Here's a Simple But Insightful Dog Aggression Training Guide!

What is it? It's pretty easy to tell when a dog's nervy around strange people. He's jumpy and on the alert: either he can't sit still and is constantly fidgeting, leaping at the smallest sound, and pacing around barking and whining; or he's very still indeed, sitting rock-steady in one place, staring hard at the object of his suspicions (a visitor, the mailman, someone approaching him on the street while he's tied upoutside a store.)

Why does it happen? There's one major reason why a dog doesn't like strange people: he's never had the chance to get used to them.

Remember, your dog relies 100% on you to broaden his horizons for him: without being taken on lots of outings to see the world and realize for himself, through consistent and positive experiences, that the unknown doesn't necessarily equal bad news for him, how can he realistically be expected to relax in an unfamiliar situation?

What can you do about it? The process of accustoming your dog to the world and all the strange people (and animals) that it contains is called socialization.

This is an incredibly important aspect of your dog's upbringing: in fact, it's pretty hard to overemphasize just how important it is. Socializing your dog means exposing him from a young age (generally speaking, as soon as he's had his vaccinations) to a wide variety of new experiences, new people, and new animals.

How does socialization prevent stranger aggression? When you socialize your dog, you're getting him to learn through experience that new sights and sounds are fun, not scary. It's not enough to expose an adult dog to a crowd of unfamiliar people and tell him to "Settle down, Roxy, it's OK" - he has to learn that it's OK for himself. And he needs to do it from puppyhood for the lesson to sink in.

The more types of people and animals he meets (babies, toddlers, teenagers, old people, men, women, people wearing uniforms, people wearing motorcycle helmets, people carrying umbrellas, etc.) in a fun and relaxed context, the more at ease and happy - and safe around strangers - he'll be in general.

How can you socialize your dog so that he doesn't develop a fear of strangers? Socializing your dog is pretty easy to do - it's more of a general effort than a specific training regimen.

First of all, you should take him to puppy preschool.

This is a generic term for a series of easy group-training classes for puppies (often performed at the vet clinic, which has the additional benefit of teaching your dog positive associations with the vet!).

It's terrifying how common tales are of dogs savaging young children. You might think that it's just Pit Bulls or certain breeds that do this kind of thing but it's common across all breeds. Children have the uncanny ability to make dogs angry without intending.

Most families will luckily never have to deal with anything remotely as traumatic but if you own a dog and have children; or have children visiting often - then you too must take some responsibility for their actions and behavior.

You want to prepare your children by teaching them a few simple rules about playing with the dog.

The first step to understand the aggression. So, what causes dogs to become aggressive? There are a few different kinds of aggression that dogs experience. If they are scared they become aggressive, if something threatens their territory or family and as an act of dominance assertion.

An aggressive dog's ears will pin back; their tail might stand up and they will growl. The growl is a warning.

What's the best way to deal with an aggressive dog?

If you have the luxury of realizing before something happens that the dog is upset and about to hurt your child or you there are some things you can do:

- It's most important to try to keep as calm as possible; the dog will sense your fear
- Speak in a soft voice - remove the disturbance if possible.

What can you do to prevent an aggressive dog?

- Teach your children that the dogs have feeling too and are to be treated with care. This means no rough playing with the dog. Some breeds of dog become agitated and roughhousing can greatly upset them. Enough to bite your child!

- If your children are very small you will need to take care to supervise them at all times. You cannot leave a toddler with a dog without risking something going wrong. Very young children do not understand how to treat animals yet.

- The importance of having a well trained dog cannot be stated enough. When you get a puppy take them to obedience classes straight away. Even if you don't have children it's important to have a well trained dog. You don't want your beloved pooch to harm someone else's children.

If you have children and are considering buying a dog; there are some considerations that can make it far less likely for an aggressive dog. Choose carefully - some breeds are known to have a low tolerance and others are known to be child friendly.

Dogs have a long standing relationship with humans - dogs love people and visa versa. By following these pointers you should be assured of a happy calm dog that won't harm anyone. A carefully trained dog will give you peace of mind and most importantly - become an important part of your family life.

In a puppy preschool class, about ten or so puppy owners get together with a qualified trainer (often there'll be at least two trainers present - the more there are, the better, since it means you get more one-on-one time with a professional) and start teaching their puppies the basic obedience commands: sit, stay, and so on.

Even though the obedience work is very helpful and is a great way to start your puppy on the road to being a trustworthy adult dog, really the best part of puppy preschool is the play sessions: several times throughout the class, the puppies are encouraged to run around off-leash and play amongst themselves.

