Not all dogs are always friendly and in a good mood. Many four-legged friends growl and bark noticeably often or in the worst case, even bite. An aggressive dog can become a serious danger and poses a great challenge for its owner.
But what are the reasons for this behavior? We’ll get to the bottom of this question below. We will also give you tips on how to train an aggressive dog.
My dog is aggressive towards me
As a general rule, no dog is born vicious. While it is true that certain breeds of dogs are more prone to aggressive behavior than others. However, if this trend is noticeable, it is entirely your responsibility Service Dog Training.
As an owner, you need to make sure you properly train your dog. Also take into account the specific characteristics of the breed. It is best to find out in detail the breed of your choice before purchasing it and weigh whether it is up to the task.
Causes of aggressive behavior in dogs
Mostly, it is mistakes in breeding that lead dogs to develop aggressive behavior sooner or later. If you want to get your four-legged friend into the habit of doing this, you first have to figure out what exactly you did wrong with your dog.
In this context, it is important to understand that a dog does not usually become aggressive overnight. Instead, aggression develops gradually as your four-legged friend repeatedly experiences negative feelings such as fear, anger due to the way he treats him.
There are different forms of aggression.
If a dog becomes aggressive in a certain situation, it almost always feels unsafe. The cause of this uncertainty may be, for example, a lack of education and socialization or an inadequate posture of the four-legged friend. In addition to traumatic experiences, other possible reasons can also be bad experiences that the dog has had in the past.
It is often difficult to determine the exact cause of a dog’s aggressive behavior. In this case, it is useful to first check in which situations the four-legged friend reacts aggressively.
The following types of aggression can be observed in dogs:
Protective aggression: Your dog wants to defend you or another member of his family from a perceived threat.
Self-defense: Your dog feels unsafe or threatened by a member of his own species and reacts aggressively to this.
Competitive aggression: Your dog defends a toy or tries to secure his position in the pack through aggression.
Avoid complicated situations
As soon as you know in which situations your dog becomes aggressive, the first thing you should do is avoid them. For example, if your dog reacts aggressively to other dogs, he should temporarily make sure they don’t bother him while he walks.
Don’t consider your four-legged friend’s behavior as something harmless that you can tolerate to a certain extent. Large dogs, in particular, quickly become a serious threat to humans and animals. If the aggression is already very pronounced and your commands are often ignored, the temporary use of a muzzle may be a useful additional protective measure.
Common mistakes when dealing with aggressive dogs
Many dog owners make a crucial mistake when their four-legged friend behaves aggressively. Hoping to calm him down, they talk quietly or even pet him. Of course, the goal is not to reward the aggressive animal.
But the truth is, you’re doing just that, because your dog doesn’t understand what you’re saying, only how you say it. If you talk to him in a friendly way and give him attention, he will take it as praise for his aggression, so instead of weaning him off, you continue to reinforce the undesirable behavior.
Have confidence in yourself
Dogs always orient themselves towards their owners and notice very precisely when their masters or mistresses are restless. If your own insecurity is transmitted to your four-legged friend, he will instinctively have the feeling that he has to defend you.
Therefore, to counteract your dog’s aggression, you need to show more self-confidence when dealing with him. If your four-legged friend notices that you are relaxed, he will also feel safe and will gain new confidence in you and your abilities as a pack leader.
Professional help in training aggressive dogs.
Obviously, avoiding situations that make your dog aggressive is not a permanent solution. For a real solution to the problem, you need to retrain your aggressive dog. Since most laymen will find it difficult to do this, we recommend attending a dog school for this purpose.
There, your four-legged friend first learns to master basic commands, before moving on to specific desensitization of the animal with professional help. This means that the dog trainer artificially induces situations that previously triggered aggressive behavior in your dog and studies alternative behaviors with you.
A means that is widely used in the training of aggressive dogs is the principle of positive reinforcement. By rewarding peaceful behavior and removing the reward for aggression, your dog will gradually learn to change her behavior in the desired way.