A dog is an amazing creature. They can also be a bit of a problem. I know of one couple that almost lost their dog when he wandered into a wood where the couple had set up camp for the weekend. He was fine but the woman was worried for the safety of their son, who they left alone with a large dog.
So they set up a home inside the tent and only let family over for the weekend.
Another couple had to wait for a well-behaved dog that they took in a foster dog when their son’s dog got sick. Once they did, they were overjoyed to find out that their son actually enjoyed having a dog at home.
That was until the son came home with another dog.
He was not well behaved anymore and he was allowed over to the family’s tent. He was quite happy to see his old foster dog and they began playing. This was to last for about 5 minutes until their son came home and they were playing again.
After that, the son’s dog became aggressive and started biting both the son and the wife.
I know that it can be quite a shock to the system when a dog shows aggression towards you and your family but it can also be a benefit in disguise.
Some dogs need a little ‘encouragement’ and this is okay. Do not tell your dog that he is bad or that you are upset. This is the wrong message to be sent to your dog and it can very quickly spiral into very serious behavior problems.
If your dog shows signs of aggression, it is very important that you do NOT hit him. When he shows signs of aggression, you should make him sit and stay and not allow him to leave your presence. You should simply ignore him, wait for him to calm down and once he does, you should pet him.
The message that you are sending is one of ‘good dog’ or ‘bad dog’. Your dog does not understand this and will interpret this as him being bad. Not only is this confusing for your dog, but it is confusing for you as well.
Most times when dogs show aggressive behavior towards you, you have probably set yourself up for a disaster.
The only way that you can teach your dog to stop being aggressive is to NEVER allow him to be aggressive towards you again. He has learned that if he shows aggression towards you, you will not reward him.
Dogs are pack animals and they are naturally aggressive. We need to let them know that we are the alpha dog and they are the subordinate dog.
