What is "aggression"?

[KATS]

Not to start a debate, but it seems that there is some confusion on what dog aggression is. I thought maybe some of the senior members could help explain exactly what constitutes “aggressive” dogs.

I’ve seen many posts about puppies (5 to 15 weeks) with “aggressive” problems. I don’t know if that is normal for these boards or not, as I’m fairly new. But I think many people are confusing aggression with basic puppy bad manners. Puppies don’t instinctually know how to behave, they are taught how to behave.

For instance, there is a thread about a puppy that is “aggressive” and the father of the pup was “not friendly”. In these situations, I wonder how much of the puppy’s aggression is inherited and how much was actually a learned behavior, either learned from the father or litter mates.

I think it’s easy to label this behavior as aggression and then justify the behavior by saying it’s a breed thing. Perhaps some owners even encourage this behavior from lack of understanding or from an unwillingness to create and/or enforce the house rules.

Just my thoughts, I could be completely wrong.

[LORHEL]

I am by far no expert. But what I have learned is that there is more than one type of aggression. Dominance agression, fear aggression. I will let the experts elaborate on those definitions. I do agree that aggression is used way too much, when many times the case is poor manners, or lack of proper training, etc. It gives the wrong impression of what is going on with the dog when it is incorrectly labeled as agression in those cases. I am sure you will get many good answers to this from the experts.
;) Good post!

[damp]

Lohrel,

I don’t thing “aggression” is used too much. Bad manners and lack of training and leadership is the way to let the pup/dog develop dominance aggression.


Kats,

There are some great post in the archives by German and Mick Trainer, where aggression is explained in an excellent way (and it would be like “blasphemy” if I tried to come after those experts ;))

[Judi W]

Aggression is hostile. From a dog it is attempting or threatening to attack. Now if "attack" is confusing, the implication of an attack is to do an injury. I don't think that is so subtle it can't be understood. Applying sub-type labels is too often used to excuse dangerous behavior. People too often think if they can apply a "reason" why the dog is dangerous, that excuses the behavior.

[KATS]

Just to clarify, I did not post this for my benefit, more for those who might be lurking and getting confused by the "aggressive puppy" posts.

[Carina43]

I don't think it matters what the reason for aggressive behaviour, if it is a: unwarranted and/or b: directed towards a member of the household, it is not acceptable. With certain puppies & dogs, whether it is learned, reinforced, or innate, the owner is not doing a proper job if the dog is lashing out at people without reason.

I have a fear aggressive dog (not a Rottweiler). I have never figured out a way to ease her stress & fear in certain situations. She was adult when I found her ten years ago, and seriously considered having her euthanised because of it. I didn't, and have never had an incident or bite with her because I recognised this and there are certain situations I just NEVER put her in. Unwarranted aggression is never a good thing, but such a dog can be "managed." I got some great advice from a dog behaviourist. To the untrained eye, she is protective & aggressive with strangers. Actually she is scared witless, self protective & will react to her stress by biting, though she has over the years become quite sweet & mellow.

Unfortunately many people are quite tolerant of pissy dogs. It's one thing when it's a Maltese Terrier, & quite another when it is a large powerful dog like a Rottweiler. One thing that many people don't realise about their "aggressive, protective, macho" dog is that it usually stems from fear & lack of confidence (like the cowardly schoolyard bully), & likely that dog will turn & run if presented with a serious challenge.

In short...in my opinion....most aggression is actually fear & lack of confidence.

Disclaimer: I am not a "canine professional." :) I've just owned many dogs & fostered/rescued lots.

[delila]

I have mixed feelings about using the word "agression" when speaking about dogs. As far as I know - I have not seen an "aggressive" dog yet. I have seen dogs with crappy manners, unhappy dogs that are NOT well trained nor well cared for, and I have me dogs that are aloof to people.

With my own dogs - I like to call their momentary lapses of manners "hissy fits".

For example, if one decides to growl or be inappropriate - I tell them "That is enough" and that is that.

I think that an agressive dog can be very dangerous - however at the same time trainable with will power.

When my delila was younger, the vet labeled her as "Dog Aggressive". This was because I got her from the pound at 10 weeks of age, and I beleive that she was more afraid of other dogs instead of agressive (She was a puppy for crying out loud).

We just spent many hours reading and training - and today she is the most polite dog at the dog park.

I think that agressive is a strong word and should only be used in extreme cases.

