The crimson blood shone brightly as it dropped onto the freshly fallen snow. In reality, the wounds were minor, but the blood did add punctuation to the situation. The attack had not lasted very long. Jim and I were able to get to the dogs quickly. Jim grabbed his older dog (the aggressor) and I snatched up my six-month-old pup. The bite had occurred when Jim grabbed onto his dog. I don't think he really intended to bite the hand that fed him. In fact, it seemed as if the moment the dog realized that he had bitten Jim, the fight totally left him. The question that had piqued my curiosity was why the older dog had attack the pup in the first place?

In the years that have followed this experience, I have had the opportunity to work with a fair number of dogs that exhibited aggressive behaviors. Humans take the aggressive behavior of a dog very seriously. Many dogs exhibiting these behaviors are rehomed, isolated, or euthanized. With the potential consequences of aggressive behavior being severe, the stress and liability these behaviors can create for the humans involved is also high. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for dogs to behave this way. Remember, it is part of the programming that nature has given them. I would venture a guess that for many of you, the story I shared at the beginning of this article reminded you of similar experiences that you have witnessed in your adventures afield. It's my hope that through this article I can shed a little light on the subject of aggression and offer some helpful suggestions for preventing your dog from feeling like aggression is necessary.

Understanding Why Dogs Are Aggressive

There are a number of different reasons a dog may show aggressive behavior: possessive aggression, food aggression, and resource guarding are three common forms. I have A-listed these three behaviors together because they are quite similar. In all three cases, the dog is afraid of losing something.

Protective aggression and territorial aggression are other behaviors a dog may exhibit when they feel a need to drive away a threat in order to maintain a safe environment.

Fear aggression and pain aggression are behaviors a dog may exhibit when in a state of fear, usually when a dog feels that fleeing is not an option.

As we look at this list of aggressive behaviors exhibited by dogs, I would like to point out a few commonalities that can be useful in both preventing and stopping these behaviors.

First: They are all rooted in fear.

Second: In all cases, the dog’s behavior is in an effort to create or maintain space.

Third: Though these actions are looked down on by humans, they are natural and effective behaviors in a dog’s world. From a dog’s point of view, they are good survival skills.

Creating Good Experiences for Your Dog

There is an old saying that a dog is a good judge of character. I have found that this is not inherently true. The only way a dog can become a good judge of character is if they get to know a lot of characters. Naturally a dog is uncertain or scared of new people, places, and dogs. This caution or fear is a survival tool hardwired into the dog. It's designed to help them stay safe. The best way to alleviate these fears is to give your dog a lot of new, positive experiences. This is often referred to as socialization.

Managing these situations to help them have good experiences is key. Our dogs always attach their expectations for future experiences to their past experiences. This is also a good survival skill. If meeting a stranger was a scary experience, they will approach their next experience with the same expectations. Finding dogs to let your dog spend off leash time with has great value. This is best done with friends and neighbors if possible. Public areas like dog parks create situations that are hard to control or manage. The purpose for these encounters is to allow your dog the opportunity to learn how to communicate with other dogs, and how to respect the boundaries that dogs may set.

It’s also wise to promote interaction with other people. I find having other people ask my dog to do things that I have taught it, and rewarding the dog for compliance, gives my dog the opportunity to see other people as leaders and friends. Though interaction with other people and dogs is an important part of socialization, it is not the only part. In my experience, the more important part of socialization is teaching a dog the correct way to behave in social situations. Rather than treating every encounter as a meet and greet where dogs sniff noses at the end of tight leashes, I recommend approaching encounters with a goal to teach the dog to focus on following your directions. When this is combined with reward-based communication, the presence of strangers becomes a part of an enjoyable experience. If socialization is done well, dogs will become comfortable with new situations, people, and dogs. Most importantly, well socialized dogs learn to look to their handlers for guidance in all situations. This gives the handler a position of leadership and helps prevent the dog from believing that it needs to take that role upon itself.

Controlling Space for Your Dog

For dogs, safety exists in space. The further they are from a potential danger, the safer they feel. When concerned about a situation, dogs make an effort to increase the distance from the threat by driving it away or by moving away. It's the action of driving away a threat that we label as aggressive. The fear or concern for the situation often goes unnoticed because the actions of the dog seem bold and confident. This is very similar to the human that acts over-confident as a cover up for their insecurity. Because the dog’s actions are rooted in fear, punishing the aggressive action will most likely increase the concern in the next encounter and exacerbate the problem. It’s far more effective to control the situation by controlling space for the dog. This can be done by calling the dog away from the perceived threat or sending the dog away from the threat. In this case, obedience to the requests can then be rewarded and a potentially bad situation can become positive. Obviously, the behavior of coming when called, especially in a highly distracted situation, or sending the dog away from something that it has great interest in, is no small task. It’s not something to be taught in the moment. It is important to work on these skills regularly, so you are prepared when you go afield.

I like to include the teaching of these behaviors in my formal puppy training plan. I find that calling a dog from its food, away from a friend, or away from the front door to be great exercises to do in preparation. Sending a dog away from something of interest is a behavior that I strongly encourage all owners to work on. It is a go to for dogs communicating with dogs, but for some reason it is overlooked by humans communicating with dogs. Simply chasing a dog away from something can quickly leave a dog believing that we are unhappy with it. The secret is to teach the dog to go away in an effort to be rewarded. For example, sending your dog to its bed to receive a food reward. A more advanced behavior may be sending a dog to its bed, using a positive marker to mark the behavior, and then releasing the dog to go eat its dinner as a reward.

Dogs crave structure. It brings them peace. They know that it is necessary for safety and security. When dogs sense a lack of structure and leadership, it is natural for them to try to take on the role of leader themselves. When a dog steps up to lead, they will do so using the instincts they were born with. They claim space and objects by driving others away. They establish leadership by telling others to move their feet, and if trapped, they protect themselves with their teeth. In its simplest form, a leader is an individual that can put another into action. As we learn to influence our dog’s movement, we establish ourselves as leaders. If the dog believes that following our guidance brings safety and rewards, they will gladly fall into the role as a follower. When a dog feels safe and confident in the environment, and they know where to look for leadership, they are far less likely to display aggressive behavior.