Petcademy

How to manage aggressive behavior

1. Familiarize yourself with the aggression ladder. This will help you understand how your dog is feeling in any given situation. Depending on the trigger and situation, your dog may start at the bottom of the ladder with yawning, or immediately start in the middle with growling. When you see your dog exhibiting any of these behaviors, remove them from the situation and separately start to work on counter conditioning techniques (e.g. provide your dog with a treat or reward every time they see a dog from a far). Over time, counter conditioning can help your dog develop a neutral or even positive association with the thing causing their aggression.

2. Focus on understanding your dog's body language. Areas to pay attention to include:

• Tail. A loose tail or propeller-like wag usually indicates your dog is feeling friendly. On the other hand, a stiff or high tail may indicate that your dog is on guard. 

• Ears. Ears held in a natural position typically indicate that your dog is relaxed. On the other hand, ears that are held up and forward may indicate a willingness to fight or general aggression towards the other dog. 

• Eyes. “Soft Eyes,” a warm, sometimes squinty look, usually means your dog is friendly and willing to interact. On the other hand, “Hard Eyes,” a cold, icy look usually associated with a direct stare, usually indicates that your dog may be prepared to fight or aggress forward. 

• Mouth. A mouth that is slightly open, with no teeth exposed, generally means your dog is relaxed. Whereas a frightened dog may pull the corners of their lip back (“lip long”) and a dog that needs space may pull their lips back, bare their teeth and wrinkle their muzzle. This action is designed to intimidate the other dog from moving closer.

Learn more about body language in our dedicated lesson here.

3. Use your dog's equipment. If your dog has a history of aggression, or if you’re unsure about how they’ll react in a specific situation, keep your dog on leash, don’t let people or other animals get too close, and have them wear a muzzle.

4. Keep a log. By keeping a log of your dog's triggers and reactions you can start to be proactive with your approach to managing their aggression, and start to employ counter-conditioning techniques to address each of the triggering situations. Include in your log: Reaction, trigger, time of day, location, event details.

5. Use counter-conditioning techniques to change your dog's underlying feelings. Counter conditioning techniques can help desensitize your dog to the perceived threat. For instance, if your dog is showing signs of aggression towards other dogs, move to a safe distance where your dog is not reacting. Every time your dog looks at another dog, reward them with a treat. The goal is for your dog to recognize that when they see another dog, good things happen. Over time, as your dog gets more comfortable and is not reacting, you can start to decrease the distance between your dog and other dogs. Learn more about counter-conditioning in our dedicated lesson here.

6. Don’t punish your dog, especially for growling or barking. If your dog learns that threat displays such as growling and barking work to increase their distance from the perceived threat, they will likely not escalate beyond that. However, if these warning signs are ignored or punished, they may move on to air snapping or biting. This is why you should never punish your dog for growling or barking. Instead, stop what you are doing, remove your dog from the stressful situation, take note of what happened and make a plan to use counter-conditioning techniques to address the triggering situation.

7. Consider consulting a veterinary behaviorist. To find a veterinary behaviorist near you, click here.