Aggressive Dog Behavior
Aggressive dog behavior is not an uncommon thing as dogs have a tendency to be naturally aggressive. They like to bark and growl and can appear to be quite aggressive to the untrained eye.
The reasons that a dog becomes aggressive can include a number of things. The most common reasons are:
- They are not feeling well or are in pain.
- There is a change in the routine. If you usually spend a lot of time with your dog but for some reason, significantly reduce the time spent, this can sometimes trigger aggression.
- Perceived threat. If a dog believes that either itself or its human family are in danger then it may become aggressive and attack the perceived threat. This is more prevalent in dogs like the German Shepherd and other intelligent guard dogs. Poor training. If your dog has not been trained correctly then it is certainly a danger, make sure you keep the dog on a lead if this is the case.
- Poor treatment. If your dog is treated poorly or punished too much, it may lash out and attack anyone.
There are many different types of aggression among dogs, each with its own causes. Here are some of them:
- Dominate Aggression - This is common with dogs that like to establish dominance in many situations, if this is not controlled then it can be very dangerous and can result in serious injury to people and other animals.
- Fear Aggression - If a dog feels it is being "cornered" or is in a position of danger, it may become aggressive and attack anyone in its path.
- Redirected Aggression - If a dog feels aggression towards another dog yet it is not able to take it out on the dog, it may redirect it to a human.
- Territorial Aggression - Dogs can often be very protective of things such as food and toys, therefore, if a dog feels their territory has been breached, they may become aggressive towards you.
Aggression among dogs is actually quite a common problem. If you have any reason to believe that your dog has an aggression problem then you must take action to control its behavior. You should make sure the dog is properly trained and if necessary see a behavioral specialist.