Where aggression comes from
Canids (wolves and dogs) are highly social "pack" animals that establish a hierarchy within the pack. This lets them live in a group with hardly any confrontation. In a pair, one animal is always dominant. The leader controls food, mating and sleeping places, and always wins in a conflict. Subordinates give way to the leader and obey rather than resist.
At home, it is important to understand your dog's instincts and behave in a way that stops it taking control and stops unwanted behaviour from becoming a habit. Otherwise you may soon find that your dog does not want to follow commands and may even go for you when you try to approach it or take charge of a situation. This is dominance aggression.
There are other causes too:
- Some dogs, even ones not inclined to dominate, are overly possessive or protective and guard valued things such as food or favourite toys.
- A very common cause is fear. A frightened dog may bite or defend itself when someone tries to restrain or punish it.
How to choose a puppy
You can watch a puppy's character for a while, but many behaviour problems, such as timidity or excessive possessiveness, may only become clear well after you bring it home. You will learn more by finding out how dogs of your chosen breed usually behave. Watch the puppy's parents and their offspring from earlier litters closely, and pay attention to how the puppy's other relatives behave.
When choosing an older puppy or an adult dog, temperament and personality tests are recommended, because their character has already formed. Ask a vet or an animal behaviour specialist about character testing.
How to teach your puppy to obey
With good preparation, training your puppy will succeed. Constant supervision lets you reward the right behaviour and interrupt the wrong behaviour. A lead can help. From day one, aim for your dog to respond to your verbal commands and to accept every form of handling.
We advise avoiding physical punishment. The best way to train is to praise good behaviour, give food or play with a favourite toy. Your dog needs to learn to obey without resistance, fear or anxiety.
Your puppy needs to stay calm while you carry out care routines such as:
- picking it up
- bathing
- brushing
- cleaning its teeth
- cleaning its eyes and ears
- trimming its nails
- putting on a head collar and holding it by it
- holding it lying on its back or on its side
Do these routines regularly and always reward your puppy for behaving well. Aggressive puppies usually resist and struggle, so you will need to be persistent. But never force your puppy, so that it does not link the routine with fear or unpleasant sensations.
If your puppy resists when you touch a certain part of its body, or does not like the way you hold it, repeat those actions gradually and consistently until it gets used to them and stops resisting. Reward it every time it reacts well. When you pick up or hold an adult dog in a way it is not used to, it gets frightened, and dominance aggression may show.
If you notice resistance or begin to understand what frightens your dog, stop straight away and talk to an animal behaviour specialist or a vet. With the right help, your dog will learn to accept different forms of handling.
Guarding food and objects
As it grows, a puppy may at any point start behaving possessively and guarding food, toys or other things. This behaviour can be prevented before it starts.
If your dog already shows aggression around its food or belongings, growling or baring its teeth, talk to a vet or an animal behaviour specialist straight away. That way the problem can be solved safely and effectively.
The first step is to teach your puppy to give things up when you ask:
- Start with the toy your puppy finds least appealing and teach it to "give" in exchange for a reward.
- The first few times you may need to tempt it with a treat. Later, keep the treats out of sight and give one only when your puppy gives up the object.
- Once your puppy happily gives things up on command, give a treat only now and then. Praise it every time.
It is best not to disturb a dog while it is eating, but your puppy needs to understand that you control the supply of food and toys. It should feel relaxed when family members are nearby while it eats.
- Teach your dog to sit and wait while you prepare its food and put the bowl on the floor. Only then let it come and eat.
- While your puppy is eating, go up to it a few times, ask it to sit or come to you, pick up the bowl, add a treat and put it back.
- Or put only a little food in the bowl at first, and while your puppy is eating, pick up the bowl now and then and add more.
Games of strength
Your puppy will not learn everything at once, and some dogs are very hard to train even with a lot of effort. Problems most often arise when an owner first allows or fails to control unwanted behaviour and later tries to stop it. Examples include pulling on the lead, jumping up to greet people, biting and sleeping on the furniture. It is important to deal with this kind of behaviour before it becomes a problem.
As soon as your puppy starts behaving badly, pushily or too boisterously, ignore it and on no account encourage it. You can also use verbal commands such as "stop" or "enough". Dogs that bite, are stubborn, excitable or hard to train are easier to manage with a lead and a head collar.
Until your puppy follows commands, avoid tug-of-war and wrestling. Never start these games if:
- your puppy is the one starting them;
- they turn into aggression, such as biting or growling;
- you cannot stop the game.
Even with the best efforts, you may still face aggression. The sooner you understand what causes it, the better the chance of solving the problem. If your dog is becoming hard to control or is showing aggression, contact your vet straight away. Together you can decide whether the help of an animal behaviour specialist is needed.