Mouthy puppies are exactly that, mouthy puppies. All 3 of mine had this phase, and they were all put back into their places and have not had a problem since.

I hope I made sense to you, and remember this is just my opinion.

[German Vanegas]

There are different types of uncontrolled aggression, but all have one thing in common: they must not be tolerated.

Uncontrollable aggression can be the result of incorrect breeding and/or rearing. It occurs more frequently in some breeds than others and is often misunderstood. Often a much lower standard of behavior is accepted from a small dog. But remember that small dogs can inflict a great deal of damage too. If you have ever seen a Terrier kill a rat, you will know how much damage a small dog can inflict. Obviously, a powerful large dog, like the Rottweiler, can be more dangerous than smaller breeds, particularly if a dog is improperly bred and/or raised.

I would just like to say at this point this: IF YOU HAVE AN AGGRESSION PROBLEM DON'T WAIT. ASK YOUR VET FOR A REFERRAL TO AN EXPERT IMMEDIATELY. PREVENTION AVOIDS TRAGEDIES!

Let's imagine that your dog is starting to take over your household. He won't get off the furniture when told, he growls if you go near his food bowl, and so forth and so on. Is there anything you can do? Yes! Plenty. First you have to lower his status in the pack order. To begin with, you are the one and only leader of the pack. Once you have done this, the dog will be more amenable. You will then be able to train him and avoid any future problems with aggression since you will have clearly established yourself as the pack leader.

In extreme aggression cases neutering may help to control some behavioral problems. However, there are no guarantees at all that neutering will cure an aggressive behavioral problem. Again, it may help. So, be aware that neutering is not an ineluctable solution. It's not as simple as just castrating the dog.

You may not have realized what sort of a situation you allowed to develop in your young pup. It is cute when a baby puppy growls over his toy and won't give it up. But if that same animal is now a one hundred pounds eighteen month old male, and he refuses to let you rescue your Persian rug from his playful jaws, you will feel intimidated if he were to growl and snarl at you. It can be a truly frightening experience!

Games of "tug-of-war" are good for a dog to build drive and release stress. I love to play "tug" games with dogs!... but, it must always end with you taking permanent possession of the toy. If there is any doubt, then "tug-of-war" is not a suitable game. The pack leader must always control all games.

Obviously, you would not want to select a puppy whose mother was anything but friendly, or one who ran away to hide every time he was approached. Nevertheless, sometimes you are landed with a pup who has the potential to be nervous. What do you do in such case? For starters, you take that puppy out and about to expose him/er to an extensive and thorough socialization. Carry him everywhere, until his disease preventive injections are completed, but don't deprive him of any stimuli whatsoever. A good breeder will already have accustomed the pups to as many different sights and sounds as possible. Then it is up to you to make sure his/er socialization is complete. Puppies of a few weeks are much easier to socialize. Leave it until later and you will be struggling, if it ever will work. Or worse: you may end up with a fear-biter antisocial dog.

If you can find a well run puppy kindergarten class then by all means join. Be careful and make those social experiences as pleasant as possible. With a nervous youngster it could be disastrous if he were attacked by an older dog. Not all adult dogs tolerate puppies so you need to be very careful.

If a puppy's particular fear are people, your pup could mature into a dangerous adult. Imagine owning (or being owned) by a dog who might suddenly decide to take a pot-shot at your neighbor or the friendly pup he meets when you are out for a walk. You might even feel you can not take him out at all. People have even been known to exercise the aggressive dog in the middle of the night just so they didn't have to meet anyone else.

However there are some things you can do to ease the situation once it has developed. One thing you do not do with an aggressive dog is show aggression yourself. This will only serve to escalate the problem.

Dominant Aggression:
If your dog is dominant, you will know because he will gradually have taken over your home to suit his convenience. The dominant aggressive dog might select your visitors, attacking those he decides he doesn't want around. Outside he may attack other dogs who dare to get in his way when out for exercise where he has probably chosen the route. This dog suffers from a superiority complex. Don't hesitate to lower his status. I personally recommend neutering mainly to prevent accidental matings and the proliferation of unwanted dogs, not to solve aggression or behavioral problems. So having said that, I have to add that there are some very bad cases where neutering may help to reduce an aggressive behavior. In extreme cases, you may have to seriously consider to put the dog to sleep, this way you will be preventing a potential tragedy.

Another suggestion is to find a good training club, once you have gradually taken control of your dog, and learn how to train him. The recall is a particularly important exercise for the aggressive dog. It should be ultra-reliable!

