Posts tagged Dog Aggression
Training your Dog Not to Fear Loud Noises
Feb 3rd
Loud noises, such as fireworks, thunder and traffic, are one of the most frequently cited fears given by dog owners. It is natural for some dogs to be fearful of loud noises, but some dogs are so traumatized by thunder, fireworks and other loud noises that they are completely unable to function.
Dogs that display excessive fears or phobias such as these can be a danger to themselves and those around them. Dogs may manifest their fear in self-destructive ways, like slinking under the couch or the bed and getting stuck, for instance. They may also react in ways that are destructive to the home, such as urinating or defecating on the carpet, chewing up favorite items, or barking incessantly. These reactions are often worse when the owner is not at home.
One thing that is hard for many dog owners to understand is that soothing or stroking a dog that is displaying fear is exactly the wrong thing to do. While it is natural to try to calm a fearful dog, to the dog you are rewarding it for being afraid. The dog likes the sound of your voice, likes your petting, and concludes that he has done the right thing by acting afraid. This only makes a bad situation worse.
The best strategy when the dog displays fear when there is a thunderstorm or a fireworks display is to simply ignore the dog. It is of course important to watch the dog to make sure he does not hurt himself, but otherwise just ignore him and let him work through the fear on his own. When you go away, be sure to make sure there is nothing the dog can get stuck under, since fireworks or a thunderstorm can pop up at any time.
A dog that is severely afraid of thunderstorms and other load noises may need to be confined to a single room, or even a crate, for a period of time. After the dog feels safe in his “den”, he may be able to deal with his fears a little better. It can be quite a struggle to teach a dog not to be afraid of thunderstorms, firecrackers and other such noises, but it is important that the dog at least be able to control his fears without being destructive to himself or his environment.
Using distraction
Much as magicians use sleight of hand to hide their tricks, so dog owners practice the art of distraction to take their dog’s mind off of their fear. For instance, if your dog is afraid of thunderstorms and you know one is on the way, gather some of your dog’s favorite toys and get ready for the misdirection.
Of course, your dog will probably know the thunderstorm is on the way before you do. When you see your dog start to display fear, take a few of his favorite toys and try to get him to play. Very fearful dogs may be reluctant to play, but it is important to try nevertheless. Often a few treats can be a good distraction as well. Try buying one of those balls that you can fill with treats or biscuits, and encourage your dog to chase it.
Try playing with your dog every time a thunderstorm is in the forecast. This can start to implant good memories, and these can sometimes replace the fear memories that caused the dog to be afraid of thunderstorms in the first place.
Desensitizing your dog’s fear
Desensitization is a highly effective way to deal with phobias and fears in humans, and it can be very effective for dogs and other animals as well. Desensitization involves introducing the dog to small amounts of whatever noises frighten him. For instance, if the dog is afraid of thunder, try tape recording your next thunderstorm and play it back slowly when the dog is relaxed. Reward the dog for not showing fear responses. If he does show fear responses, do not comfort or soothe him but just ignore him.
This kind of desensitization training can be remarkably effective for some dogs, but it will take lots of patience and hard work. Fears of thunder and fireworks are not always easy to cure.
Training the Dog to Come When it is Called
Jan 29th
Training a dog to come when it is called is a vital, and potentially life saving, part of any successful dog training program. All properly trained dogs must learn to respond instantly to the owner’s voice, and the sooner this lesson is learned the better.
The advantages of teaching a dog to come when called are obvious. For starters, coming when called will help you regain control of the dog in case of collar break, snapped leash or other similar equipment failure. This is particularly important when you are out with your dog, especially in an area with lots of traffic. It is vital that the dog respond to your voice and return to your side, even in the absence of collar and leash, and even if there are lots of other things competing for its attention.
Coming when called is also a vital skill for every working dog. Whether the dog’s job is herding sheep, guarding livestock, or sniffing out bombs and drugs at the airport, the working dog must be under total control at all times, whether on leash or off.
Even if your dog’s only job is being a loyal companion, it is still vital that he learn this important basic obedience exercise. After the first obedience lessons, such as heeling, stopping on command, sitting on command, etc. have been learned, it is time to start incorporating the come when called lessons into the daily training sessions.
