|
The Development And Correction Of Canine
Aggression
Introduction
Aggression in dogs is the most serious behavior
problem that pet owners must deal with, and it
is largely preventable if the
owner understands canine growth periods and the factors that
influence the
development of aggressive behavior.
Health authorities report that more than one
million people are bitten each year, but this
number probably represents only
half the actual bites; the rest go unreported. Although many
bite wounds are
minor, experts have reported that bites account for one percent of all emergency
room admissions and cost about $30 million in annual health care. At least half
of dog bite victims
are young children, usually under 10 years of age.
Critical periods of socialization
Knowledge of the early growth periods of dogs
helps to understand canine aggression. Puppies
have a critical need for
socialization from three weeks of age, when they can see and hear,
until 14
weeks of age. Puppies should best be purchased between seven and eight weeks of
age for proper socialization in the new home. Eight to 10 weeks is a fearful
period, during
which the puppy must not be harshly disciplined and must be
handled gently by adults and
children.
Fourteen weeks starts the juvenile period --
the dreaded adolescence -- that ends when
the pup achieves sexual maturity,
usually at about 14-15 months of age. If a puppy has not
been socialized by the
time he is 14 weeks old, he may never be trustworthy around people
or other
dogs.
Puppies raised in kennels where they receive
very little human handling will often remain shy
of people, particularly if they
are not sold prior to 14 weeks of age. They may always be
fearful, especially
under stressful conditions.
Dogs reach sexual maturity at six to 14 months
of age. During this period, they usually begin
to bark at strangers and become
more protective, and males begin lifting a leg to urinate.
Introduction to
strangers (adults, children, and other dogs) on the home property during
this
period is important as well, especially if the pup has missed out on early
socialization.
Factors influencing aggression
Genetic and hereditary factors play a major
role in aggression. Protective breeds such as
Dobermans, Akitas, and Rottweilers
are expected to be more aggressive than Golden Retrievers
and Labrador
Retrievers. Feisty terriers were bred to kill small game, and they still retain
this
characteristic.
Inbreeding can create unstable temperaments,
and hormones can contribute to aggressive
tendencies in intact male dogs,
females in heat or in a false pregnancy, and females nursing
puppies.
Environment -- living conditions, lack of
socialization, excessive punishment, being attacked
or frightened by an
aggressive dog, being spoiled or given too much unwarranted praise by
owners,
being isolated from human contact or being exposed to frequent teasing by
children or
aggravation by joggers --can also influence aggression.
Obviously, dogs are not people. They have a
pack order that determines their social rank, a
pack order that is established
and maintained by body language. Some dogs occupy
dominant or alpha status, and
some have low rank or omega status. When dogs live with
people, they look at
humans as members of the pack and try to establish their place in the
social
order by challenging the more submissive family members, particularly the
children.
If dogs display a dominant gesture such as growling while guarding the
food dish, and they are
not corrected for this behavior, they have established a
bit of dominance to build on with any
or all family members. If these dominant
gestures remain uncorrected, the dog slowly but
surely gains in status over one
or all family members.
The subtle signs of dominance usually go
unnoticed or are explained away until the dog bites
the human for infringement
on his alpha position. The owner misunderstands the progression
of behaviors and
blames the dog for biting "for no reason." These dogs frequently end
up
at animal shelters and are destroyed because their owners misunderstood the
development
of aggressive behavior.
Types of aggression
There are several types of aggression:
defensive or induced by fear, pain, or punishment;
dominant; possessive;
territorial; intra-sexual (male-to-male or female-to-female); predatory;
or
parental. A dog may exhibit more than one type of aggression.
Dominant-aggressive dogs are characterized as
confident, macho, and "on the muscle."
They stand tall, up on their
toes, with their ears up and forward. They carry their tails high
and wag it
slowly and stiffly from side to side. They often have their hackles up, stare
menacingly, and emit a low growl with lips pursed and teeth exposed. They will
place a paw
on the shoulder of another dog, mount people's legs, and push
children aside when going
through a door. Dominant-aggressive dogs are demanding
of attention. They demand to
go outside, demand excessive affection, are
possessive of their sleeping areas, and stop
eating when approached. Many of
these dogs will not obey commands, especially submissive
commands (such as
"down" or "wait"). Males lift their legs on everything, even
in the house,
even if their bladder is empty. Most dominant-aggressive dogs are
purebred males.
Defensive-aggressive dogs are much more
ambivalent in their behavior. They display
submissive body language (ears back,
often flat against the head; avoidance of direct
eye contact; lowering of the
head and body; tucking tail between the legs; submissive
urination) and they
lick hands and roll over to expose their bellies. They resist handling,
hate to
have their feet touched, don't like to be groomed, and often shy away from
human
hands. These are the fear-biters; they may snap if cornered and will often bite
at people who turn and walk away.
