Swank Pets Dog Blog

Okay, now that I am awake again, this is Part 2 of the series “Dealing with your Dog’s Aggression”. You can read part 1 here.

MANAGING AGGRESSION: PACK DRIVE

The pack drive is usually associated with reproduction and being part of a group. Dogs that exhibit the pack drive may show signs of aggression towards people, attack other dogs, and not failing to stop an attack on another dog. These aggressive behaviors are seen a lot in dogs that leave their mothers too early. I’ve stressed this point a lot in previous posts, but puppies should leave their mother at around 10 – 12 weeks of age at the soonest. Any breeder that lets a puppy go any earlier is acting irresponsibly and your business should go elsewhere. Anyhow, at the age of 5 to 7 weeks, a puppy learns many instincts from their mother, such as canine body language. This canine body language pretty much teaches a puppy that they are dogs. Puppies that do not learn this canine body language tend to exhibit more aggressive behavior towards other dogs and sometimes humans.

To manage a dog that exhibits this type of behavior, you may try using these techniques:

1. If your dog is aggressive towards certain people, you need to slowly train your dog to be comfortable with that certain person. For example, if your dog is aggressive towards a boyfriend, which is quite common, you’ll want to start by having your boyfriend walk about 6 ft away with NO eye contact. Just before he passes your dog, have him toss your dog a treat. Repeat this step, but each time, have your boyfriend get closer each time. Soon, your dog should become more comfortable with him. Just remember to keep patient.

2. Aggression towards other dogs is a little tougher. I’m not quite the Dog Whisperer, but prevention is probably the easiest way to avoid aggression towards other dogs. If your dog is on a leash, try to distract your dog by tugging on their leash away from other dogs.

3. If you have a puppy that has been taken from their mother too soon or seems to be exhibiting a ‘pack drive’ type of behavior, then you’ll want to socialize your puppy with other dogs as much as possible while they are young. I know many vets advise on keeping your dog away from other dogs until they get all their vaccinations, so alwas consult with a vet before following this step in preventing your puppies future aggressive behavior.

FEEDING AND AGGRESSION

Some dogs may growl whenever anyone, including you, comes near their food while they are eating. This can be quite common with dogs, so its not a huge concern. Whatever you do, DON’T take their food away as they are growling. You will only make the situation worse. In this scenario I would simply find an area where your dog can eat in peace without any distractions from children or other dogs. This way, you and your dog will both be happy.

Hopefully this 2 part series in “Dealing With Your Dog’s Aggression” will help you understand why a dog becomes aggressive and how to manage it. In all, just make sure you are patient, and never blame your dog for being aggressive. These behaviors are natural and instinctive and often times the fault of an owner or your dog’s environment. Just make sure you put in the time to correct or prevent these behaviors.