Today’s domesticated dogs have a lot of wild instincts that go far back in their bloodlines. After all, their ancestors were required to be aggressive to survive, to search for food and shelter, and to mate. A lot of selective breeding has occurred over the centuries which has tamed a lot of the aggression in dogs; however, the ability to attack and inflict harm is just as real now as it was with your dog’s ancestors. It’s a dog’s instinct to be aggressive, and nothing people have been able to do has completely eliminated this tendency. Therefore, it’s up to us as caring dog owners to learn to help our aggressive dogs control a trait that is a natural part of them.
As humans we command a lot of control over the aggression in our pets. Even if your dog does start developing some aggression, you can take measures to comprehend what’s going on and take care of it without much problem. With dogs, there are several types of aggression. Two of the most usual types are dog aggression shown to strangers and that shown to members of your family. Why does it matter who the dog’s aggression is directed towards? Why would we want to waste time defining two varieties of aggression? In actually, it’s because although both of these types are aggression, they take place for different reasons and need to be tackled differently.
Obviously, aggression in the presence of strangers is easy to see. You know your dog well, so you’ll be able to tell when he gets very nervous by watching him pace constantly, bark, whine, and be startled by the smallest of sounds. Or, also, if he becomes very quiet, staying in one place without taking his eyes off the person he doesn’t know, be it the postman, a friend, or someone meandering down the street. Some dogs just don’t adjust quickly to people they don’t know. They prefer to be in the company of people they are familiar with and who they feel safe with. Generally this occurs because they haven’t been spent time in a lot of social situations so that they can become adapted to the idea of strangers. If you keep your dog isolated at home all of the time, how is he ever going to get used to the idea of strangers and unknown situations?
You can help your dog become more socialized by helping him get used to being near both strange animals and people. You may have never thought about it before, but this is a major priority for you to consider when training your dog. Beginning at a very young age, immediately after he’s had all of his shots, he must be exposed to a large variety of different people, environments, animals, and experiences. By doing this, you’re showing your dog right from the beginning that meeting new people and trying new experiences is both safe and a lot of fun. You want to make sure you slowly introduce him to all types of people: the baby next door, a bicyclist wearing safety gear, senior citizens, both men and women, a person carrying an umbrella, teens, and many others. He will learn to be comfortable around strangers, and they won’t represent a threat to his world any longer. Waiting until he’s an adult and then trying to assuage his fears by patting him and telling him it’s okay just isn’t going to validate it.
How can you go about socializing your puppy so that he doesn’t grow up with an aversion to strangers? To start with, you can take him to a puppy preschool. What this means is going to puppy classes, such as those offered at veterinary clinics. A group of about ten dog owners and their puppies will meet with at least one qualified trainer who will start showing the puppies the basic obedience commands, such as sit and stay. You’ll like the fact that your puppy is learning to obey, but there’s an even bigger benefit to going to these classes. Not only will your puppy develop joyful thoughts about going to the vet’s office, but he’ll also experience play sessions during the classes during which can be off-leash and play with the other puppies.
Talk about learning great social skills right from the beginning! He’ll be able to assimilate how to get along with a variety of strange dogs while being exposed to a group of people he is unfamiliar with. Since a trainer will always be there, the environment will remain safe, secure, and in control. Don’t imagine that puppy preschool is the lifelong answer to aggressive behavior, however. Socialization is a never ending process that you will have to work on all of your dog’s life. No matter how old he is, he will always benefit from being introduced to new places and being in the vicinity of new people. The key is never to allow him to be exposed to more than he can deal with. Start slowly, with or without puppy preschool, and slowly add to the stimulus he’s exposed to.
There are two basic reasons that dogs demonstrate aggression towards those living in your household. One is that he’s taking care of something that he considers to be his. This may be a bone, his bed, his food dish, or anything else he has come to feel is his. It doesn’t sound like a huge problem, does it, because you understand you aren’t opting to take away his belongings, but there are additional underlying problems that you need to know about. The reason that he’s behaving so possessively about his things is because he’s uncomfortable with the way you and other family members are treating or handling him.
At this point, your dog is showing a trait that is common amongst dogs and which is called resource guarding. This condition may include being overly-protective of his things, baring his teeth at you if you come near him while he’s eating, and giving you cold, hard glares if you try to take a toy away from him. Dogs are much like people in that they all feel possessive at times, even if what they’re being possessive of doesn’t seem too important to anyone else. You may find your dog acting possessively about a chunk of garbage, wadded up papers, worn out socks, and other trash items. Other times you can understand his possessiveness more fully when it’s over food or toys.
Why would a dog that has seemed happy and at ease suddenly get all nerved up over the ownership of a possession? In order to find an answer for this question, we once again need to look at the start of dog behavior. Originally, dogs were part of a pack which is a very structured community. Within this community, each animal has its own rank as part of the power structure as compared to every other animal in the group. Each dog understands exactly where he and each other dog fits into the chain of command, and, therefore, knows whether he should back off or become the aggressor in any given situation.