Preventing aggression
The primary goal is simple -- never allow any
dog to achieve dominant status over any
adult or child. If dogs always know
their social ranking and are never allowed to challenge
people, they will
usually be good family members.
The first rule for preventing problems is to
match the right breed and puppy to the right owner.
In other words, the Rottweiler or Akita is not a suitable breed for a meek or mild owner
or the
macho owner looking for a tough, aggressive dog; the Dalmatian and the
Flat-Coated
Retriever do not fit sedentary lifestyles; the Shetland Sheepdog or
the Chihuahua do not
like boisterous, rowdy children, etc. Likewise, the litter
bully will take over the home of a
submissive owner and the shy puppy needs
extra attention to adjust to an active household.
Puppy testing done by the breeder can help. The
test includes social attraction, following,
restraint, social dominance and
elevation dominance.
Aggression prevention includes early
socialization. Puppies should be handled gently, especially
between three and
four months of age. They should be hand-fed by children and adults and
taught to
take food without grabbing or lunging. They should not be allowed to chase
children
or joggers, jump on people, mount legs, or growl for any reason. They
should never receive or
be part of rough, aggressive play such as hand-fighting,
wrestling, or tug-of-war games.
Puppies should never be physically punished for
aggressive behavior; instead, they should
be denied the rewards of aggression,
restrained from repeating the infraction, and taught
alternative behavior.
If puppies bite at or jump on children, the
children should take charge by screaming "Off!"
and crossing their
arms (to protect hands and arms from being grabbed) and turning away.
Puppies
love to play; if fun is denied when they get too rough, they will learn to play
more
calmly.
Puppy parties, where children of all ages visit
and play gentle games and offer food rewards
are helpful for the children and
the puppy.
The puppy should be part of the family pack and
should learn to accept delivery people,
repairmen, and other strangers. Once
they have been vaccinated against the common
canine diseases, puppies should be
exposed to non-aggressive dogs so they learn that
other dogs as well as other
people are friendly.
Older dogs
Food rewards help train young puppies, but as
dogs get older, they must receive praise for
good behavior and mild discipline
for bad behavior. Dogs should earn everything they
receive from their owners.
They should sit to receive petting or treats, sit before going out
the door, sit
before getting out of the car, sit to have the leash attached to the collar.
These
exercises constantly reinforce the notion that the owner is boss.
Dogs should not be left unsupervised with
children, especially children who do not live in the
household. Children should
be taught to use the basic obedience commands so they can exert
some control
over the pet as well.
Dogs should not receive excessive praise (or
constant petting), especially for doing nothing.
Excessive praise and petting
elevates the dog's social status and sends him mixed signals.
Neutering male dogs will not solve all
problems, but will help prevent dominance aggression
and inter-male fighting,
particularly when done before the pup reaches sexual maturity.
Finally, prevention of aggression requires that
the owner win each and every confrontation
with the dog. If the dog wins a
showdown by growling when you try to get him off the sofa
or take his toy or
approach his food bowl, he receives a 'go' signal for the next step in an
attempted takeover.
Genes + environment = temperament
Please remember this, if you don't remember
anything else: Once a dog has reached dominant
status, punishment cannot be used
to correct a dominant aggressive dog!
The trainer may make the dog revert to a
submissive-aggressive or defensive-aggressive animal
and the dog may respond to
that person out of fear, but it will never be trustworthy around
others, even
family members. The most that may be accomplished is to reduce the frequency
and
severity of the aggressive acts.
Biting animals often go from home to home
and lead a life of fear and severe, inhumane
punishment.
Treatment
Treating aggressive behavior is best handled by
a professional animal behaviorist or a very
experienced, reputable animal
trainer. There are a number of individuals who call themselves
methods such as "hanging" and shock collars to correct
aggressive dogs. Excessive force and
punishment are their main tools.
When seeking a professional trainer, always
seek advice from your veterinarian and carefully
interview trainers to find the
one who uses the least amount of force necessary.
Treatment consists of listing all the things
that trigger aggressive behavior and preventing
these situations from
developing. For example, if the dog growls when you try to remove it
from the
couch, don't allow it to get on the couch.
The first impulse is to minimize contact
between an aggressive dog and the person or people
he is most aggressive to.
However, this scheme only encourages the dog to become dominant
to more and more
people and tightens his control of the household. Therefore, the individual
who
is having the most difficulty with the dog should become the main provider for
everything
the dog needs food, water, exercise, praise, affection, and all play
activity. This person must
be able to train the dog to obey basic obedience
commands of sit, stay, come, and down.
He will probably need a lot of help with
the down command (which puts the animal in a
submissive position) so he doesn't
get bitten.
All other family members must totally ignore
the dog no play, food, or affection. The dog must
look on that one person as its
sole provider of everything.
