Is your dog’s bark worse than his bite?
Most dog owners would rather not find
out the hard way. In addition to growling,
barring teeth, snarling, snapping, and
biting, dog aggression includes any other
behavior meant to intimidate or harm a
person or animal. But because dogs and
humans have different communication
systems, these signals often can be misread.
Keep in mind that from a dog’s perspective,
there’s always a reason for aggressive
behavior. A person may intend to be
friendly, but a dog may feel threatened or
intimidated. That doesn’t mean that the
dog is being crazy or vicious. But because
aggression is so complex, and the potential
consequences so serious, professional
in-home help from an animal behavior
specialist is advised if your dog is displaying
such behavior.
There are several different types of
aggression. Dominance aggression is
motivated by a challenge to a dog’s social
status or control of a social interaction, and
can be directed at people or other animals.
Fear-motivated aggression is a defensive reaction
that occurs when a dog believes he is
in danger of being harmed. Protective, territorial,
and possessive aggression involve
the dog’s defense of what he considers to be block), a family member or pack, or food,
toys and other valued objects (including
those stolen from the trash). Redirected
aggression—a common type, often misunderstood
by pet owners—occurs when
a dog is provoked by a person or animal he
is unable to attack (someone on the other
side of a fence, for example) and turns his
aggression on whoever is nearby instead.
The likelihood of aggressive behavior
varies markedly from dog to dog. Both
environmental and genetic factors influence
these differences. Some dogs respond
aggressively with little stimulation, while
others never attempt to bite despite being
subject to all kinds of threatening stimuli
and events. This threshold can be raised using
behavior modification techniques, but
these should only be attempted under the
guidance of an experienced professional.
Where to begin? First, check with
your veterinarian to rule out medical
causes. Then supervise, confine, or restrict
your dog’s activities until you can obtain
professional guidance. For example, consider
using a muzzle when your dog is
out in public. Avoid exposing your dog
to situations where he is more likely to
show aggression. Try preventing access to
locations where your dog is territorial. In
an emergency, if he’s possessive of certain
inappropriate objects, bribe him with
something better—a treat or a shoe, for
example. Above all, spay or neuter your
dog. Intact dogs are more likely to display
aggressive behavior.
Finally, be sure you don’t make things
worse! Punishment won’t help and may
even escalate the behavior. Also, don’t encourage
aggression by wrestling or playing
tug of war. When dogs are encouraged to
“Go get ‘em” or to bark and dash about in
response to outside noises or someone’s approach,
territorial and protective aggressive
behavior may result.
Adapted from materials developed by
the HSUS: Pets for Life Series.
