Aggression Continued: Treatment Program for Dominance

So you’re ready to proceed with treatment for your dominant and aggressive dog. You’re aware of the importance of making sure your dog knows that every single person in the family ranks higher than he does.

Before starting any specific training program, take a quick look over a general list of do’s and don’ts.

Dog Aggression Do’s and Don’ts DO:

Take precautions. If you think your dog might act aggressively towards

● people or other animals, supervise him closely and restrict his activities with a leash or muzzle as necessary.

Take your dog for regular checkups at the vet to make sure he's

● happy and healthy. Pain is a sure-fire way to turn a mellow dog into an aggressive one.

Neuter or spay your dog. Neutering is an effective way to significantly

● reduce spontaneous aggression in dogs of either sex.

Use "time out." An overexcited dog acts in ways that he normally would

● not. If your dog is getting revved up, isolate him from the action - either outside the house or in his crate/kennel. Leave him there until he's cooled down, for at least five or ten minutes.

Socialize thoroughly, and from a young age. All dogs require extensive

● socialization, which teaches them how to communicate with dogs and humans, as well as how to tell friend from foe (and thus, when aggression is warranted and when it's not). Meeting lots of new dogs and humans is especially important between the ages of ten and sixteen weeks, but if you've missed this age in your dog then don't despair - just start socializing now, instead. Remember to use a leash (and muzzle, if necessary) in public.

DON'T:

Play-fight. If your dog has shown signs of aggression in the past,

● play-fighting will only increase this tendency. Play-fighting is fine in moderation, as long as your dog knows the limits of such play, but play-fighting with an aggressive dog is a recipe for disaster.

Bribe your dog with food. Food treats definitely have their uses, but

● not when dealing with aggression. When it comes to anti-aggression training, the respect that your dog has for you plays a large part. Food bribes for good behavior do not engender respect (note the difference between a bribe and a reward!)

Punish, abuse, or humiliate your dog. A "tit for tat" approach to training

● an aggressive dog is counter-productive in the extreme, and will merely ensure the rapid deterioration of any remaining trust and loyalty that your dog has for you (making it more difficult for any future training to take effect).

Dominance-Aggression Training Program

After you've applied any and all of these tips that are applicable to your dog and your situation, give it a bit of time. It takes awhile for new habits to form - don't expect a miracle cure overnight!

However, if after a couple of weeks your dog is still acting up, it's time

● to take further action.

The primary aspects of a training program for dominance aggression

● are:

Correcting any aggressive displays without triggering further

● aggression

Actively rewarding submissive behavior

●

Improving obedience overall

●

The First Two Days

At the moment, your dog is feeling pretty full of himself. He thinks he’s the alpha dog of the pack, that what he says goes, and that the rest of the family are basically his underlings.

What you need to do is to take him down a notch. Let him know that, actually, he DOES need his human family, and that you are the source of everything he needs to survive - which makes you the alpha dog, not him.

The quickest and most effective way to do this is to socially isolate your dog.

The cold shoulder is an extremely powerful tool, and one that’s only ever used by the top dog to demonstrate displeasure with lesser-ranked dogs.

Here’s what you have to do: everyone in the household has to COMPLETELY IGNORE your dog for the next 48 hours. This means no eye contact, no affection of any sort, no yelling, no telling off, absolutely nothing (apart from feeding and toilet breaks, obviously). Pretend he’s not there: nobody can see him or hear him.

The aim here is to put him into a state of emotional deprivation, which will make him a lot more receptive to the forthcoming training techniques that we’re going to subject him to.

Now clearly this is going to be a struggle, at least for the softer-hearted members of the household. We love our dogs, and find it difficult to think of them as anything less than a fully-fledged member of the family.

Unfortunately, human communication techniques don’t work with dogs. You can’t explain to a dog what the problem is - you have to SHOW him, through consistent and repetitive actions, what’s acceptable and what’s not. Aggression training is pure tough love. You have to do what’s best for your dog, not what comes easiest.

In your current situation, this means ignoring your dog totally for the next two whole days.