In your dog’s mind, your family unit is just like a dog pack. He has his own ideas about the hierarchy of power within the family and ranked each member. He also understands his own place in the rankings. Due to these intrinsic behaviors, living with your dog can get interesting. If he sees himself as superior to other members of the family, he’s going to become very self-assured. He’s going to act like a smart alack and start treating everyone with more aggression. When he has decided that he is the supreme being in the pack, he’s going to act based on that perception. He knows that none of the others in the pack have a right to aggression or to try to boss him as the one in command. As long as he feels that no one in the family is more authoritative than him, he feels he has a right to his aggression, and he’ll never imagine that anyone will challenge his right to have whatever he opts to have.
So what do you do when your dog starts showing aggressive behaviors that show he considers himself the dominant member of the pack? The answer is that you must firmly work on his obedience training, and do it often. These sessions will help him to understand that you, in fact, are the leader of the pack. Give him two 15-minute sessions a day, and he’ll soon comprehend that you’re the boss and that he needs to do what you expect him to do. During these sessions, when he obeys you should pour on the praise and goodies to reinforce the behavior you’re looking for. If he doesn’t behave as you’d like him to, put him in “time out” by putting him outside or in another room.
It always helps to be informed aboutany subject you’re coping with, so take a small amount of time to learn about dog psychology and ways to communicate with your dog. When you start havingsessions with your pooch, keep them short and to the point. As you probably already know, most dogs aren’t going to give you a chance to be lovey-dovey with them. In their world, allowing you to cuddle them and hug them means that they are agreeing that you are the boss. If your dog lets you to cuddle him, you know you’ve achieved the stature of the superior being in the pack. If a dog wasn’t given a lot of physical contact at an early age, he isn’t going to be at ease with it now that he’s grown. If a person tries to hug him, he’s going to become upset and show dog aggression. If your dog’s aggressive behavior is out of hand and you don’t feel you have the ability to do the training yourself, you need to contemplate employing a dog trainer to accomplish the task for you.
Another reason that dogs become aggressive when being handled is that they’ve had at least one grooming session gone wrong. Two of the most prevalent bad experiences dog have had with grooming are bathing and nail-clipping. Many dogs go crazy when faced with being restrained and bathed. Pet owners have trouble coping when their perfect pet suddenly starts to be all nervous and upset in the middle of a bath. They often think they need more restraints which only exacerbates the problem. More restraint will mean more excitement, and the dog will once again reach the conclusion that having a bath is a bad experience to be avoided if at all possible. He may even decide he needs to defend himself by baring his teeth and growling at his owner. Nail clipping can be even more upsetting to a dog. When clipping his nails, it’s easy to clip too far and sever the blood vessel that runs within the claw. When this occurs, it creates a lot of pain for the dog and makes him even more fearful of those nail clippers.
If your dog is one of these animals that becomes frightened during grooming sessions, you could be wondering if he can be retrained in order to make the sessions less uncomfortable for everyone involved. Although it’s much less difficult to start when your dog is a tiny puppy, it is possible. If you’re working with a puppy, make sure you afford him a lot of touching and rubbing all over his body so that he’ll become an adult who will enjoy being handled. Older dogs that were not given this type of cuddling as puppies have a tougher time adapting to being touched. With your older dog’s dislike of clippers, start by taking hold of one of his paws and touching gently with the clippers. Demonstrate for him that clippers don’t necessarily mean pain. Since he’s probably already had some bad grooming experiences, you must teach him to stay calm because nothing is going to hurt him.
For the mature dog that doesn’t like bathing, you should practice the bathing procedure with him making it a happy experience for him. Place him in the warm bathtub if that’s possible. If you have to take him outdoors, don’t do it when the water is going to be too cold. He won’t learn to tolerate a bath by being sprayed with icy-cold water. While you’re giving him the water bath, give him lots of praise, petting, and even occasional treats to show him that you’re happy with his behavior. A major factor in these practice sessions is to allow your dog his freedom if he starts to feel uncomfortable and stressed out. Keep the whole process fun and enjoyable for your dog. Don’t shove him too far or too fast, and if he gets agitated, stop what you’re doing as soon as possible.
There’s a reason that dogs exhibit aggression. They’re give you a head’s up that you must stop what you’re doing or face the consequences. If you try practicing the grooming tips outlined above and your dog still won’t tolerate being groomed, it’s time to call in a professional. Your vet will be glad to clip his nails. Make sure you let the vet know that your pooch can be an aggressive dog during clipping times so that your vet will safeguard himself for the possibility of aggressive behavior. Dog grooming services are available where for a price you can have qualified professional groomers wash, brush, and clip your dog for you. Once again, let them know up front about your dog’s dislike of grooming.
If you’d like more information on unwanted behaviors that your dog is exhibiting, such as stop a dog from barking or dog eating grass, you’ll probably be interested in taking a look at Secrets to Dog Training. It’s a complete, A-Z manual for the responsible dog owner, and deals with recognizing, preventing, and dealing with just about every problem dog behavior under the sun. You can check out Secrets to Dog Training by clicking here: dog behavior digging.
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