One note about dog training – it is all too easy for training sessions to become dull and routine for both handler and dog. A bored dog will not be receptive to learning, just as a bored handler will not be a good teacher. It is important, therefore, to always incorporate fun things and play into every training session. Incorporating a few minutes of play time before the lesson begins can do wonders for the attitude of dog and human alike. Likewise, ending each training session with a few minutes of free play time is a great way to end on a positive note and to help the dog associate obedience training with fun and not drudgery.
The command to stay and the command to come when called are often combined in obedience training lessons, and they do go naturally together. Start with the dog on a loose leash, ask the dog to sit and then slowly back away. If the dog begins to get up and follow you, return to the dog and ask him to sit again. Continue this process until you can reach the end of the leash without the dog getting up.
After you can successfully reach the end of the leash on a consistent basis, try dropping the leash altogether. Of course you will want to do this in a controlled environment like a fenced in yard. After the dog has mastered the stay command, it is time to add the come when called command.
Take up the leash again, and with the dog on the end of the leash, say “come” or “come here”. It is often helpful to use a lure when teaching this behavior. The lure provides a visible item for the dog to focus on. Teaching the dog to come to the lure is a good first step in training the dog to come when called.
Repeat this procedure many times until the dog will consistently stay and then come when called. After the dog has mastered coming when called while attached to the leash, slowly start introducing the concept when the leash is removed. As before, these training sessions should only take place in a controlled, safe environment, such as a fenced in front or back yard.
A well trained, obedient dog should respond to the call to return to its owner no matter where it is and no matter what distractions may occur. It is therefore necessary to test the dog with distractions of your own.
If you have a neighbor, preferably one with a dog of his own, try having him come over with the dog. Have him, and the dog, stand just outside the fenced in area and repeat the come when called exercise with your dog off leash. If he becomes distracted by the other dog, put the leash back on and repeat the process. The goal is to have your dog consistently pay attention to your commands, no matter what distractions may present themselves.
Recognizing, Preventing, And Handling Dog Aggression
Jan 17th
A dog is an instinctively aggressive creature. Within the wild, aggression came in terribly handy: dogs required aggression to hunt, to defend themselves from different creatures, and to defend resources such as food, an area to sleep, and a mate.
Selective breeding over the centuries has minimized and refined this trait significantly, but there’s just no getting around it: dogs are physically capable of inflicting serious damage (just look at those teeth!) because that’s how they’ve survived and evolved. And Mother Nature is pretty wily – it’s hard to counteract the power of instinct! But that doesn’t mean that we, as dog lovers and house owners, are entirely helpless when it comes to handling our dogs.
There’s a heap that we will do to forestall aggression from rearing its ugly head in the first place – and whether or not prevention hasn’t been possible (for whatever reason), there are still steps that we can take to recognize and deal with it efficiently. – Totally different aggression types – There are several totally different types of canine aggression. The 2 most common ones are: – Aggression towards strangers – Aggression towards family members.
You may be wondering why we’re bothering categorizing these things: after all, aggression is aggression, and we want to turf it out NOW, not waste time with the details – right? Well … not quite. These two totally different varieties of aggression stem from very different causes, and require totally different varieties of treatment.
Aggression towards strangers – What’s it? It’s pretty easy to tell when a dog’s nervy around strange people. He’s jumpy and on the alert: either he can’t sit still and is constantly fidgeting, leaping at the smallest sound, and pacing around barking and whining; or he’s veerrrry still indeed, sitting rock-steady in one place, staring hard at the article of his suspicions (a visitor, the mailman, someone approaching him on the road whereas he’s tied up outside a store.) Why does it happen?
There’s one major reason why a dog doesn’t like strange folks: he’s never had the chance to get used to them. Bear in mind, your dog relies 100% on you to broaden his horizons for him: without being taken on heaps of outings to see the world and notice for himself, through consistent and positive experiences, that the unknown doesn’t essentially equal bad news for him, how can he realistically be expected to relax in an unfamiliar state of affairs? What will I do about it?
The process of accustoming your dog to the world and every one of the strange individuals (and animals) that it contains is called socialization. This is an incredibly necessary aspect of your dog’s upbringing: in fact, it’s pretty hard to overemphasize simply how necessary it is. Socializing your dog means exposing him from a young age (typically speaking, when he’s had his vaccinations) to a wide selection of latest experiences, new people, and new animals.
