A
dog's bark may be worse than his bite, but most of us would rather not find
out one way or the other. Growling, baring teeth, snarling, snapping, and
biting are all aggressive behaviorsbut dog aggression includes any behavior
meant to intimidate or harm a person or another animal. Although these
messages are among the handful of communication tools available to dogs,
they're generally unacceptable to humans. Because humans and dogs have
different communication systems, misunderstandings can occur between the two
species.
But from a dog's perspective, there's always a reason for aggressive
behavior. A person may intend to be friendly, but a dog may perceive that
person's behavior as threatening or intimidating. Dogs aren't being
schizophrenic, psychotic, crazy, or necessarily "vicious" when displaying
aggressive behavior.
Because aggression is so complex, and because the potential consequences
are so serious, we recommend that you get professional in-home help from an
animal behavior specialist if your dog is displaying aggressive behavior.
Types of Aggression
Dominance Aggression: Dominance aggression is motivated by a
challenge to a dog's social status or to his control of a social
interaction. Dogs are social animals and view their human families as their
social group or "pack." Based on the outcomes of social challenges among
group members, a dominance hierarchy or "pecking order" is established.
If your dog perceives his own ranking in the hierarchy to be higher than
yours, he'll probably challenge you in certain situations. Because people
don't always understand canine communication, you may inadvertently
challenge your dog's social position. A dominantly aggressive dog may growl
if he is disturbed when resting or sleeping or if he is asked to give up a
favorite spot, such as the couch or the bed. Physical restraint, even when
done in a friendly manner (like hugging), may also cause your dog to respond
aggressively. Reaching for your dog's collar, or reaching over his head to
pet him, could also be interpreted as a challenge for dominance. Dominantly
aggressive dogs are often described as "Jekyll and Hydes" because they can
be very friendly when not challenged. Dominance aggression may be directed
at people or at other animals. The most common reason for fights among dogs
in the same family is instability in the dominance hierarchy.
Fear-Motivated Aggression: Fear-motivated aggression is a
defensive reaction and occurs when a dog believes he is in danger of being
harmed. Remember that it's your dog's perception of the situation,
not your actual intent, which determines your dog's response. For example,
you may raise your arm to throw a ball, but your dog may bite you because he
believes he's protecting himself from being hit. A dog may also be fearfully
aggressive when approached by other dogs.
Protective, Territorial, and Possessive Aggression: Protective,
territorial, and possessive aggression are all very similar, and involve the
defense of valuable resources. Territorial aggression is usually
associated with defense of property, and that "territory" may extend well
past the boundaries of your yard. For example, if you regularly walk your
dog around the neighborhood and allow him to urine-mark, he may think his
territory includes the entire block. Protective aggression usually
refers to aggression directed toward people or animals whom a dog perceives
as threats to his family, or pack. Dogs become possessively aggressive
when defending their food, toys, or other valued objects, including items as
peculiar as tissues stolen from the trash.
Redirected Aggression: This is a relatively common type of
aggression but one that is often misunderstood by pet owners. If a dog is
somehow provoked by a person or animal he is unable to attack, he may
redirect this aggression onto someone else. For example, two family dogs may
become excited, and bark and growl in response to another dog passing
through the front yard; or two dogs confined behind a fence may turn and
attack each other because they can't attack an intruder. Predation is
usually considered to be a unique kind of aggressive behavior because it's
motivated by the intent to obtain food, and not primarily by the intent to
harm or intimidate.
Individual Variation
The likelihood of a dog to show aggressive behavior in any particular
situation varies markedly from dog to dog. Some dogs tend to respond
aggressively with very little stimulation. Others may be subjected to all
kinds of threatening stimuli and events and yet never attempt to bite.
The difference in the threshold prompting aggressive behavior is
influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. If this threshold is
low, a dog will be more likely to bite. Raising the threshold makes a dog
less likely to respond aggressively. This threshold can be raised using
behavior modification techniques, but the potential for change is influenced
by a dog's gender, age, breed, general temperament, and the way in which the
behavior modification techniques are chosen and implemented.
Because working with aggressive dogs can be potentially dangerous,
behavior modification techniques should only be attempted by, or under the
guidance of, an experienced animal behavior professional who understands
animal learning theory and behavior.
What You Can Do:
- First, check with your veterinarian to rule out medical causes for the
aggressive behavior.
- Seek professional advice. An aggression problem will not go away by
itself. Working with aggression problems requires in-home help from an
animal behavior specialist.
- Take precautions. Your first priority is to keep people and other
animals safe. Supervise, confine, and/or restrict your dog's activities
until you can obtain professional guidance. You are liable for your dog's
behavior. If you must take your dog out in public, consider a cage-type
muzzle as a temporary precaution, and remember that some dogs are clever
enough to get a muzzle off.
- Avoid exposing your dog to situations where he is more likely to show
aggression. You may need to keep him confined to a safe room and limit his
contact with people.
- If your dog is possessive of toys or treats, or territorial in certain
locations, prevent access and you'll prevent the problem. In an emergency,
bribe him with something better than what he has. For example, if he
steals your shoe, trade him the shoe for a piece of chicken.
- Spay or neuter your dog. Intact dogs are more likely to display
dominance, territorial, and protective aggressive behavior.
What NOT to Do:
- Punishment won't help and, in fact, will often make the problem worse.
If the aggression is motivated by fear, punishment will make your dog more
fearful, and therefore more aggressive. Attempting to punish or dominate a
dominantly aggressive dog may actually lead him to escalate his behavior
to retain his dominant position. This is likely to result in a bite or a
severe attack. Punishing territorial, possessive, or protective aggression
is likely to elicit additional defensive aggression.
- Don't encourage aggressive behavior. Playing tug-of-war or wrestling
games encourages your dog to attempt to "best" you or "win" over you,
which can lead to a dominance aggression problem. When dogs are encouraged
to "go get 'em" or to bark and dash about in response to outside noises or
the approach of a person, territorial and protective aggressive behavior
may result.
© 2002. Adapted from material originally developed by
applied animal behaviorists at the Dumb Friends League, Denver, Colorado.
All rights reserved.
