How To Fix Aggressive Dog Behavior
Aggressive behavior is normal!
Every dog - or every living thing – could not survive without a certain degree of aggressive behavior. So this is not basically a behavioral disorder, but a normal, innate behavior!. Vital resources such as food, habitats, or partners are limited, and therefore represent scarce resources for life. Each animal is therefore primarily in competition with those of its species, but also with non-species that occupy the same ecological niches, for the required Resources.
Only the strongest and most intelligent animals prevail in the fight for resources and are also able to keep them permanently. The animals that were able to successfully win the fighting, pass on the responsible “aggressiveness genes” to their offspring. Less aggressive animals often do not live long enough to reproduce successfully and their “non-aggression genes” soon die out. In the case of aggressive behavior.
Aggressive behavior always has the long-term goal of keeping competitors, attackers or other individuals who are perceived as a threat at a distance, or ideally driving them away, so that there will be no encounter again in the future.
Signs of aggressive behavior in dogs
Aggressive behavior is much more than just biting or damaging, where a whole series of signals always precede this last stage. All of these signals have a communicative character and are intended to avoid a fight in which there is a risk of being seriously injured for everyone involved, including the attacker.
Aggressive dog behavior signs:
Growl
Pulling up the lips
Teeth bare
Snap at the air
Threatening behavior signs makes sense and is desirable because the opponent has the opportunity to react to the threat and prevent an attack with it. The dog’s threatening behavior must under no circumstances be punished because the dog only learns that his warnings are not accepted and may attack immediately in the future.
Examples of a healthy aggressive dog behavior
If a dog lives in the same house with a cat and the cat often approaches the dog when the dog wants to be left alone, the dog can ask the cat to leave him alone with a warning growl. If the dog is now scolded or even punished by its owner- and the cat is not prevented from further bothering the dog – he will soon stop any warning growl. The next time the cat tries to approach him, he may attack immediately and injure the cat.
When encountering other dogs or in a household with several dogs, a certain amount of aggression is not necessarily a problem. A female dog has the right to keep an obtrusive male at a distance by clearly threatening, snarling, or snapping.
A puppy that behaves disrespectfully towards an adult of its own kind should also be allowed to be put in its place. Of course, it is important to ensure that there are no threats or warnings and that the adult dog does not attack the puppy or react violently to him.
Many strangers handle dogs without being asked and are not interested in whether the dog wants it. In this case, you can allow the dog to show that he doesn’t want to be touched by a warning growl.
Assessment of aggressive behavior
When evaluating aggressive behavior, subjective opinions always play a major role. Many dog owners do not find it bad if their own dog growls at another dog, keeps them at a distance by snapping, etc., but they may lose their minds when another dog shows this behavior towards their dog. Furthermore, opinions differ as to what healthy aggressive behavior is and what is not. There are dog owners who condemn every little aggressive behavior and do everything to ensure that their dog no longer does so in the future, while other owners find it completely unproblematic if their dog regularly threatens or even injures other dogs.
Now, of course, the question arises, in which case aggressive behavior is allowed or even desired, and in which case it should never occur?!
Example: If a woman goes home alone with her dog at night and a man who seems scary approaches her, she will surely be grateful to the dog if he drives the man away through aggressive threats. She feels “protected” by her dog and will certainly not work to prevent this behavior from occurring in the future. If this woman gets a visit from a male friend or a repair guy in the next few days, the same behavior of the dog is suddenly bothersome and inappropriate. Both situations were the same for the dog and his behavior was correct both times. A strange man who approaches his owner or his home must be driven out. How can the dog know that the woman did not want the first man near her, but invited the second herself?.