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Aggression is viewed completely differently by humans and dogs. From a dogs perspective, theres always a reason for aggressive behavior its simply a necessary reaction to a situation. Because humans and dogs have different communication systems, misunderstandings can occur between the two species. A person may intend to be friendly, but a dog may perceive that person behavior as threatening or intimidating.
Types of Aggressive Dog Behaviors
Fear-Motivated Aggression - Fear-motivated aggression is a defensive reaction and occurs when a dog believes he is in danger of being harmed.For example, if you back your dog into a corner while loudly telling him off about something, he will feel boxed in and threatened, and may conclude that to prevent you from doing harm he must react with aggression.
Redirected Aggression - a dog is aroused into an aggressive response by a person or animal or unrelated source that he is prevented from attacking, he may redirect this aggression onto someone else.
Dominance aggression - Occurs when your dog thinks he is the leader of the household. This generally occurs when owners dont understand how dogs communicate. A dominantly aggressive dog may growl if he is disturbed when resting or sleeping, or if he is asked to give up a favorite spot, such as the couch or the bed. Physical restraint, even when done in a friendly manner, like hugging, may also cause your dog to respond aggressively. Reaching for your dogs collar or reaching out over his head to pet him, could also be interpreted by him as a challenge for dominance. Dominantly aggressive dogs are often described as "Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" because they can be very friendly when not challenged. At The end result is generally your dog concluding that he is, in fact, the pack leader, since youre demonstrably not; and if you do anything to threaten this position, he will defend it appropriately.
Territorial aggression - Protective, territorial and possessive aggression are all very similar, and involve the defense of valuable resources. Territorial aggression is usually associated with defense of property such as food, toys or other valued objects. For example, food-guarding (your dog may react aggressively if you approach while he is eating), toy-guarding, or furniture-guarding (for example, he may snarl at you if you attempt to dislodge him from a comfy position on the couch). These are all signals that your dog considers himself to be ranked higher than you in the household hierarchy.
Dogs differ in their likelihood to show aggressive behavior in any particular situation. Some dogs tend to respond aggressively with very little stimulation. Others may be subjected to all kinds of threatening stimuli and events, and never attempt to bite. Dealing with aggression isnt particularly difficult understand. Its important that you do your homework on dog psychology and communication, and even get professional help - you can speak to your vet about a referral to a canine behavioral specialist, before to attempt correct dog behavior like aggression.
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