How does socialization forestall stranger aggression? When you socialize your dog, you’re getting him to learn through experience that new sights and sounds are fun, not scary. It’s not enough to reveal an adult dog to a crowd of unfamiliar individuals and tell him to “Settle down, Roxy, it’s OK” – he has to learn that it’s OK for himself. And he wants to do it from puppyhood for the lesson to sink in. The more varieties of folks and animals he meets (babies, toddlers, teenagers, recent individuals, men, girls, people sporting uniforms, folks wearing motorcycle helmets, folks carrying umbrellas, etc) in a very fun and relaxed context, the additional at ease and happy – and safe around strangers – he’ll be in general.
How can I socialize my dog so that he doesn’t develop a worry of strangers? Socializing your dog is pretty simple to do – it’s a lot of of a general effort than a specific training regimen. Initial of all, you should take him to puppy preschool. This is often a generic term for a series of simple group-training classes for puppies (typically performed at the vet clinic, that has the extra profit of teaching your dog positive associations with the vet!).
During a puppy preschool category, concerning ten or thus puppy homeowners get together with a certified trainer (usually there’ll be at least two trainers gift – the additional there are, the higher, since it means that you get additional one-on-only once with a skilled) and begin teaching their puppies the basic obedience commands: sit, stay, and thus on. While the obedience work is very useful and may be a nice means to start out your puppy on the move to being a trustworthy adult dog, very the most effective half of puppy preschool is the play sessions: many times throughout the category, the puppies are encouraged to run around off-leash and play amongst themselves.
This is often an ideal surroundings for them to learn smart social skills: there’s a whole bunch of unfamiliar dogs present (that teaches them a way to interact with strange dogs), there’s an entire bunch of unfamiliar individuals present (that teaches them that new faces are nothing to be afraid of), and therefore the atmosphere is safe and controlled (there’s a minimum of one certified trainer present to create sure that things don’t get out of hand). Socialization doesn’t just stop with puppy preschool, though. It’s an ongoing effort throughout the lifetime of your puppy and dog: he desires to be taken to a full bunch of latest places and environments. Keep in mind to not overwhelm him: start off slow, and build up his tolerance gradually.
Aggression towards family members – There are 2 common reasons why a dog is aggressive towards members of his own human family: – He’s trying to defend one thing he thinks of as his from a perceived threat (you). This can be known as resource guarding, and though it could sound innocuous, there’s really a lot more going on here than your dog simply trying to keep his kibble to himself. – He’s not comfortable with the treatment/handling he’s getting from you or other members of the family.
What’s resource guarding? Resource guarding is pretty common among dogs. The term refers to overly-possessive behavior on behalf of your dog: as an example, snarling at you if you approach him when he’s eating, or supplying you with “the eye” (a flinty-eyed, direct stare) if you reach your hand out to take a toy away from him. All dogs will be possessive from time to time – it’s in their natures. Sometimes they’re possessive over things with no conceivable price: inedible trash, balled up items of paper or tissue, previous socks.
Additional frequently, however, resource-guarding becomes an issue over things with a terribly real and understandable value: food and toys. Why will it happen? It all boils down to the issue of dominance. Let me take an instant to explain this idea: dogs are pack animals. This means that they’re used to a very structured environment: in a dog-pack, each individual animal is ranked during a hierarchy of position and power (or “dominance”) in relation to each other animal. Every animal is conscious of the rank of every other animal, that means he knows specifically how to act in any given situation (whether to back off, whether to push the issue, whether to muscle in or not on somebody else’s turf, etc etc). To your dog, the family environment isn’t any different to the dog-pack environment.
Your dog has ranked every member of the family, and has his own perception of where he ranks in that environment as well. This is often where it gets attention-grabbing: if your dog perceives himself as higher up on the social totem-pole than other members of the family, he’s going to urge cheeky. If he’s very got an overinflated sense of his own importance, he’ll begin to act aggressively. Why? As a result of dominance and aggression are the exclusive rights of a superior-ranked animal. No underdog would ever show aggression or act dominantly to the next-ranked animal (the implications would be dire, and he knows it!)
