Correcting dog aggression can be quite a daunting task for some owners to deal with, but even though aggression is an instinctive behaviour a lot can be done to help and avoid it.
There are a lot of different reasons why a dog has become aggressive.
Sometimes we have to do a little detective work, but once we understand the fundamentals of why it has happened, then we can do a lot of things to help it.
Fear Aggression This has to be a very common cause for dog aggression and is a personality issue.
So many dogs can fear other dogs by feeling trapped when on a lead because they cannot get away, this makes them react to other dogs aggressively because they feel unprotected and vulnerable.
Top tip for walking a dog with aggression caused by fear.
Your dog will be very alert to everything going on around them outside, and of cause we are included in that, so they will pick up on our fear and actions on the lead.
It is very easy to make the biggest mistake ever when dealing with this aggression and that is pulling tight on the lead when we see a dog coming towards us.
This will only alert your dog and put him into a more aggressive mode, as they now know they definitely have no choice of flight and are responding to our body language and behaviour.
It is always better to correct the behaviour of a dog while they are reacting or just before with a loose lead than it is ever to pull tight and hope for the best.
Dog Attack When looking back, sometimes you can pin point the start of your dogs aggression from a nip or a bite from another dog and very quickly after you have started to see a change when you have taken your dog out.
Again your dog feels very vulnerable and unprotected and is saying every time they see the other dog "I am going to get you before you get me.
" In this situation you really need to address leadership so that your dog sees you dealing with the frightening situation of the other dog and can relax when on a walk.
Health Issues Dogs very rarely show pain as it is a weakness, so sometimes we miss a sign if something is wrong.
Dogs will attack if they feel they need to protect themselves.
Dogs suffer from toothache, earache and even get disc's out of place which is very painful and can make their personality different just like ours when we are in pain.
Watch out for slight limps when your dog gets up from a sleep or just after a walk, plus doing health checks on your dog once a week is good.
Smell their ears, look in their mouth this will alert you quickly if something is wrong and take them to the vets straight away.
Frightened, vulnerable dogs do not make great leaders they just have no confidence when having to deal with any difficult decision or situation, correcting dog aggression a lot of the time is looking at the leadership of the human/dog pack.
For your dog to have a happier longer life and not be as aggressive it is very important that we become the leader to stop them from feeling frightened and unhappy.