The dog must be rewarded for any signs of
submissive behavior such as ears back, looking
away (avoiding eye contact),
rolling over, licking, crouching, or lowering the head when being
reached for.
Any dominant gestures that the dog will tolerate should be used frequently and
the dog must be praised and given occasional food rewards for submitting. The
dog must earn
everything.
Once a dog starts to respond, then
counter-conditioning can be started, but this should only
be done with a
qualified behaviorist-trainer. Counter-conditioning includes working with a
dog
that doesn't like its feet or hindquarters handled; it is also referred to as
desensitizing
the dog to certain stimuli or conditions.
To counter-condition a dog that does not like
its hindquarters handled, first teach the dog
to stand on command, then, with an experienced handler controlling the dog's
head, gently
touch the rear end.
If the dog submits, praise and give a food treat. Repeat praise and
reward for
each positive response. Gradually increase the duration and frequency of
handling
and praise the dog for each act of submission, no matter how small.
Aggressive dogs can be retrained under the
right circumstances. Keep in mind, however,
before anyone starts a program to
correct an aggressive dog, he must realize that the dog
may never be trustworthy
around other people or children and may bite if provoked. Owners
should always
be given the cold, hard facts: they should never feel guilty for having an
aggressive dog euthanized, but they should also realize that, if they are likely
to make the
same mistakes with another dog, they should not get another dog.
The late Dr. Harvey Braaf VMD listed the
following symptoms of dog aggression. None of these
symptoms should be ignored;
each can be a predictor of serious aggressive behavior.
A professional trainer
should be contacted if the owner cannot deal with the problem.
In no case should the animal be abandoned
to a shelter or rescue organization for
adoption by an unsuspecting new owner.
If you think your dog is aggressive check the
following symptoms
- Excessive barking;
- A tendency to snarl, growl, or snap
to protect food;
- Overprotectiveness of possessions;
- Fearfulness in new situations or
around strangers;
- Severe attacks on other animals,
such as cats or livestock;
- Attempts to mount people's legs;
- Snapping and snarling when petted,
groomed, or lifted;
- Frequent attempts to chase moving
objects such as bicycles, skateboards,
cars & trucks;
- Repeated escapes from home and long
periods spent roaming free
How to Avoid Dog Attacks.
- Avoid going onto private property
unless specifically invited.
- Do not run when confronted with a
threatening dog. Running only stimulates the dog to
increase its
aggression.
- Hold your ground and demonstrate
moderate dominance by telling the dog firmly
to go home. This
usually works wonders. Firmly saying "no" and "sit" may
also work.
- Avoid direct eye contact, which the
dog interprets as a challenge. Instead, appear
nonchalant.
- When the dog begins to back away,
slowly retreat also, keeping the dog in view
without paying much
attention to it. If the dog begins to come back, stop and wait until it
moves off again.
- Do not try to outdistance the dog on
a bicycle. Stop, dismount and stand with the
bicycle between you
and the dog. Without something to chase, the dog may lose interest.
- Do not try to pet a strange,
free-roaming dog.
- Never attempt to touch or pet a dog
that is eating or sleeping.
- Do not be embarrassed to jump on a
car, climb a tree, or call for help if you are
threatened.
- Do not be embarrassed to ask a dog
owner to restrain the dog until it clearly
recognizes you as a friend.
- Avoid any encounters with
guard-trained dogs. Find out if any are patrolling before you
walk
in a new area.
- Report all aggressive loose dogs or
incidents of actual bites.
- Keep still and try to remain calm.
Do not scream or run. (J. Michael Cornwell, DVM,
advises children to
"be a tree," with feet together, elbows against your chest and
hands
under your neck.)
- Glance at the dog so you know where
it is, but don't stare it in the eyes.
- Don't turn your back on the barking
animal.
- Let the dog sniff you. In
most cases, it will leave as soon as it realizes that you aren't
really a
threat.
- Speak to the dog only in a calm
voice. You might try: "Go away," "Go home" or
"Nice dog."
- Wait until the dog leaves, then
slowly back away until it's out of sight.
- As a last resort, throw or
pretend to throw an object at an aggressive dog.
- If attacked,
"feed" the dog something else--your jacket, bike, purse, books--to
distract it.
- If knocked down, curl into
a ball, and use your hands to protect your head and neck.
- Seek immediate medical attention for
dog bites. All bites should also be reported to
the police or
animal-control department.
Gary L. Clemons, DVM
What else can I do to help my pet?
PetAlive
Aggression Formula
Use PetAlive Aggression Formula:
- To reduce biting,
scratching and aggression in animals
- To calm highly strung
and stressed pets or those with a history of abuse
- To relax and calm your
pet when a new baby or animal is introduced to the
family
- To soothe anxiety,
restlessness and agitation
- As a tonic for the
nervous system
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click Here to Order PetAlive Aggression Formula
|
| 
