Aggression and Dominance
Dog aggression and dominance education helps you understand the reasoning behind behavioral triggers causing a dog to be aggressive and dominant, such as fear. It is important to understand aggressive and dominant behavior from your dog. The good news is, reading and doing further research on aggression and dominance may help you help your dog, instead of being frustrated and relinquishing your dog. learn more about aggression here:
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TERRITORIAL AGGRESSION
Dogs can react aggressively when a person comes into an area that it regards as its home. There is often a basis of anxiety in dogs that have territorial aggression.
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REDIRECTED AGGRESSION
When the dog is frustrated by the inability to reach an object or person that elicits its aggression and instead acts aggressively toward a person that is within reach.
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POSSESSIVE AGGRESSION
Sometimes aggression and dominance in dogs is directed toward a person if the dog views your approaching something of high value (food, toys, family members).
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FEAR AGGRESSION
Many commonplace human behaviors are threatening gestures to dogs, but their reactions are often times very subtle and easily missed by most people. Anything that can cause your dog to feel distressed or uneasy can elicit an aggressive and dominant reaction. Such things include: sustained eye contact, pressure over the top of the head, lifting the dog, bending over the top of a dog, certain force-based training techniques, or trying to take something of high value away from the dog.
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DOMINANCE AGGRESSION
True dominance aggression in dogs is very rare. Most often these acts are based out of another type of motivation. Usually what is assumed to be dominance aggression is actually based out of fear or anxiety.
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Disclaimer
Please be advised, Belly Rub N Grub, its officers, staff and volunteers are not dog behaviorists. Therefore, this page is NOT to be regarded as advice. Instead, this should be treated as helpful, general information and it is highly suggested that you do further research, and contact a professional dog behaviorist and/or trainer to assist.