Discover The Facts About Dog Aggression

Dog

You are the master of a beautiful and loving dog. Then one day the animal appears to turn on you and becomes aggressive towards you. You are completely baffled as to why "your best friend" has demonstrated this behavior. By reading on you will discover there are different types of dog aggression and the reasons behind them.

Normally when a dog becomes aggressive or more aggressive than normal, you can generally determine the reason for it. In most cases the canine will have a sense of being threatened, members of its pack (human family) being attacked or possibly in some type of pain. As an example of the pet feeling threatened, you or someone else may have made a covert move, which the dog perceives as being threatening to it's self or to it's human family. This covert move could be something as simple as reaching down to move the dog's food bowl, while the dog is eating. However, when trying to figure out what has triggered this aggression, it may be more complicated than it appears on the surface, therefore requiring someone with more knowledge about dog behavior than you.
There is more than one type of aggressive behavior which your pet may demonstrate on different occasions and with varying degrees of aggression. Each of these individual types of aggression can be modified, but again you must remember, you may well need the help of a professional dog trainer to be completely successful in the modification of your canine’s aggression. Actually, there are 3 types of hostile attitude, which may be interconnected quite closely.

1. Possessive Aggression - The dog is defending what it considers belongs to him. Things such as food, a favorite toy or some innate object.
2. Territorial Aggression - The K-9 is protecting what it perceives to be its territory. This may not be restricted to the interior of the home or the yard. In fact if you walk your animal on a leash it may consider anywhere it has marked with urine as its own territory.
3. Protective Aggression – The canine will demonstrate this type of hostile behavior, towards other animals and humans, when it perceives a danger towards itself or the pack. Again remembering that the dog may well consider the family members as part of its pack.

One form of belligerent attitude which catches many pet owners off guard, when it happens, is known as domination aggression. This is when the dog feels that it is the “Boss” of its empire, including all the family members. In other words it feels that you are subservient to it in the overall pecking order. The behavior may well come forth as you try to move the brute, from your favorite recliner and it decides not to move. When this occurs the dog may snarl, growl, snap or even bite if you permit it to do so.

Each of these aggressive behaviors can be a danger to you and your family. However, with the proper advice by a competent authority, you will soon discover the facts about dog aggression.