Today’s tame dogs have a lot of wild traits that go far back in their bloodlines. After all, their ancestors had to be aggressive to survive, to search for food and shelter, and to mate. A lot of selective breeding has taken place over the centuries which has stopped a lot of the aggression in dogs; however, the ability to attack and cause harm is just as real now as it was back then. It’s a dog’s nature to be aggressive, and nothing humans have been able to do has completely restrained this trait. Therefore, it’s up to us as doting dog owners to learn to help our aggressive dogs handle a trait that is a natural part of them.

As humans we have a lot of control over the aggression in our animals. Even if your dog does begin exhibiting some aggression, you can take steps to comprehend what’s going on and get control of it without much problem. With dogs, there are several types of aggression. Two of the most commonly found types are dog aggression shown to strangers and that shown to those living in your household. What difference does it make who the dog’s aggression is being aimed at? Why would we need to waste time defining two types of aggression? Essentially, it’s because although both of these types are aggression, they take place for different reasons and need to be treated differently.

Obviously, aggression around strangers is easy to see. You know your dog well, so you’ll know when he gets excessively agitated by watching him pace constantly, bark, whine, and notice the smallest of sounds. Or, alternately, if he becomes very quiet, sitting in one place without taking his eyes off the stranger, be it the postal carrier, a friend, or someone walking down the street. Some dogs just don’t adapt quickly to people they don’t know. They prefer to be in the company of people they know and who they feel safe with. Usually this happens because they haven’t been been introduced to a lot of social situations so that they can get used to the thought of strangers. If you keep your dog confined at home all of the time, how is he ever going to get used to the idea of strangers and unfamiliar situations?

You can help your dog become more socialized by helping him get accustomed to being around both strange animals and people. You may have never considered it before, but this is a major need for you to think about when training your dog. Beginning at a very young age, immediately after he’s had all of his vaccinations, he should be exposed to a big variety of different people, environments, animals, and experiences. By doing this, you’re showing your dog early on that meeting new people and trying new experiences is both safe and enjoyable. You want to be sure hand slowly introduce him to a variety of people: the toddler next door, a skater wearing safety equipment, senior citizens, both men and women, a person carrying an umbrella, teens, and a variety of others. He will learn to be at ease around strangers, and they won’t seem to be a threat to his world any longer. Waiting until he’s fully grown and then trying to ease his fears by patting him and telling him it’s fine just isn’t going to validate it.

How can you go about socializing your puppy so that he will not grow up with an aversion to strangers? For starters, you can take him to a puppy preschool. This consists of going to puppy classes, such as those taking place at veterinary clinics. A group of around ten dog owners and their puppies will gather with at least one qualified trainer who will start showing the puppies the important obedience commands, such as sit and stay. You’ll like the fact that your puppy is learning to mind, but there’s an even more important benefit to attending these classes. Not only will your puppy develop joyful thoughts about visiting the vet’s office, but he’ll also experience play sessions during the classes during which he’ll be allowed to be off-leash and frolic with the other puppies.

Talk about developing great social skills right from the beginning! He’ll be able to learn how to get along with a cross section of strange dogs while being introduced to a group of people he is unfamiliar with. Since a trainer will always be there, the environment will remain safe, secure, and in control. Don’t think that puppy preschool is the lifelong answer to aggressive traits, however. Socialization is a never ending process that you will need to work on all of your dog’s life. No matter what his age, he will always benefit from being introduced to new places and being around new people. The key is never to allow him to be exposed to more than he can deal with. Start slowly, with or without puppy preschool, and slowly increase the stimulus he’s exposed to.

There are two basic reasons that dogs demonstrate aggression towards family members. One is that he’s defending something that he perceives to be his. This may be a toy, his bed, his food dish, or something else he has come to feel belongs to him. It doesn’t appear to be a major problem, does it, because you realize you aren’t opting to take away his belongings, but there are more underlying problems that you need to know about. The reason that he’s behaving so possessively about his things is because he’s not comfortable with the way you and other family members are treating or handling him.

At this point, your dog is exhibiting a trait that is not unusual amongst dogs and which is regarded as resource guarding. This situation may include being overly-protective of his things, snarling at you if you come around him while he’s eating, and giving you cold, hard glares if you start to take a toy away from him. Dogs are a great deal like people in that they all feel possessive at times, even if what they’re being possessive of doesn’t seem too vital to anyone else. You may observe your dog acting possessively about a hunk of garbage, wadded up newspapers, worn out socks, and other trash items. Other times you can understand his possessiveness better when it’s over food or toys.

Why would a dog that has seemed happy and at ease suddenly get all tense over the ownership of a possession? In order to find an answer for this question, we once again need to look at the origins of dog behavior. Originally, dogs were part of a pack which is a very controlled community. Within this community, each animal has its own rank to fit into the power structure as compared to every other animal in the pack. Each dog comprehends exactly where he and each other dog fits into the line of authority, and, therefore, knows whether he should stay out of or become the aggressor in any given situation.

