Aggressive dog behaviors can appear in even the sweetest looking pets. In order to deal with these potentially dangerous behaviors, you will need to start by finding out what the aggression triggers are. Dogs have lots of different kinds of aggression and just as many triggers for each of those types.
If Dr. Jekyll needed a potion to become Mr. Hyde, then your dog also needs certain triggers to bring out that undesirable aggression , so it’s up to you to find this trigger and either remove it, or teach your dog to deal with it properly.
What is it that can cause a dog to behave so improperly? Review the following list and see if any of them reflect your own dog’s behaviors:
• Territorial aggression – In this case, an aggressive dog shows threatening behavior toward people who are entering into a space that he or she considers to be his or her own. This might be directed toward the mail delivery person, someone walking by the house or yard, guests to your home, or even someone approaching when you’re walking together down the street.
• Dominant aggression – Aggressive dog tendencies in this form occur when your pet tries to assert his or her dominance over other family members or animals in the household.
• Fear aggression – Aggressive dog actions of this kind occur when the dog is in a situation of great fear where he or she feels threatened. If cornered, this dog will commonly try to bite.
• Possessive aggression – Aggressive dog behaviors of this sort appear only when you try to touch or take away something the dog feels belongs to him or her such as food or a toy, at which time the dog will become threatening or vicious in order to try to get the item back.
• Punishment aggression – An aggressive dog with this problem wasn’t usually born this way, but instead became vicious as a result of being mistreated through abuse, too much dominance, or negative reinforcement.
• Pain aggression – an aggressive dog with this problem does not necessarily have a behavioral problem, but is instead acting directly out of pain and instinct. These behaviors are involuntary and result from injury or illness.
• Predatory aggression – In this case, the aggressive dog is following his or her tracking and hunting instincts in order to attempt to capture prey. Anything that isn’t secured to the ground can be chased and if it is captured, there could be real danger if the prey is, for example, a child or another animal.
• Maternal aggression – even the calmest dog can become an aggressive dog when she feels that her puppies may be threatened in some way. Be careful, because mother dogs can often construe even the most harmless behavior as threatening.
There are lots of different kinds of triggers that can set off dog aggression in even the kindest breeds. By learning what your dog’s triggers are and gearing your behavior modification training to deal with those issues, you’ll find that you can transform your pooch into the ideal pet.
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