Use common sense and try to avoid situations which might provoke aggression. Once you have become the pack leader, you should be able to prevent him from attacking people.

Territorial Aggression:
This is another form of aggression shown by a dominant dog. He will guard whatever he sees as his property. It could be the house, car or the garden. Again, a dog should not be allowed to own your property. His access to toys should be controlled by you. However, I don't see a problem with territorial aggression, as long as the dog is fully obedience-trained and he is securely confined. You have to have 100% control on your territorial dog! Not but's and if's here. You can safely teach your dog to be a reliable watchdog, who performs security duties, thus alerting you about unusual circumstances and strangers coming too close to your property. But you have to be very responsible about it!

Nervous Aggression:
A nervous aggressive dog can be very dangerous. Some people attempt to cure this type of aggression by forcefully checking the dog. This is one way to guarantee that the behavior will get worse! A dog which attacks out of fear has to learn to trust.. Therefore, a show of aggression towards him will have the opposite affect! A fearful dog that attacks people can learn to trust if he is taught to associate people with something pleasant and harmless. You can arrange to meet people you can trust in a park and get them to offer titbits of hotdogs to your dog, so the fearful-shy dog learns that most humans are OK. At all costs avoid the dog-haters. People out walking with sticks are to be avoided, of course!

At home is wrong to let your shy dog to crouch behind the furniture hiding from people. This can cause more problems, specially if he feels threatened in his safe place. It is better to let your visitors come in and sit down before bringing your dog in on the lead. The visitors must not look at the dog or make any attempt to befriend him. After a while, the visitors can produce toys or tibdbits to give to the shy dog. Once the nervous dog is sure the visotors are harmless and are not interested in him, will gradually learn that humans can be approached and be pleasant to him. You then softly praise him with "Good boy!", if he makes friendly overtures to your visitors.

In extreme cases a dog can be muzzled to prevent any bites, but if you have to do this you must first accustom the dog to wearing the muzzle, and never leave it on for too long or the dog alone with it. A nervous aggressive dog is more of a liability. A dog who is friendly towards strangers is much more likely to differentiate between a nice person and a foe or human threat.

The difficulty with teaching the nervous aggressive dog that he must not attack other dogs is finding quiet even-tempered dogs to help with the teaching process. Here your best plan might be to take him to a club where your dog will meet trained-dogs. Under no circumstances your dog should be put at risk of an attack. You find a place to sit quietly where your dog can observe other dogs without being able to hide but also without your dog feeling threatened. If you feel that the dog is learning to relax around other dogs, he can be praised and rewarded. If he is tense then a halti can be used to guide his head so he does not look directly at the other dogs. In a dog club you have a chance of allowing your dog access to other dogs, who are under control and don't pose a threat, so your dog learns to relax.

Away from a controlled environment it is more difficult but not impossible to reform the nervous aggressive dog. It goes without saying that he should be on a lead when other dogs are about. But the lead should be slack. Tension will only bring out the dog's aggressive tendencies. Offer tidbits or toys whenever other dogs are near, use the halti to turn your dog away from them and praise quietly if he shows no sign of aggression. Soon he may associate the sight of other dogs as a sign that something pleasant is in the offing. If a strange dog does approach too closely take charge and if the owner doesn't remove the offending animal then do something yourself. A water pistol is a good deterrent. Once your dog realizes he will not be threatened by another dog he may gradually lose his fear.

One important note is that, usually, the fearful dog is most often this way through breeding. No amount of correct socializing is going to eradicate fear completely if it is an inherited trait. There are plenty of good natured animals around. Try to make sure that your pup is from good tempered parents and you have a chance of rearing a dog who does not have aggression problems on reaching maturity.

Another subject would be controlled aggression. Yes, a dog can be aggressive controlled. These are dogs with the genetic make-up that meet the criteria to work and service as protection dogs. Examples of them are: police dogs, military dogs, correctional prison dogs, business security dogs, personal and home property guardians, etc. However, this subject is quite extensive and is dealt with in the working section of this forum.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: IF YOU HAVE AN AGGRESSIVE DOG ALWAYS SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP.

[ August 17, 2001: Message edited by: German Vanegas ]

[Burnsway]

Originally posted by damp:
<STRONG>What did I tell you!!! :)

Thanks German! ;)</STRONG>

Now who could even try to top that... :D

[damp]

What did I tell you!!! :)

Thanks German! ;)