Resource guarding is a classic example of dominant behavior: solely a better-ranked dog (a “dominant” dog) would act aggressively in defence of resources. To place it plainly: if it was clear to your dog that he’s not, in fact, the leader of the family, he’d never even dream of trying to prevent you from taking his food or toys – as a result of a lower-ranking dog (him) can always go along with what the upper-ranking dogs (you and your family) say. Therefore what will I do concerning it? The most effective treatment for dominant, aggressive behavior is consistent, frequent obedience work, which can underline your authority over your dog.
Just 2 fifteen-minute sessions daily can build it perfectly clear to your dog that you’re the boss, and that it pays to do what you say. You’ll be able to build this fact clear to him by rewarding him (with treats and lavish praise) for obeying a command, and isolating him (putting him in “time-out”, either outside the house or in a very area by himself) for misbehavior.
If you’re not entirely assured doing this yourself, you will want to think about enlisting the help of a qualified dog-trainer.
Brush up on your understanding of canine psychology and communication, therefore that you simply understand what he’s attempting to say
This can facilitate your to nip any dominant behaviors within the bud, and to speak your own authority additional effectively
Train frequently: keep obedience sessions short and productive (no more than fifteen minutes – perhaps 2 or 3 of those per day).
Why doesn’t my dog like to be handled? All dogs have different handling thresholds. Some dogs like heaps of cuddles, and are perfectly content to be hugged, kissed, and have arms slung over their shoulders (this is often the ultimate “I’m the boss” gesture to a dog, which is why a ton of them won’t tolerate it.)
Others – usually the ones not acquainted with a great deal of physical contact from a very young age – aren’t comfortable with too much full-body contact and will get nervy and agitated if somebody persists in attempting to hug them.
Another common reason behind handling-induced aggression is a unhealthy grooming expertise: nail-clipping and bathing are the two common culprits. When you clip a dog’s nails, it’s terribly easy to “fast” him – that’s, cut the blood vessel that runs inside the nail. This is often extremely painful to a dog, and is a certain-fireplace way to cause an extended-lasting aversion to those clippers.
Being washed is one thing that a great many dogs have issue dealing with – a lot of homeowners, when confronted with a wild-eyed, [*fr1]-washed, upset dog, feel that so as to complete the wash they have to forcibly restrain him.
This only adds to the dog’s sense of panic, and reinforces his impression of a wash as something to be avoided in the slightest degree prices – if necessary, to defend himself from it with a show of teeth and hackles. Will I “retrain” him to fancy being handled and groomed? In a word: yes. It’s a ton easier if you begin from a young age – handle your puppy a ton, get him used to being touched and rubbed all over.
Young dogs typically fancy being handled – it’s solely older ones who haven’t had a ton of physical contact throughout their lives that generally find physical affection difficult to accept. Practice choosing up his paws and touching them with the clipper; apply taking him into the tub (or outside, beneath the tap – whatever works for you, however heat water is abundant additional pleasant for a dog than a freezing spray of ice-water!), and augment the process throughout with tons of praise and therefore the occasional small treat.
For an older dog that will have already got had many unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, things are a little additional difficult. You need to undo the harm already caused by those bad experiences, which you’ll be able to do by taking things terribly slowly – with an emphasis on keeping your dog calm. The moment he starts to point out signs of stress, stop immediately and let him relax. Try to create the entire thing into a game: give him heaps of praise, pats, and treats. Take things slowly. Don’t push it too so much: if you get nervous, stop.
Dogs show aggression for a reason: they’re warning you to go into reverse, or else! If your dog simply can’t appear to simply accept being groomed, no matter how much observe you put in, it’s best at hand the task over to the professionals. Your vet can clip his nails for you (create positive you tell him first that he gets aggressive when the clippers return out, therefore your vet will take the mandatory precautions!).
As far as laundry and brushing goes, the dog-grooming business could be a flourishing business: for a tiny fee, you can get your dog washed, clipped, brushed, and no matter else you require by experienced professionals (again, create certain you tell them about your dog’s reaction to the experience 1st!)
For additional information on handling aggressive and dominant behaviors, and a great deal of detailed info on a number of alternative common dog behavior problems, take a look at SitStayFetch.
It’s a complete owner’s guide to owning, rearing, and training your dog, and it deals with all aspects of dog ownership. To get the within word on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors like aggression and dominance in your dog, SitStayFetch is well value a look.
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Tags: Dog Aggression, Dog Training