Clearly he’s not going to like this. Be prepared for his behavior to worsen before it gets better. There is a reason for this, and it doesn’t mean the technique’s not working: just the opposite, in fact.

In the past, the behavior that we’re trying to eradicate has probably gotten him what he wanted (a comfortable place on the couch, unquestioned possession of his favorite toys, to be left alone while eating, etc), and so before he gives up that useful behavior for a lost cause, he’ll very likely exaggerate it - just to make absolutely SURE that it’s not going to have an effect.

For example, if barking loudly and angrily has worked before, then it should work again, right? So even though he’s been barking for the last five minutes, with no reaction from you, maybe you didn’t notice that he was barking - clearly, LOUDER barking is what’s needed. He might walk closer to you, bark louder, and get right in your face. This may happen several times before he finally gives up.

It’s very important that you DO NOT back down when things get worse. If you’ve just shown him that his tactics work, imagine how much worse he’ll be the next time he wants something!

Basically, be prepared for things to get worse before they get better.

Day Three

At this point, your dog should be desperate for some attention and affection.

He’ll be feeling lonely, shaky, a bit confused, and pretty anxious. None of these are nice ways to feel, but they’re absolutely necessary for your dog to realize that, after all, he’s NOT at the top of the chain of command - you are.

When you are ready to show your dog some attention, you must make sure that you do so only on your terms.

Before the dog gets anything, you get something from him first. For example, make him sit and stay before letting him outside. Make him sit or lie down before he gets to eat (we’ll go into this in more detail in the next section).

Only show affection when YOU wish to do so - don’t let him initiate shows of affection by butting you, nudging you, whining, or otherwise bothering you. This is classic dominant behavior, and giving in to it will undo all the work you’ve put in over the last two days. If he does try to force you to show him attention, ignore him completely.

Before your dog gets any sort of affection, from anyone, he has to be behaving in a way that’s worthy of reward. Try petting him only when he’s lying down and being quiet - this is a very effective way of demonstrating which behaviors are acceptable and will result in a reward for him.

These are all great ways to constantly reinforce your authority over your dog and make him realize that he’s not the boss after all, and that he has to answer to you before he gets ANYTHING that he wants: a toilet break, a meal, playtime, a toy, a chew, affection, absolutely everything.

The Next Five Weeks

In addition to maintaining the level of control discussed in the previous section, you’re also going to start working on some basic obedience commands with your dog.

Obedience work is one of the most effective ways for you to demonstrate authority. It gives your dog an idea of what kinds of actions and behaviors will earn him a reward, while simultaneously emphasizing your dominant position.

We’re going to work on the assumption that your dog isn’t particularly well-trained in basic obedience work (because if he was, it’s unlikely that you’d have much of a problem with dominance-aggression).

Start with the easy commands first, and work your way up from there. For week one, for example, you can start off with “sit” - there’s no need to confuse either yourself or your dog with more than one command for now. Get him to “sit”

before you feed him, before you let him outside, and so on.

Over the next several weeks, gradually build up your level of command over your dog. Once “sit” has been mastered, begin to include “sit-stay,” slowly increasing the length of time he’s in “sit” before you release him. From here, work up to “down” and “down-stay,” remembering to exercise these commands before granting your dog privileges like play-times, walks, and meals.

NOTE: if your dog hasn’t been trained in any obedience work at all, then use the techniques in Secrets to Dog Training to teach him these basic commands.

It’s not difficult - you just need to be patient. It helps to have some tasty treats on hand, too! Remember, you’re not using food as a “bribe,” you’re using it to reward especially good behavior.

A useful tip to bear in mind: in obedience training, there is no such thing as over-praising your dog. If your dog obeys a command, then praise the heck out of him - shower him in affection, verbal and physical praise, and a couple of (small) treats. Put a big smile on your face (dogs read facial expressions) and use a warm, encouraging, and happy tone of voice. This works to balance out the cold-shoulder technique that you’re using for bad behavior, and really highlights the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

In terms of the obedience training itself, it may help to have a concrete, achievable goal in mind. Yes, you want your dog to become more obedient - but you might find that it’s easier to be consistent if you have a solid goal to work towards.

