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.
Every dog has the potential to be good, but something is causing yours to behave in a threatening way; by eliminating that cause or teaching your dog how to deal with it, you’ll overcome the issue altogether.
What are these dog aggression triggers? Check out these most common forms of dog aggression and compare them to your pet’s behavior to help you to narrow down the triggers:
• Territorial aggression – here, the aggressive dog will growl, bark, or bite people entering his or her domain. You might find the paperboy being threatened by your pooch, or your guests being snarled at or even bitten.
• Dominant aggression – this aggressive dog will “bully” animals or family members that are smaller than the dog or that the dog feels are “beneath” him or her in the family hierarchy.
• Fear aggression – In this case, the aggressive dog is very reactive to disturbances from the norm, frequently feeling nervous or insecure and is quite ready to growl, bite, or bark. If you corner this dog, he or she will likely try to bite you.
• Possessive aggression – In this case, the aggressive dog will appear to be quite happy until someone attempts to touch or take away food, a toy, or anything else the dog feels belongs to him or her, at which time the dog will suddenly become vicious or threatening.
• Punishment aggression – Aggressive dog leanings in this style occurs when a dog has been abused, overly dominated, or has experienced too much negative reinforcement and has built up aggressive behaviors that would not otherwise have been there.
• Pain aggression – An aggressive dog of this kind is not reacting this way due to a behavioral problem that needs to be trained out of him or her, but is instead instinctively reacting from pain. The aggression is not voluntary and is rooted in an illness or an injury.
• Predatory aggression – Aggressive dog propensity of this style is based on a hunting instinct where the dog is inclined to track and seek out prey. Pets with this form of aggressive dog tendencies can be found chasing just about anything that moves, from children and animals to bicycles and cars.
• Maternal aggression – even the calmest dog can become an aggressive dog when she feels that her puppies may be threatened in some way. Be warned that a mother dog may interpret just about anything as being threatening to her young and may act on this presumption.
There are lots of different kinds of triggers that can set off dog aggression in even the kindest breeds. It is possible to stop dog aggression in your pet, you just need to find out what’s causing it and then apply the right kind of behavior modification training.
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