Your Why is my dog scared of bigger dogs? Here’s the Answer

Can an Aggressive Dog be Cured?

Oh, gosh. The never-ending question in my field. All behaviors are modifiable. And we can always do something to make things better. In many, if not most, cases an aggressive dog can improve enough to be “good enough.”

But you can never really guarantee that ANY dog will never behave aggressively. We can’t even make that promise about humans!

Treating an aggressive dog will require a combination of management, counter-conditioning, and training the dog to do something else when he feels tense.

Punishing your dog for behaving aggressively will not help in the long run.

That’s because aggression is generally caused by a negative emotion, and punishing your dog will only make him feel worse about other dogs. While popping his collar or smacking him on the butt might interrupt the bad behavior, it won’t stop him from doing it in the long run. Worse, it might suppress warning behaviors (like lunging and growling) so he “looks better,” but then he skips straight to biting if a dog gets too close. Yikes!

Owners who see their dog being aggressive towards other dogs often think that their dog is trying to assert his dominance, prove himself to be alpha, or put the larger dog in his place.

To be frank, there’s no evidence that this is the case. The studies that led to scientists thinking that wolf dominance structures were strictly hierarchical and enforced through violence have been debunked.

And let’s be honest – dogs aren’t wolves. They don’t behave the same way at all. They’re much more similar to wolf puppies, even when they’re fully mature.

So your dog might be a jerk to bigger dogs, but it’s not because he’s trying to assert his dominance.

Dominance does exist in dogs – but it’s a specific relationship between two individuals in regards to a given resource. So rude behavior between two stranger dogs isn’t likely to be related to dominance.

Why is My Dog Aggressive Towards Bigger Dogs?

The short answer is that we really can’t know, because we can’t ask your dog. But here are some likely reasons why:

Bigger dogs are scary, just like bigger snakes, spiders, and crocodiles are scarier. This is true for small dogs scared of medium-sized dogs, and medium-sized dogs scared of large dogs. If you’re the little guy in a situation, it’s normal to feel threatened by the big guy. And the best defense is often a good offense – so the scared little guy puts on a big display, which makes the big guy back up. And ta-da, your dog just learned to behave aggressively in order to make scary big dogs go away.

1. (Note: this doesn’t mean that ignoring your dog’s warning signs is the answer – we’ve got to teach your dog that big dogs aren’t scary, not that behaving aggressively doesn’t work).

A big dog might have scared or hurt your dog. Sometimes, your dog isn’t just scared of big dogs because he’s intimidated – he’s scared because he had a bad experience! If you already know that your dog was hurt or scared by a big dog, then that explains things.

Stress can travel down the leash. Let’s say I was scared of German Shepherds after a scary experience with a police dog (or a Pit Bull after reading a news story, or a Labrador after one knocked me over as a kid). Later, I see a German Shepherd (or Pit Bull or Lab) on a walk with my Maltese. I tighten up on the leash, my palms start to sweat, my breathing quickens, and I pull my dog a bit closer to “stay safe.” My dog notices and gets tense too. The next day, the pattern repeats but this time my dog growls a bit because Mom is really worried! The third day, my dog growls again but this time I scold him. The next day, he sees the big dog and is REALLY worried – Mom was scared of him, and yesterday she yelled at me when he came close! Gosh, I’d better be sure to keep that big dog FAR away! And there you go, now my dog is scared of big dogs because I was scared of big dogs.

It’s pretty common to have a few questions if your dog is aggressive towards bigger dogs. Let’s tackle those with a quick Q&A:

Well… maybe? What IS “small dog syndrome?” It’s certainly not an actual diagnosis, the way hypertension syndrome or major depressive disorder is.

My personal inclination is that small dog syndrome doesn’t really exist – it’s just a name people give to the pattern of fearful behaviors commonly exhibited by anxious, undersocialized small dogs.

These little dogs are predisposed towards being nervous of big things – aren’t you more scared of a lion than a cheetah, or a cheetah than a house cat? When you’re little, big things are scarier.

But this problem is worse when the owners fail to help their small dogs learn that big things aren’t scary. The owners don’t expose their dogs to scary stuff and/or don’t teach their little dogs that scary stuff = treats.

Exposure isn’t enough here (read all about that here). Your small dog needs to learn that other dogs are actually safe to be around, and that takes work!

Can a big dog live with a small dog?

So, depending on how sturdy your little dog is, they certainly could co-exist together. We see big dogs and small dogs in families all the time, and they do just fine.

Small dog syndrome is the name given to a collection of behaviours displayed by small dogs, behaviours that have the effect of overcoming any deficits caused by being small in stature. Typical behaviours displayed include: Excitable behaviour. Jumping up on owners, other people or dogs. Growling at people or other dogs.

Fixing Your Dogs Anxiety Around Other Dogs

Small dogs are cute, portable, friendly and so lovable! However, many small dog breeds have a reputation for being yappy and scrappy. Where does this behavior come from and how can pet owners handle these big-scale reactions from their small-scale companions?

At Harpeth Hills Animal Hospital, we can help you with understanding dog training needs and handle this particular pet behavior, along with many others.

Many experts believe that this behavior could be coming from a place of fear. After all, can you imagine how big the world looks to them from that position? Their stature is much lower and they are very aware of their size in this world.

There is also the idea that dog owners could be encouraging this behavior and reinforcing it. After all, small dogs are not as threatening and their owners behavior is often easier to forgive. Essentially, they are getting away with it through ignoring the jumps or growls. It could even be unintentionally rewarded through comforting words,snuggling, treats, etc.

One of the best ways to be successful in pet training is to increase awareness in your own behavior. Ask yourself—is this behavior that I want to continue? Should I be rewarding it?