Self-defence aggression towards an owner.
Self-defense aggression is caused by the feeling of fear as a rule. It may happen when a dog thinks that a danger comes from a person of it or its puppies. In such cases a dog becomes barking and growling to frighten off or even can rush and bite.
Self-defence can be directed:
- Towards a certain member of a family at the sight of whom a dog lays back it's ears and puts the tail between the legs, tries to escape or growls and bites. - Towards babies and small children if they approach a dog too close, start pulling whiskers and tail, stepping its pads, beating its nose, touching its teeth and so on. Usually a dog tries to avoid meeting with them and it bites only when it has cut off all its paths of retreat. So don't let your child to taunt a dog.
The main causes:
It doesn't mean that every cause written below will make your dog aggressive. But if there are some problems that concern aggression towards an owner these causes are the main.
- Cruel treatment
More often a dog begins to be afraid and to rush to a person because of cruel treatment. An owner can treat a dog severe for example during trainings when he beats it hands and legs, whips, oppresses or uses other methods. These methods fit dogs with balanced nervous system. They behave adequate in case of pain. But it doesn't fit other dogs.
- Inadvertent encouragement by an owner or other members of family.
There are such cases; an owner is disinfecting a wound or is cutting dog's claws or something. A dog starts growling or biting. He stops disinfecting and starts calming his pet. Animal will remember it and in future will react the same way to any pain as an owner's caress fixed this behavior last time (a dog thought its behavior was correct).
The correction of problem behavior.
It is necessary to refuse cruel treatment a dog. While training it's better to use positive support methods. Praise a dog for all it did right more often and ignore it undesirable behavior.
If you need to disinfect a wound or make some other procedures and you know a dog will react aggressive such acts it's better to muzzle it. After that you can begin disinfection. Don't stop and don't fawn it for fright and aggressive behavior. It's better to say strictly "No" and continue your acts.
Aggression between dogs living in one family.
Nowadays much people have got some dogs in one family. So they often meet the problem of unisexual aggression.
Possible causes:
- Usually stable hierarchical relations develop between dogs living in one family. It means one dog obey to the other. If aggression appears between the dogs it shows unstable hierarchical relations between animals. They can't decide which one is the leader. Very often it happens when a young dog of 8-12 months was taken to an elder one. It is matured enough to try to challenge the leading status in the pack. And here mach people make a mistake. They try to abuse and punish an elder dog. Give the one bone, devote more time to younger dog as the weakest one which just have got. So we have sharp conflicts between animals. It also makes the creation of stable hierarchy in the pack impossible.
- The problem of dominance regarding the owner. When each dog consider itself the leader not only regarding each other but also regarding the owner. Insufficient training on dog's obedience.
The correction of problem behavior.
- Start the training on dog's obedience independent oê with an instructor.
- The owner has to achieve the leading position regarding dogs.
- It's necessary to help animals to establish hierarchical relations between them as far as possible. To do it you should show the younger or weaker dog that an elder one is the leader. To do this we advise you to stick these rules:
- If both dogs are growling it is necessary to punish a younger one even if an elder dog started.
- It is necessary to feed the elder or the stronger dog at first, to take for a walk, to devote more attention and caress, to check if it got toy or bone.
All these tricks are necessary to approve higher hierarchical status of an elder dog.
If your animals are almost at the same age watch their behavior for some days to find out which dog is in the lead. The leader usually the first goes out and enters the room, jumps into the car, runs to meet the master, comes at the summons and comes to the bowl. Then after finding it out begin to stick to the rules set forth above to show the other dog you recognize the first one as a leader.
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