When you consider their development from wild wolves it’s not surprising that dogs can at times be aggressive. Such aggression was essential in the wild in order to allow the wolf to hunt and find food. This trait would also be important to maintain a wolf’s standing in the pack, to defend itself and therefore to allow it to breed.
Overtime dogs adapted and built strong relationships with humans fulfilling a variety of roles. This for the most part removed the necessity for the dog to find its own food. This did not however magically remove a dog’s natural aggression.
Despite selective breeding dogs still display many of their ancestors’ physical characteristics – you only have to see a dog snarling to be reminded of how well equipped they were to survive in the wild. So what causes one dog to be aggressive, and another to be a well-behaved family pet? More importantly, what are the first steps we should take towards stopping dog aggression?
To answer this we first need to identify when our dog is being aggressive and what triggers this undesirable behaviour. This will then allow us to find the best way to stop the dog’s aggression. This will involve both simple prevention techniques and effective training of the dog.
Our lovable pet becomes aggressive when meeting new people
Aggression towards strangers normally indicates that the dog has not learnt to be confident in unfamiliar situations and therefore views all new people suspiciously. It’s normally easy for us to spot when our dog is nervous, if for instance he’s excitable, whining or constantly fidgeting. What is perhaps less obvious is that when our dog is very still, and focused on one person, that he may also be showing that he is uncomfortable with whatever the subject of his attention is.
The best way to prevent such behaviour is to encourage your dog to encounter a variety of situations and people when he is a puppy. He will then learn not to be threatened by strangers and will grow in confidence when dealing with new situations and people. If you try to picture the world from your puppy’s viewpoint you’ll perhaps understand why they could feel threatened and resort to aggression.
In the past people were often advised to keep their puppies indoors until well after their vaccination course had finished. The problem with this is that the best time to introduce your puppy to a variety of people and situations in when they are between 3 and 12 weeks old. This is often called the socialisation period. It is basically the time in the puppy’s development when it learns how to recognise and get on with the species that it will be living with. Luckily modern puppy vaccinations no longer require your puppy to be ‘quarantined’ during this important period. You are however best to consult your veterinarian at the time of vaccination.
You may also find that your vet runs or has information on puppy training classes. While learning some basic obedience training is useful the major benefit of these classes is that your puppy will be able to interact with lots of different dogs and people in a safe way.
If you regularly introduce your puppy to other people and dogs in a safe, supportive environment during this period then it will learn to be confident when meeting new people or dogs and will not resort to aggression. Puppies can also learn to live happily with cats during this period. I previously had a West Highland Terrier puppy that grew very affectionate towards my cat, to the extent that the dog would often follow the cat around the house to see what it was up to. (Westies are generally very sociable) The cat was quite happy with this, though from time to time he would hide in a laundry basket just to get some peace and quiet!
Secrets to Dog Training includes a bonus called The Quick Guide To Dog Aggression. It covers areas such as how to identify the early signs of aggression and how to stop your dog acting aggressively towards children. Well worth a look.
This is the end of part one of our guide to stopping dog aggression – for part two check out – aggressive dog behavior.