This is an ideal environment for them to learn good social skills:

There's a whole bunch of unfamiliar dogs present (which teaches them how to interact with strange dogs),

There's a whole bunch of unfamiliar people present (which teaches them that new faces are nothing to be afraid of)

The environment is safe and controlled (there's at least one certified trainer present to make sure that things don't get out of hand).

Socialization doesn't just stop with puppy preschool, though.

It's an ongoing effort throughout the life of your puppy and dog: he needs to be taken to a whole bunch of new places and environments. Remember not to overwhelm him: start off slow, and build up his tolerance gradually.

If you're interested in getting a more detailed look at how to deal with your dog's separation anxiety, you might like to check out "Secrets to Dog Training."

It's a great learning tool for anyone who wants to learn how to deal constructively with their dog's problem behaviors.

There is also a straight-talking, easy to follow 30-minute downloadable video which provides real-life examples of doggy bad behavior along with solutions and remedies to change them.

All of the common behavioral problems are dealt with in detail, and there's a great section on obedience commands and tricks too.

You can visit the "Secrets to Dog Training" site by clicking here.

There are two common reasons why a dog is aggressive towards members of his own human family:

• He's trying to defend something he thinks of as his from a perceived threat (you). This is known as resource guarding, and though it may sound innocuous, there's actually a lot more going on here than your dog simply trying to keep his kibble to himself.


• He's not comfortable with the treatment he's getting from you or other members of the family.

What's resource guarding? Resource guarding is pretty common among dogs. The term refers to overly-possessive behavior on behalf of your dog: for instance, snarling at you if you approach him when he's eating, or giving you "the eye" (a flinty-eyed, direct stare) if you reach your hand out to take a toy away from him. All dogs can be possessive from time to time - it's in their natures.

Sometimes they're possessive over things with no conceivable value: inedible trash, balled up pieces of paper or tissue, old socks. More frequently, however, resource-guarding becomes an issue over items with a very real and understandable value: food and toys.

Why does it happen? It all boils down to the issue of dominance. Let me take a moment to
explain this concept: dogs are pack animals. This means that they're used to a very structured environment: in a dog-pack, each individual animal is ranked in a hierarchy of position and power (or "dominance") in relation to every other animal.

Each animal is aware of the rank of every other animal, which means he knows specifically how
to act in any given situation (whether to back down, whether to push the issue, whether to muscle in or not on somebody else's turf, etc etc). To your dog, the family environment is no different to the dog-pack environment.

Your dog has ranked each member of the family, and has his own perception of where he ranks in that environment as well. This is where it gets interesting: if your dog perceives himself as higher up on the social totem-pole than other family members, he's going to get cheeky. If he's really got an overinflated sense of his own importance, he'll start to act aggressively.

Why? Because dominance and aggression are the exclusive rights of a superior-ranked animal. No underdog would ever show aggression or act dominantly to a higher-ranked animal (the consequences would be dire, and he knows it!) Resource guarding is a classic example of dominant behavior: only a higher-ranked dog (a "dominant" dog) would act aggressively in defence of resources.

To put it simply, if it was clear to your dog that he is not, in fact, the leader of the family, he'd never even dream of trying to prevent you from taking his food or toys - because a lower-ranking dog (him) will always go along with what the higher-ranking dogs (you and your family) say. So what can you do about it?

The best treatment for dominant, aggressive behavior is consistent, frequent obedience work, which will underline your authority over your dog. Just two fifteen-minute sessions a day will make it perfectly clear to your dog that you're the boss, and that it pays to do what you say.

You can make this fact clear to him by rewarding him (with treats and lavish praise) for obeying a command, and isolating him (putting him in "time-out", either outside the house or in a room by himself) for misbehaviour.

If you're not entirely confident doing this yourself, you may wish to consider enlisting the assistance of a qualified dog-trainer.

Brush up on your understanding of canine psychology and communication, so that you understand what he's trying to say - this will help you to nip any dominant behaviors in the bud, and to communicate your own authority more effectively

Train regularly: keep obedience sessions short and productive (no more than fifteen minutes -
maybe two or three of these per day). Why doesn't my dog like to be handled?

All dogs have different handling thresholds. Some dogs like lots of cuddles, and are perfectly content to be hugged, kissed, and have arms slung over their shoulders (this is the ultimate "I'm the boss" gesture to a dog, which is why a lot of them won't tolerate it.)

Others usually the ones not accustomed to a great deal of physical contact from a very young age - aren't comfortable with too much full-body contact and will get nervy and agitated if someone persists in trying to hug them. Another common cause of handling-induced aggression is a bad grooming experience: nail-clipping and bathing are the two common culprits.

