Dog Aggression is a significant problem when raising a dog, and it is one of the most frequently seen behavior in dogs.
But when you see your dog growling, snapping, or biting things regularly, maybe it is time to carefully look into your dog’s behavior; the dog might face some kind of behavioral problem.
And in cases of Dog aggression, it is time for you to have visit a professional dog trainer or an animal behaviorist and get your dog examined carefully.
The individual responsible for checking your dog’s behavioral patterns seeks various signs that the dog inflicts while it is aggressive and then concludes results based on that.
After the observation is complete, it tells the owner about various things that the dog feels aggressive for and teaches you ways to prevent this behavior.
There are also some medicinal cures, but such is reserved for extreme conditions.
Always note the breed of a dog is never the reason for their aggressive behavior; almost every dog ranging from the very adults to the pups can have aggressive behavior anytime and anywhere.
Dogs react to external stimuli a lot, which is one of the primary reasons for their aggression. Although Dog aggression cannot be treated overnight, it takes patience and time for its behavior to change.
Proper attention and some basic exercises with your dogs regularly can help you keep your dog calm and tackle external stimuli.
Here are some tips that you can adopt to solve aggressive behavior in dogs.
Why Do Dogs Display Aggressive Behavior?
Before coming to any conclusion about a dog’s aggressive behavior, it is advised to know the proper reasons why your dog displays signs of aggression. There can be many reasons for that, and you just have to observe.
Firstly, any aggressive behavior in dogs is connected to impending danger, like an external attack.
This behavior is characterized by heavy growling, deep snarls, excessive biting, lunging, or teeth-baring. So, the first step is to find out the cause of the aggression? There can be many instances of that.
For example, dogs sometimes react aggressively to strangers coming at them or towards someone who approaches them during a meal.
Dogs also respond to various objects such as; machinery, wheels, tools, vehicles, and other similar kinds of stuff. Some dogs also tend to get aggressive towards other animals, such as cats.
How to recognize the type of aggression in dogs?
There are various reasons why dogs get aggressive with their surroundings. Here are a few types of aggression that are commonly seen in dogs.
1. Protective Aggression
This type of aggressive behavior comes when the dog feels any intrusion of their personal space or area.
Dogs are also seen to get aggressive when it seeks the protection of their puppies or owners from any other animal or person.
The dog also displays aggression when it comes to its belonging; a dog is often seen to be very possessive of its belonging, such as; toys, food, bones, or other objects, and anyone coming near to it makes them angry.
2. Defensive Aggression
This type of aggression that a dog displays when it senses danger from any surrounding people or animal.
And the dog, instead of retreating away, attacks the person or animal that it feels threatened. This behavior can also be seen when the dog is afraid of something or someone unknown around them.
This can be any person looking suspicious or dangerous or maybe some machine or tools that make it feel vulnerable.
3. Frustrated Aggression
This type of aggression is seen in dogs when it is being restricted by a leash or a very small space inside their house for a long time.
The dog demands more free space and sometimes shows aggression towards the boundaries of its area or the leash to get free.
The dog might also feel frustrated if the owner has a controlling behavior more than what is needed; it resists highly this and reacts to such behavior.
4. Social Aggression
Sometimes pet dogs have a problem socializing with other dogs from the neighbors or their surroundings, either a stray dog or other animals or person.
This behavior comes to a rest when it is used to the environment after a time being. Social aggression can also be a part of some dogs’ predatory nature.
How to Cure Aggressive Disorder in Dogs?
Once you have taken down every possible note of every information you need to have on such aggressive behavior of dogs, it is time to get into the proper cure.
Remember to take things slowly and never rush by forcing things on your dog; this can make the situation even worse.
Here are a few ways of treating the aggressive behavior of dogs.
1. See a veterinarian or a professional animal behaviorist.
When you are unsure about your dog’s sudden aggressive behaviors, it is recommended to visit the veterinarian as quickly as possible.
There might be some kind of medical disorder lying beneath the dog’s behavior, which only experts can notice.
The veterinarian can help the dog with such a disorder through medication or behavioral therapy.
It is often advised that you shouldn’t attempt to tackle this behavior alone; the aggressive behavior can sometimes be directed towards the owner too.
A professional animal behaviorist is an expert in controlling an animal’s behavior. They are trained to study a dog’s mood through their activities and act accordingly.
They are also trained to control a dog’s behavior if things go out of normal circumstances.
2. Positive Reinforcement
This is one of the most successful types of treatment that can be given to dogs.
Positive reinforcement is a type of training through which a dog is taught to adapt to its surroundings or things that they react to.
For instance, if the dog is aggressive towards strangers or other animals, especially stray dogs or other pet dogs, you need to take proper measures.
Firstly, stand with your dog at a proper distance, away from the stranger and then apply proper treats or praises until the dog feels calms down, then slowly decrease the distance between your dog and the stranger, keeping the treats and praises constantly.
And you will notice that the dog becomes adept at strangers slowly. Avoid harsh treatment, domination, or punishment.
Whenever you notice some sudden aggression in your dogs, don’t resort to any aggressive methods such as; hitting or yelling.
This could make the situation even worse since the dog might try to defend itself, and in this approach, it can either bite you or someone else.
For instance, it is seen that sometimes dogs become aggressive to children around them, and they display their uncomfortable nature through growling or any other means, which might look like aggression to the others.
But it is just a defensive maneuver if you respond to such behavior with some harsh treatment or punishment; it wouldn’t warn you the next time and take their defensive measures, including biting children around it.
In such circumstances, it is recommended that you resort to positive reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement is all about properly training the dog, as per the above-given case, helping the dog understand that the children around it are no danger, and helping him adapt to such a condition.
This could slowly lead the dog to get used to children and suppress its aggression.
3. Proper medication
When training or therapy doesn’t solve enough aggression problems in dogs, especially in the case of frustration, anxiety, stress, or fear, sometimes the dog needs to be given proper medication.
These types of problems may hinder the dog from learning things taught during the training. These medicines help the dog to calm their mind, their restlessness, and thereby their aggression.
These medicines also help overcome any anxiety, stress, or fear in them. One may find all of such training and attention to their dogs bothering as they have their busy schedule to live in.
But when you adopt a dog, it’s your responsibility to look after it with all the attention it needs.
Yeah, sometimes they pose a problem with their aggressive behavior, but the dog feels scared, insecure, or frustrated under all that growling and snapping.
You just need to be patient with it. With proper care and training, all of these symptoms can be avoided. The dog should be trained to socialize with their new environment.
And this might look a bit difficult at the start, but with time, it will start to feel good since dogs are wonderful pets to accompany you anywhere, anytime.