Why is my dog’s behavior getting worse? Get Your Pet Thinking

What is fear aggression, and how is it diagnosed?

One of the most common types of aggression seen by veterinary behaviorists is fear related aggression. Fear-related aggression may occur in many situations (home, veterinary hospital, public setting, or on walks) and many different people (familiar, unfamiliar or professionals) or animals (same or different species) may be the target of this aggression.

Fear related aggression may occur when a dog is exposed to people or other animals that the dog is unfamiliar with, or to those that have been previously associated with an unpleasant or fearful experience. Some dogs learn and generalize based on one experience; others need multiple opportunities to develop a pattern of behavior based on previous experiences. Although some dogs may retreat when fearful, those that are on their own territory and those that cannot retreat because they are cornered or restrained are more likely to fight. If aggressive responses alter the outcome – that is, the person or animal retreats, acts overly fearful, or if the pet is harmed or further frightened in any way (e.g., a fight, punishment) – the fear is likely to be further aggravated.

Fear aggression toward family members might arise out of punishment or some other unpleasant experience associated with the owners. Many cases of fear-related aggression are seen as combinations or complicating factors of other forms of aggression (e.g., conflict, maternal, possessive, learned, pain related, social conflict). Fearful body postures in conjunction with aggressive displays are diagnostic of fear-related aggression; however, in some cases, as dogs learn that aggression changes the outcome of the encounter, their body postures may become more confident even when the underlying motivation of fear is unaltered. Behavior therapy, perhaps in combination with drug therapy, can be used to treat most cases of fear aggression (see Fears, Phobias, and Anxiety, Canine Communication – Interpreting Dog Language, Fears and Phobias – Animals and People, and Fears and Phobias – Inanimate Noises and Places)

Tactical Tips for Unwanted Dog Behaviors

The first step is to greet your dog calmly, so you’re not getting him over-excited.

Since the objective of jumping up is attention, refusing to give your attention is the best way to discourage jumping. Stand like a statue or turn your back.

If you’ve taught the “sit” command, ask for a sit — a sitting dog can’t jump. Then get down on your dog’s level and give him the attention he wants. Eventually, the dog should initiate the sit without being asked.

To prevent your dog from jumping on people who visit, use a crate, a “place” command, a baby gate, or keep him on leash until he calms down.

Chewing is a necessary and normal behavior for dogs, especially when they’re teething. The most effective way to save your possessions from destruction is to keep them out of your dog’s reach.

Offer your dog objects he can chew on that are appropriate for his age and size — but never old socks or shoes.

Give him lots of exercise and mental stimulation.

Teach him the “leave it”

Once rewarded, counter surfing may take a long time to stop. If you can make sure that they never, ever find anything good there, then maybe they will give up.

Put your dog in her crate or teach her to keep her “place” on her mat when you’re preparing food.

Teach the “leave it” command.

Never feed your dog scraps from the counter when you’re preparing food or cleaning up.

Try not to pull your dog — if you pull on the leash, it’s instinctive for your dog to pull back.

Reinforce your dog for walking nicely on the leash when he walks by your side by praising, clicking, or offering treats.

He must learn to pay attention to you no matter how exciting he finds the environment, so it’s a good idea to first practice where there are few distractions.

If he pulls, you stop. You can also redirect by quickly doing a 180 and calling him back to your side. Be consistent – don’t let him pull you, and make sure others who walk him also won’t let him pull.

It’s a given — dogs bark, but barking can quickly become a nuisance. Teach a “quiet” or “enough” command. Then as soon as your dog starts to bark, you calmly say “quiet.” He should stop barking and come to you – and you can praise him or give him a treat.

Remember, the more excited you get the more likely your dog thinks there’s something to bark about.

It’s a good idea to consider why he’s barking – he’s bored, needs exercise, or is afraid of other dogs and people and needs additional socialization.

If he’s barking at you for attention, don’t give it unless he’s quiet.

Dogs are creatures of habit, and once habits form it can take lots of effort for you to change them. Your dog wants to understand what you want him to do, but it will take time and patience to make your objectives clear and guide your pup away from unwanted behaviors to better ones. Consulting a qualified dog trainer can help you get started. https://www.akc.org/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php Get Your Free AKC eBook

Fido doesn’t obey no matter how many times you say “sit, sit, SIT, sit down! Come here, sit, I-SAID-SIT!”

Impatient much? Yelling a string of commands at your dog without giving him time to take action speaks to a high degree of impatience, Ohlmann says.

“Its the same as if you asked a friend, Hey, how was your day, what did you do, by the way did you see that TV show? without waiting for them to respond,” he says. “The dog doesnt even have time to process the command [before youre shouting it again]. Talking over somebody would be considered impatient. Its the same thing to your dog.”

(Another pitfall of repeating the command, we learned in class, is that the dog learns they dont have to obey the first time — not what you want, especially if you need to call your dog back to you from a dangerous situation!)

Do this ONE THING to ELIMINATE 90% of Behavior Problems

Though aggression can be a normal canine behavior, aggression is a complex, serious and dangerous behavior problem for dog owners. Expression of aggression may range from inhibited communication such as a warning growl, snarl or a snap and include, of course, severe uninhibited repetitive bites that may be quite injurious. The decision to keep or rehome a dog that has demonstrated aggressive responses is complicated and serious and may have legal consequences. Since there are many different types of aggression, making a diagnosis, determining the prognosis (the chances of safe and effective correction), and developing an appropriate treatment plan are usually best handled with the help of a veterinary or applied animal behaviorist.

To treat the problem effectively, it will first be necessary to determine which type of aggression your dog displays: conflict-related, fear, possessive, protective, territorial, maternal, play, redirected, pain-induced, interdog aggression, aggression toward familiar and unfamiliar people, status-related aggression, pathophysiological (or medical), or learned. In many cases, more than one form of aggression may be exhibited (see Aggression – Introduction). Treatment is addressed separately.