To your dog, your family unit is similar to a dog pack. He has made his own decisions about the hierarchy of power within the family and ranked each member. He also perceives his own place in the rankings. Due to these intrinsic behaviors, being with your dog can get interesting. If he sees himself as more of an authority figure than other members of the family, he’s going to become very self-satisfied. He’s going to act like a smart alack and begin treating everyone with more aggression. When he has decided that he is the superior animal in the pack, he’s going to act based on that perception. He understands that none of the others in the pack have a right to aggression or to try to boss him as the one highest in rank. As long as he feels that no one in the family is superior to him, he feels he has a right to his aggression, and he’ll never imagine that anyone will aggressively pursue whatever he wants to have.

So how should you react when your dog starts exhibiting aggressive traits that show he considers himself the most authoritative dog of the pack? The answer is that you must firmly work on his obedience training, and do it often. These sessions will help him to understand that you, in fact, are the authority figure of the pack. Give him two 15-minute lessons a day, and he’ll soon learn that you’re the boss and that he has to do what you expect him to do. During these sessions, when he behaves appropriately you should heap on the praise and treats to reinforce the behavior you’re after. If he doesn’t behave as he should, put him in “time out” by shutting him outside or in another room.

It always helps to be informed aboutany subject you’re involved with, so take a small amount of time to get some of the basics about dog psychology and ways to communicate with your dog. When you start havingsessions with your pooch, keep them short and to the point. As you probably already know, most dogs aren’t going to allow you to be huggy-kissy with them. In their world, allowing you to cuddle them and put your arms around them means that they are admitting that you are the boss. If your dog lets you to cuddle him, you know you’ve been relegated to the stature of the superior dog in the pack. If a dog wasn’t subjected to a lot of physical contact at an early age, he isn’t going to feel at ease with it as an adult. If anyone tries to hug him, he’s going to become tense and show dog aggression. If your dog’s aggressive behavior is out of hand and you don’t feel you have the ability to do the training yourself, you need to contemplate employing a dog trainer to accomplish the task for you.

Another reason that dogs become aggressive when being handled is that they’ve had at least one grooming session gone wrong. Two of the most common bad experiences dog have had with grooming are bathing and nail-clipping. Many dogs panic when faced with being held and bathed. Pet owners have trouble coping when their perfect pet suddenly gets all excited and upset in the middle of a bath. They often think they need more restraints which only makes the problem worse. More restraint will mean more frenzy, and the dog will once again conclude that having a bath is not a good experience to be avoided if at all possible. He may even believe he must protect himself by baring his teeth and growling at his owner. Nail clipping can be even more upsetting to a dog. When clipping his nails, it’s easy to clip too far and cut the blood vessel that runs through the claw. When this takes place, it means a lot of pain for the dog and makes him even more leery of those nail clippers.

If your dog is one of these animals that becomes frightened during grooming sessions, you could be wondering if he can be altered in order to make the sessions less uncomfortable for everyone involved. Although it’s much less difficult to begin when your dog is a little puppy, it can be done. If you’re beginning with a puppy, make sure you afford him a lot of touching and rubbing all over his body so that he’ll become an adult who will enjoy being handled. Older dogs that were not given this type of touching as puppies have a tougher time adapting to being touched. With your older dog’s dislike of clippers, start by taking hold of one of his paws and touching gently with the clippers. Demonstrate for him that clippers don’t necessarily mean pain. Since he’s undoubtedly already had some less than positive grooming experiences, you must teach him to stay calm because there’s nothing that’s going to hurt him.

For the older dog that doesn’t like bathing, you need to practice the bathing process with him making it a happy experience for him. Sit him in the warm bathtub if you can. If you must take him outdoors, don’t do it when it’s too cool for a comfortable bath. He won’t learn to enjoy a bath by being sprayed with icy-cold water. While you’re giving him the water bath, give him lots of praise, hugs, and even occasional treats to help him understand that you’re pleased with his behavior. A major factor in these practice sessions is to give your dog his freedom if he becomes uncomfortable and stressed out. Keep the complete process fun and enjoyable for your dog. Don’t push him too far or too quickly, and if he gets agitated, stop what you’re doing as soon as possible.

There’s a reason that dogs show aggression. They’re giving you a warning that you must stop what you’re doing or face the consequences. If you try practicing the grooming techniques outlined above and your dog still can’t stand being groomed, it’s time to hire a professional. Your vet will be happy to clip his nails. Make sure you let the vet know that your pooch might be an aggressive dog during clipping times so that your vet will safeguard himself for the possibility of aggressive behavior. Dog grooming services abound where for a price you can have trained professional groomers wash, brush, and clip your dog for you. Once again, let them know up front about your dog’s aversion to grooming.

If you’d like more information on unwanted behaviors that your dog is exhibiting, such as dog training barking or stop dog from eating grass, you’ll probably be interested in taking a look at Secrets to Dog Training. It’s a complete, A-Z manual for the responsible dog owner, and deals with recognizing, preventing, and dealing with just about every problem dog behavior under the sun. You can check out Secrets to Dog Training by clicking here: dog behavior digging.

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