Something challenging but achievable over the next five weeks might be to get your dog to “sit-stay” for ten minutes until you release him.

Basic Aggression-Training Rules Things to remember:

You're the boss - so act like it! Don't give your dog ANYTHING until he

● gives you something first.

Only reward positive behavior. Any and all attention - even if it seems

● negative to you - is a reward for your dog. If he's acting badly, don't yell. Give him the cold shoulder immediately, and see that everyone

Talk to, pet, and praise your dog whenever you see him behaving well,

● which lets him know that he can "earn" your affection and attention. As time goes on, he'll begin to correlate his actions with your reactions, which gives him something positive to do instead of merely refraining from unwanted behavior.

No aggressive games, or games that can get out of control. This

● means tug of war, tag, or rough-housing.

Only allow him one toy or chew per day - any more than this encourages

● your dog to think of them as "his." And don't leave them lying around:

make a big deal out of handing your dog the toy in the morning (after he's done something for you first) and put it away at the end of the day.

If your dog has problems with guarding toys, don't let him have any at all until the obedience work has started to take effect (normally one to three weeks).

Don't shout at or hit your dog, no matter what. It won't help.

●

Use common sense. Don't let him off-lead in public, and keep the

● lead short: two feet of slack is plenty. Use a muzzle if you think it's necessary.

Exercise your dog as much as you possibly can - try and take him

● for at least one long, vigorous walk daily. Under-exercised dogs are jumpy, tense, and much more prone towards aggression. Again, don't allow him off the leash, even in confined spaces - this is a privilege which must be earned.

After 5 Weeks

After five weeks is up, you should be noticing marked changes in your dog’s behavior. Because you’ve clearly assumed the alpha role in the house, he should be a lot more relaxed (because he knows he doesn’t have to try and be the boss.) Obedience should be markedly improved: there’s no need for fancy tricks (unless you feel ready for them!), but your dog should be pretty dependable with the basics like “sit,” “down,” and “stay.”

You may wish to introduce other training commands at this time which have use beyond the scope of the immediate household. “Leave it” (drop it) and the recall command (“come”) are particularly recommended. Strong reliability with recall is absolutely imperative if you’re ever going to walk your dog off-lead, and

“leave it” will enable you to play tug of war and other rough games with your dog while retaining your authority. Secrets to Dog Training has instructions for teaching both of these commands.

Physical Correction: Necessary or Not?

Generally speaking, a dog’s aggression will worsen if you take a harsh or rough approach to it. Aggression isn’t about who can bark (or yell) the loudest, or who can physically bully whom - it’s about DOMINANCE. And the only way to prove your dominance is through your everyday interactions with your dog - thinking and acting like an alpha, demanding consistent obedience, getting your dog to do things for you before you do things for him, rewarding only good behavior, and cold-shouldering bad behavior.

Yes, it’s true that dogs use aggression to get what they want from each other.

In the wild, an alpha dog would react to a challenge (deliberate or not) with his own, superior show of aggression - if he didn’t, he’d be finished as the alpha.

But there are two critical differences between your situation and that alpha dog’s situation:

The alpha dog in a pack is widely acknowledged by all other pack

● members to be the alpha. He ALWAYS acts like the alpha dog, no exceptions - other dogs can see he’s the boss and accept that he is.

They respect him for a reason. Because of this, actual challenges are extremely rare: no dog wants to tangle with a true alpha.

You are not a dog! Alpha dogs can respond to aggression with full

● confidence, knowing that they have the muscular strength, agility, and teeth required to back up any displays of aggressive intent. You, on the other hand, do not. If you accept your dog’s challenge by responding to his aggression with yelling and rough handling, you’re likely to get bitten. Remember, your dog wouldn’t have challenged you with aggression in the first place if he accepted your position as the alpha, so there’s a real chance that he will escalate matters with a bite.