When you clip a dog's nails, it's very easy to "quick" him - that is, cut the blood vessel that runs inside the nail. This is extremely painful to a dog, and is a sure-fire way to cause a long-lasting aversion to those clippers. Being washed is something that a great many dogs have difficulty dealing with - a lot of owners, when confronted with a wild-eyed, half-washed, upset dog, feel that in order to complete the wash they have to forcibly restrain him.

This only adds to the dog's sense of panic, and reinforces his impression of a wash as something to be avoided at all costs - if necessary, to defend himself from it with a display of teeth and hackles.

Can you "retrain" him to enjoy being handled and groomed? In a word: yes. It's a lot easier if you start from a young age - handle your puppy a lot, get him used to being touched and rubbed all over.

Young dogs generally enjoy being handled - it's only older ones who haven't had a lot of physical contact throughout their lives that sometimes find physical affection difficult to accept. Practice picking up his paws and touching them with the clipper; practice taking him into the bath (or outside, under the faucet - whatever works for you, but warm water is much more pleasant for a dog than a freezing spray of ice-water!), and augment the process throughout with lots of praise and the occasional small treat.

For an older dog that may already have had several unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, things are a little more difficult. You need to undo the damage already caused by those bad experiences, which you can do by taking things very slowly - with an emphasis on keeping your dog calm. The instant he starts to show signs of stress, stop immediately and let him relax.

Try to make the whole thing into a game: give him lots of praise, pats, and treats. Take things slowly. Don't push it too far: if you get nervous, stop. Dogs show aggression for a reason: they're warning you to back off, or else! If your dog just can't seem to accept being groomed, no matter how much practice you put in, it's best to hand the job over to the professionals.

Your vet will clip his nails for you (make sure you tell him first that he gets aggressive when the clippers come out, so your vet can take the necessary precautions!). As far as washing and brushing goes, the dog-grooming business is a flourishing industry: for a small fee, you can get your dog washed, clipped, brushed, and whatever else you require by experienced professionals (again, make sure you tell them about your dog's reaction to the experience first!)

In some ways training a puppy is easier than training an adult or adolescent dog. One reason is that the puppy is essentially a "blank slate", untroubled by past training techniques and other issues. In other ways, however, the puppy can be more difficult to train than an older dog.

Puppy training is very important, whether you are training your first puppy or your 20th. Properly training and socializing a puppy is vital to making it a valued member of your family and your community.

In some ways training a puppy is easier than training an adult or adolescent dog. One reason is that the puppy is essentially a "blank slate", untroubled by past training techniques and other issues. In other ways, however, the puppy can be more difficult to train than an older dog.

One challenge to training a new puppy is that puppies are more easily distractible than adolescent and adult dogs. Everything is new to a puppy, and every new experience provides a new chance for distraction. For this reason, it is best to keep training sessions short when working with a puppy, and to end each training sessions on a positive note.

It is also important to allow the puppy plenty of time to play, and to interact with other puppies and dogs. Socialization training is vital to making your new puppy a good canine citizen, as dog aggression is a growing problem in many areas. A properly socialized dog learns how to play properly with other dogs, and overly aggressive play is punished by the other dogs in the play group.

This type of play learning is something that happens among siblings in litters of puppies. As the puppies play with each other, they learn what is appropriate and what is not. Inappropriate behavior, such as hard biting or scratching, is punished by the other puppies, by the mother dog, or both.

Unfortunately, many puppies are removed from their mothers and sold or adopted before this socialization has fully occurred. Therefore, puppy play sessions are a very important part of any puppy training session. Most good puppy preschool training programs provide time in each session for this type of dog interaction.

Introducing your puppy to new experiences and new locations is also an important part of puppy training. Teaching your dog to be obedient and responsive, even in the face of many distractions, is very important when training dogs and puppies.

It is important for puppy owners to structure their pet's environment so that the puppy is rewarded for good behaviors and not rewarded for others. One good example of this is jumping on people. Many people inadvertently reward this behavior because it can be cute. While it is true that jumping can be cute for a 10 pound puppy, it will not be so cute when that puppy has grown into a 100 pound dog.

Instead of rewarding the puppy for jumping, try rewarding it for sitting instead. This type of positive reinforcement will result in a well behaved adult dog that is a valued member of both the family and the community at large.

This type of reinforcement can also be used in potty training the new puppy. For instance, teaching a puppy to use a unique surface such as gravel or asphalt is a good technique. The theory is that the puppy will associate this surface with going potty, and therefore be reluctant to use other surfaces (like your kitchen carpet for instance) as a potty.