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Dealing with Puppy Aggression -
How to Solve Aggressive Behavior

How to Modify your Dog's Behavior and Solve Obedience Problems

As a dog owner, the most serious behavior you will need to deal with is puppy aggression.

You will be much better prepared to deal with this behavior if you take the time to learn what its causes are.

Before we proceed, I would like to suggest something to you…

If you have small children, and your puppy shows signs of excessive aggression, obtain an expert opinion to find out if it's safe to keep your puppy in your home. Talk to a professional dog trainer or a dog behaviorist.

So, how do you recognize puppy aggression?

Symptoms of Puppy Aggression

How do you know if your dog is overly aggressive? Take a look at the following list of dog behaviors…

Biting
Snapping
Growling
Excessive barking
Raised fur along the back of the neck and the ridge of the spine

If you can recognize several of the above behaviors, and they occur frequently, chances are that you have an aggressive puppy or dog.

In addition to specific behavior training, all aggressive dogs must go through obedience training. At a minimum, teach them to listen to you and follow some basic commands.

Here is a short video that discusses puppy aggression...

Learn more about How to Train Aggressive Puppies

Causes of Puppy Aggression

First and foremost, genetics play a major role in dog aggression. Breeds such as a Doberman Pinscher, a Rottweiler, and a Pit Bull Terrier are more aggressive than a Golden Retriever or a Labrador Retriever.

Why?

Because they were bred to be more aggressive!

Another very important factor that influences puppy aggression is the environment.

Factors such as:

Living conditions and surroundings
Socialization (more on this later)
Excessive and physical punishment
Some frightening experience

…can and will influence puppy aggression.

And finally, just like humans, all dogs are unique and have their own personalities. Some dogs are born more aggressive than others and will use their aggression to maintain that "alpha dog" status within their pack.

That's all fine if all dogs lived in packs, but most dogs live with people. What's more, they not only live with us but they also look at us as members of their pack. An alpha dog will quickly figure out who the "weakest" members of the family are and, using some form of aggression, will try to establish his dominance over them.

Types of Dog Aggression

Dog aggression can be characterized into several categories:

Defensive (fear, pain)
Dominant
Territorial
Parental
Food (too protective towards their food)
Gender (male vs. male, female vs. female)

Your dog may exhibit more than one type of aggression, depending on the situation. The symptoms of aggression also vary.

For example, a dominant aggressive dog will stand tall, with his ears up and tail erect. He will stare threateningly and move towards his target. His teeth will be exposed. He will appear confident, with the look that says "I am ready for you".

A defensive aggressive dog, on the other hand, will look quite the opposite.

His ears will lean back and he will avoid direct eye contact. He will lower his head and body. His tail will be between his legs. His whole appearance will tell you that he is scared.

What's interesting is that the same dog can be both, a dominant and defensive aggressive. A friend of mine has a Boxer who, when he was young, displayed fearful aggression towards strangers. When alone with my friend, he tried to exert his dominance. Same dog, different situations, different behavior…

Oh, and just because a dog shows signs of fear, don't assume that he is harmless. Defensive aggressive dogs are often "fear biters".

Do not wait until your dog bites you or someone else.

Be proactive and take steps to prevent puppy aggression from becoming a part of your dog's life. Socialize your puppy while he is still young. Never scream or hit your puppy. And remember, punishing an aggressive puppy is not only useless, it can make your puppy even more aggressive.

For specific information on dealing with puppy aggression and how to train aggressive dogs, visit growling dog, puppy biting, and training aggressive dogs pages.

For more advice on how to stop puppy aggression, I highly recommend you read and follow this dog training guide. You'll find lots of information on dealing with many behavioral problems, including dog and puppy aggression.