Alice White
Aggression is a topic that is unsettling for most dog owners.
There are a variety of ways that a dog may display aggression, but it is usually expressed through growling or, in the worst-case scenario, biting. This situation is heartbreaking for owners, and in cases of bites, it can present a legitimate safety concern.
Identifying the causes of aggression in your dogs and implementing a management or training plan will solve these issues.
We will discuss some great dog aggression training tips in this article to help stop your dog from continuing to exhibit aggressive behavior.
1. Hard Staring Should Be Avoided
First and foremost, you need to be able to stop your dog from staring straight at you and becoming fixated on you. Your dog should not be allowed to stare directly at what your dog is behaving aggressively toward.
It’s not letting your dog look at what he is acting aggressively toward that is problematic, but rather the reason behind the gaze.
When a dog is staring at you hard, you can easily determine how concerned he is with what he usually displays aggression towards.
Its better to train your dog from a young age to not behave this way. For example, Cavapoo puppies are able to pick up tricks quickly and behave very well because they’re being trained from a young age.
2. Make Your Dog Feel Relevant
You are not mistaken if you believe that most dog owners view themselves as “relevant” to their pets at least to some extent. Is your presence relevant when your dog is competing with distractions outside your presence that may be more motivating?
The fact is that most dogs do not receive proper training and are more concerned with their surroundings than their owners.
What steps can you take to become more relevant to your dog? Train them with their food. Take a moment to consider this question: How many things does your dog need from you? Why should your pup listen to you if his food is left out for him to eat all day?
When you use your dog food for training, you are essentially doing two things at once. You are meeting your pup’s nutritional needs and assisting him in his training.
3. Take a Proactive Approach Rather Than a Reactive One
Don’t wait until your dog’s behavior escalates for you to intervene if you know that your pup reacts aggressively to something in particular. Rather, prevent your dog from experiencing an explosion by being proactive.
The information you have learned so far has been about preventing your dog from staring and becoming relevant to your dog. As a result, you want to use both of these methods in order to prevent your dog from becoming aggressive.
This is about being proactive instead of reactive. When your dog is on a walk and sees another dog, he may lunge, bark, and act aggressively. Using tips 1 and 2 you can be more proactive, don’t let your dog sit at the end of the leash, and get your dog’s attention.
4. Avoid Rehearsing Aggressive Behavior in Your Dog
Once you understand how to be proactive instead of reactive, you are well-prepared to prevent your dog from acting aggressively in the future.
If you wish to help your dog avoid repeatedly rehearsing aggressive behaviors, you have a number of options at your disposal. First this is dangerous, and secondly, your dog will be more likely to learn new behaviors the more often that it is rehearsed.
In order to stop your dog from behaving aggressively, you must first take preventative measures.
5. Take Advantage of The Leash
Using the leash properly is the fifth trick of our dog aggression training tips.
This training tip on dog aggression is particularly important when using a leash in order to manage your dog and gain better control over him. Leashes are an effective means of controlling and preventing aggressive behavior in dogs.
6. Disrupt The state of Mind of Your Dog
Whenever your dog displays aggressive behavior, the next dog aggression training tip will help you snap him out of that fixated state of mind.
The combination of all the tips that we have discussed so far is essentially what you need to do going forward. It is important this time to be aware of your dog’s state of mind.
When identifying a dog’s state of mind, there are some things you need to look out for.
- Ears perked up
- Tails that are stiff
- Dedicated vision
- Vocalization
Here is what you should do once you have identified the signs that your dog is aroused. In general, you want to put on the leash directly at the right or left side of your dog’s neck depending on whether you are walking your dog.
As such, this is not meant to be a matter of simply slipping the leash on just to do so. You do this to break your dog’s hyperactive state of mind and enable you to continue walking with your dog, showing them that it’s not a big deal.
7. Use Rewards
After you have successfully redirected your dog from that aroused state of mind, the next step will be to reward the behavior you desire from your dog.
In this tip, you can offer your dog its favorite treats once you stop, pop, and go. This will encourage him to keep walking in your direction. If you combine these tips with the previous ones, you will reinforce your dog’s ability to walk on its own and not act aggressively.
8. Take Advantage of Neutral dogs and People
Being around neutral dogs and people is one of the best strategies for dog aggression training.
The term “neutral dog” refers to people and animals that don’t pay attention to your dog’s aggression.
Getting your pup to be a part of a group of people and dogs who won’t be troubled by its reaction would be a sage decision. By doing this, your dog will learn that aggressive actions such as growling, lunging, or snapping, are not going to work.
9. Consider Consulting a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant
A person of average intelligence often has difficulty resolving aggression, as there are often underlying issues that you do not understand. Your dog will be able to display aggressive behavior properly if a certified dog behavior consultant is consulted.
10. Implement Controlled Scenarios
In terms of setting up controlled situations, now that you have neutral dogs and people on your side. Make sure to simulate the scenarios outlined above with your dog.
It is important to begin teaching your pup that the old behaviors will no longer be effective and that he should switch to a new behavior. One that isn’t aggressive.
Final Thoughts on Training Aggressive Dogs
You should be able to stop aggressive behavior in your dog by combining all these dog aggression training tips. Remember consistency and patience is key. Keep working on your dog’s behavior until it seems satisfactory to you.
