Training an Aggressive Dog
Is it even possible to train an aggressive dog? In a word, yes. But the problem may be severe enough to enlist the services of a professional dog trainer. Whether the dog is aggressive to its owner, or to other dogs, it is important to get a hold on the situation before it gets worse.
Serious steps should be taken to identify the cause of your dog’s aggression and what to do to change this behavior. The first thing you need to do is to be aware of the warning signs of an aggressive dog.
Aggressive Indicators
An aggressive dog will reveal certain signs about his aggression. These warning signs are letting you and everybody around the dog know that he is about to act out on his aggression. That’s when the aggression turns into an attack.
Some of the more common signs of aggression are, growling, showing their teeth, lunging at or snapping at the dog or the person that is causing the aggression. Any of these type behaviors need to be dealt with before the dog goes from aggression to attack.
Why is My Dog Aggressive?
Dogs are territorial by nature. And when that territory gets threatened the dog acts in way to protect his own. But there might be other underlying conditions that have sparked the aggression.
If you dog was adopted from a local shelter, try to get some background information about the conditions he has endured. The aggression may just be a self-defense mechanism to simply survive. Chances are these types of dogs have never known what it’s like to be loved.
As soon as you can pick out exactly what is causing the aggression, the sooner you can modify the aggressive behavior.
Don’t Take it Lightly
Don’t think that simply by ignoring the aggressive behavior that it will go away. These types of behaviors need to be modified before the dog causes harm to you or someone else.
Perhaps the best advice when dealing with an aggressive dog, is to consult with dog’s vet. Let the vet know about the way the dog is behaving and ask he or she what to do about it. Taking this proactive approach towards your dogs aggression is definitely a step in the right direction.
The vet may also be able to show you some ways that you can begin aggression training, or better yet he may refer you to a professional trainer. This all depends on how bad the aggression is. Don’t take it lightly, for your sake and the dog’s.
Do Not Punish the Dog
The last thing you would ever want to do is to punish the dog for being aggressive. A dog doesn’t understand punishment. All he knows is that he is angry about something and you’re punishing him only aggravates the aggression to the ‘out of control’ mode.
With a lot of patients and consistency there is always hope for an aggressive dog. Just remember to put yourself in the dog’s position and become sympathetic to his needs.
