Preventing aggressive dog behavior!

I’ve been training dogs professionally since 1984; from canine police dogs to handicap assistance, and everything in between.

A common question that I asked is what are a few simple things that I can do to prevent my puppy from growing up to be an aggressive dog.

Aggressive dogs fall into many categories. There is people aggression, aggression toward other dogs/animals, and guarding resource aggression, such as food, water, or toys.

If you have a dog that is displaying aggressive behavior, you need professional training from a trainer who understands and regularly trains and resolves aggressive behavior in dogs. If you are in our coverage area or you are interested in virtual lessons, I’m your man! If not, you should seek out trainers who have experience in protection training. When working in protection training, you have to understand and control aggressive behavior. Any trainer attempting to deal with aggressive behavior who lacks that experience will come up short in resolving your goals.

So let’s get started with prevention! A perfect analogy would be don’t let a teenager hear the word no for the first time in their life when they’re 16. This is very similar to training a dog. Your dog needs rules to follow!

Establish and maintain steadfast rules. Rules that your puppy follows not just because you’re holding a treat, but because it recognizes you as the pack leader!

Teaching your puppy to hold and maintain a sit stay for 30 seconds to a minute in front of a full bowl of food helps establish, in your puppy’s mind, that you control the food.

Having your dog sit and stay in front of an open doorway before being allowed to leave the home is another excellent reminder that you are in charge. Your dog should be able to do this without the use of a treat. Teaching your dog that jumping on you and your company is another reminder that you maintain and police the rules.

When beginning training with a dog, they tend to display demanding behavior, expecting to be pet at their desire. I have also seen dogs who bark continuously at their owner for attention. You have to ask yourself, “Do I want my dog to behave in a pushy, assertive manner?” You should establish patience with your dog for your attention, and never respond to an assertive dogs’ insistence that you follow their rules.

Training your dog is essential, and the type of training you choose is critical. If you have a dog with a dominant personality and a drive to insist that you follow his rules then it’s important that your training not consist of a singularly and consistent method, such as treat training.

There is one member of a dog pack that can cause all other members of the pack to relinquish food. This pack member is the pack leader. In some dogs the use of constant treats and bribery-based training, usually food reward, can lead your dog to believe that he’s commanding you to relinquish the food. If this is the main method of training for a dominant puppy, he is learning that he is the pack leader!

Aggression with dogs prevention.

Socializing your dog is critical. At the earliest age possible you should be socializing your dog with other dogs. However it’s important that you scrutinize the other dogs you’re socializing your dog. Bad experiences in a puppies life cancer lifelong fear, which leads to aggression patterns. Be careful while socializing your puppy and try to ensure that no other dog is giving your puppy a traumatic experience. If it anytime you feel that your puppy is stressed and not enjoying the socialization with another dog you should in essence scoop him up and remove him from that situation.

Equally important is that immediately following this incident try to socialize your puppy with a dog that does not cause stress.