceptable pack order.
This type of aggression can be forestalled to a degree by teaching your dogs that neither of them is the leader of the family pack. You are. They both should look to you as the pack leader, but it’s vital that you learn not to treat one dog any better or more favorably than another.
In the wild, the leader of the pack enters a room first. The leader eats first and the leader walks ahead of the other members of the pack. If your dog does any of these things before you, he thinks he is the leader and you could find dominance aggression could kick in.
Training Your Dog
If you’ve had cause to ask ‘is my dog aggressive?’ then you already have an awareness that there’s something wrong with some of the behavioral issues your dog displays.
No matter how old your dog is, take him to dog obedience classes right away. These classes aren’t designed to teach your dog how to behave. They’re designed to teach you how to handle your dog effectively in situations around other dogs.
If you’re out walking in the park and you know your dog is likely to begin barking uncontrollably at other dogs nearby, distract your dog before it can get too excited by the sight of another dog. Praise him and pet him affectionately for remaining calm, even though there’s another dog nearby. This will help him to realize that remaining calm is considered good behavior and help raise his confidence. Don’t yell at or smack your dog for barking or lunging at other dogs. Dogs don’t understand words and they don’t understand acts of aggression from you. They’ll simply think you’re ‘barking’ too and this can make them more agitated.
Don’t allow children to pull your dog’s tail or touch his feet. It’s wise to leave your dog alone while he’s eating and never hit, smack or kick any dog at any time or he may retaliate in self-defense.
If you’re not confident in dealing with these training issues on your own, you may want to think seriously about consulting with professional training help. The next time you ask yourself ‘is my dog aggressive’, consider rethinking your training methods and be patient as your dogs learns what you expect from him.
