You can generally know when your dog is lacking exercise when he or she becomes bored, lethargic, or frustrated. This can manifest itself as destructive behavior or aggression.
Many aggressive dogs act out because they are in distress or pain. Take regular walks and ensure your dog gets enough exercise every day. Releasing pent-up energy can diminish aggression.
Without the physical and mental exertion that comes with daily activity, many dogs will start to feel bored and stressed, which can often translate into aggression towards people and other dogs.
The most common causes include conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, status related aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression and redirected aggression.
Many dogs that are not given proper outlets for their energy will develop mild behavioral problems like digging, excessive barking, or destructive behavior. But some can develop aggressive behavior because of boredom and frustration.
An aggressive dog poses a danger to us and other humans. It tells us the dog is unhappy. Even in a mild form or in a small dog, aggression typically signals the dog is tense and not enjoying his life at that moment – or, sometimes, not at all.
Destructive behavior.
Your puppy might also nip or bite at you as a way to gain your undivided attention. Some pups may even bite or chew on their paws, just to have something to do. These types of destructive behaviors may lead to damage to your property or your pup unintentionally hurting themselves.
The safest and most effective way to treat an aggression problem is to implement behavior modification under the guidance of a qualified professional. Modifying a dog's behavior involves rewarding her for good behavior—so you'll likely be more successful if your dog enjoys praise, treats and toys.
Straight off the bat you should be correcting your dog's growling and/or snapping with a firm “no” at the onset of the behavior. When he stops growling, reward him with a “good boy”, or in the beginning, a treat if it's handy at the exact moment of training so that he knows what he is being rewarded for.
First, it's important to realize that the sudden onset of aggressive behavior may not be a sign of a significant personality change. Instead, it usually indicates a developmental stage of a dog's life. Every day, your dog learns new things and responds to new stimuli.
Most scientific studies indicate that it is very possible to rehabilitate a dog after they bite another dog or person.
A sedentary lifestyle for your pet can result in stiff and tense muscles. This can lead to muscle weakness and pain when moving. Regular exercise helps to keep muscles and ligaments relaxed and loose as well as maintaining strength.
Aggression in dogs can be due to guarding territory, resources, or a family member; fear; frustration; prey drive; or pain. In all of these situations, a dog may be pushed too far and can transition quickly from reactive, fearful, or guarding behaviors to being aggressive.
Stop whatever it is you're doing or the person/animal eliciting the growl is doing. If you know that your dog growls right before a bite, then move away and get safe. If you know the growl doesn't mean a bite is imminent, stop what you are doing.
You should never punish your dog for growling.
Growling is an essential part of a dog's language. When dogs growl, they are trying to communicate their stress about something happening in their environment. That could be them guarding a toy, seeing a stranger, or even just excited to see someone they know.
While it may sound obvious, growling at your dog is not likely to improve its aggressive behavioral problems, a new study suggests. Hitting it is probably worse. Researchers say dog owners who kick, hit or otherwise confront aggressive dogs with punitive training methods are doomed to have, well, aggressive pets.
The behavior associated with Rage Syndrome includes outbursts of aggression that are intense and at times unpredictable. These episodes also tend to be large dramatic responses relative to a seemingly benign situation. Affected dogs often freeze, stare, and may rapidly escalate to biting.
Types of dog aggression include:
Fear Aggression. Territorial Aggression. Idiopathic Aggression.
A reactive dog is usually a fearful dog. Causes can be genetic, but they are more likely due to a lack of socialization, prior bad experiences or a lack of training. Aggressive dogs show similar signs but are determined to cause harm and destruction.
You should NOT punish a dog for biting. This method may also teach the dog not to give a warning prior to the bite. It certainly doesn't do anything to minimize the dog's stressors.
There are some tell-tale signs. Dogs often engage in destructive behavior when feeling neglected, like excessive digging, chewing and scratching. Another way they might express their feelings of frustration are through barking and howling fits, particularly at night.
The researchers conclude that their data shows that dogs find being in the vicinity of their owner is rewarding. Dogs will learn to do behaviors just to gain access to their owner and will remain in their owner's presence even when there are no interactions between the human and the dog.
While most dogs are well-suited to life with their human companions, not all are. Aggressive dogs can cause serious harm to you, your family and anyone else you come across in some situations. Dog aggression can be dealt with, but it takes a lot of training, patience, understanding and caution.