Dog Problems - Aggression

Dogs aggression can be categorized into:
1. aggression towards other dogs,
2. aggression towards visitors,
3. aggression towards moving objects
4. possessive aggression

AGGRESSION TOWARDS OTHER DOGS
• If you see another dog approaching when walking your dog try to get your dog to focus his attention on you by making him work for you in some way. Try to do this before your dog has already eyed up the other dog.
• Do not yell at your dog or the other dog, this will only create aggravation, your dog will only get more worked up and associate this with other dogs. He will immediately start getting upset when he sees another dog anticipating your reaction.
• If you have a large dog, which you feel may attack another dog while on the leash, use a halt to control him.

AGGRESSION TOWARDS VISITORS
• When visitors call, shut your dog in another room until you have achieved control.
• Arrange for someone to visit that you know will not be frightened of the dog and will follow your instructions to assist with training. The first step is to tell this person not to respond to the dog by either yelling at it or making a fuss, either one will get the dog excited which is exactly the opposite reaction you want.
• In the first session put the dog out of the room and bring him in when the 'visitor' has sat down. Talk quietly for a few minutes ignoring the dog then end the visit. Repeat this process a few times until the 'visitor' can be met at the door. It is important that the dog is taught to sit beside you at the door when someone calls, teach him to do this and not bark and jump at the door or rush forward as the visitor walks
• Until you have gained this control each time you get a real visitor put the dog out so that he is only learning from the situation you control.

AGGRESSION TOWARDS MOVING OBJECTS
• Teach him to come when called.
• Intervene as early as possible, he is more likely to obey you when he is close than if he has already started to chase something.

POSSESSIVE AGGRESSION
• Remove the object the dog is possessive about whether it be a chair, a toy or whatever he will not let you touch while he is there.
• Attain dominance over your dog by making him wait for food, attention etc. When you are dominant reintroduce the possessive item, as soon as the dog goes to it, tell him to go and lie down. If he becomes possessive again you have reintroduced the object to quickly.

Dog aggression if not controlled, may pose a serious problem to a dog owner like you. You may want to check out Kingdom of Pets: SitStayFetch for more tips on how to correct your dog aggression problem.