Can my dog be helped?

Most dogs with a history of aggressive behavior can make significant improvements. Our trainer's first dog, a siberian husky-akita mix, had a history of dog aggressive behavior and with her hard work and extensive training, he was able to pass the AKC CGC and also work as a therapy dog in area nursing homes.

However, realistic expectations are important too. Every dog is unique and some cases are easier to address than others. Aggression cannot be completely eliminated so safety precautions will always be needed.

There is always a high demand for help with aggressive behavior in the DC metro area and given the time intensive nature of this work, our consultant limits the number of aggressive behavior cases she accepts. Please do contact us, if we find we cannot help, we are happy to provide a referral.

Aggression directed towards other dogs

Dog-dog aggression may have many different underlying causes such as fear, protective/possessive behavior, inadequate socialization and hereditary components.

Genetics and environment both impact adult dog behavior. Many dog breeds were bred to be intolerant of unfamiliar dogs. Consider that many farmers would have wanted their dog to chase a fox or stray dog away!

With behavior modification and training, most dogs can learn to walk past other dogs in the neighborhood on leash without barking, lunging or showing aggression. A few dogs are able to interact with other dogs more peacefully after extensive training and behavior modification. However, direct interaction with many unfamiliar dogs is not a realistic goal for dogs that have a history of fighting or attacking other dogs. Dog parks are uncontrolled environments and are inappropriate for dogs that have a history of fighting and attacking other dogs. Read more about dog parks here.

Some cases of dog-aggression are able to be seen at our Vienna home office where we provide a structured opportunity to practice a safe distance from our trainer's dogs in a calm and controlled environment. Our dogs are safely confined to a room away from the home office unless we are actively working with them to avoid stressing your dog. For obvious safety reasons, we do not permit client's dogs to interact directly with our dogs when there is a history of aggressive behavior.

Dogs that have a history of attacking other dogs, or that show more aggression when they are closer to their home need to be seen at the owner's home. In the event that your dogs are fighting within the home, we would need to address this at your home. As we have lived with up to 4 dogs ourselves, we are very experienced with the unique challenges of a multiple dog household.

Aggression directed towards people

Dogs exhibiting aggression may growl, snap, lunge or bite. There are many different reasons a dog may show aggression to a person. Some dogs guard objects or food from people, others may be fearful, territorial, stressed or challenge their owner's leadership. It is a myth that a dog that shows aggression to a person is a "bad" dog or always unfriendly. Some dogs that show aggressive behavior are affectionate and even obedient most of the time.

Most dogs that have aggressive behavior problems are stressed and we work with owners to identify strategies to help reduce the dog's overall stress level. We also educate owners on safe management and strategies to establish leadership.

Dogs that have a history of exhibiting aggressive or very fearful behavior towards people, we see at the owner's home. This is for safety reasons, to facilitate behavioral change as well as to ensure that we can accurately assess the dog's behavior in its environment.

In addition to helping clients with their dogs, our trainer also has direct personal experience solving aggressive behavior problems. To learn more read Cupid's story (scroll to the bottom of the page

Animal Behavior Resources Institute has podcasts, videos and articles on aggression as well as other behavior and training issues by accredited leaders in the field.

Dominance versus Leadership in Dog Training by Dr. Sophia Yin

DogGone Safe website on bite prevention, especially good for families with children

© 2011 Cooperative Paws Training and Behavior Consulting

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