Dog aggression
Encyclopedia
Dog aggression is a term used by dog owners
and breeders
to describe canine-to-canine antipathy
.
Aggression
itself is usually defined by canine behaviorists as "the intent to do harm". Many dog
s show "displays of aggression" such as barking, growling, or snapping in the air, which are considered distance-increasing actions, those that intend to get the person or dog to move away from the dog. Some dog-aggressive dogs display aggression that is mainly defensive, and they harm another dog only if they perceive that they have no option. Yet, other dogs may develop dog-aggressive behaviour due to medical reasons, such as hormonal imbalances.
Dog
aggression is a common dog behavior, and can be seen in all breeds of dogs, although some dog breed
s have a predisposition
to display such aggression. The breed standard
usually spells out whether dog aggression is common in the breed and to what degree it is allowed. Most of the terrier
breeds and the bull
breeds are believed to have a higher likelihood of developing dog-aggression upon reaching maturity. Individual dogs may or may not display the level of aggression that their breed standard suggests. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure that these types of dogs are properly socialized and given a proper amount of exercise.
As well as breeding, a dog's experiences may affect his chance of developing dog aggression. A dog that is attacked as a puppy may develop fear-based dog aggression towards all dogs, or perhaps only towards dogs that resemble the dog that attacked him. Although people tend to bring these reactions out of dogs more often than dogs themselves, dogs only pay attention to what their owners allow.
Dogs that display dog-aggressive behaviour do not necessarily show aggressive behaviour towards humans. The two types of aggression are not necessarily related, and do not always occur in the same animal.
Dog aggression manifests at the age of adolescence to social maturity (6 months to 4 years). Warning signs such as fear and/or nervousness around other dogs, displays of aggression only under certain circumstances (while on leash, in the presence of food, in the presence of the owner, etc.), or most commonly, over-the-top play behavior can be seen at any stage of the dog's development. Play behavior such as tackling, chasing, mouthing, nipping, pawing, and wrestling are all normal canine
behaviors that serve the evolutionary function of preparing the young dog for later combat and hunting. Young dogs that engage in excessive amounts of these behaviors are much more likely to develop dog aggression as they age.
Dog-dog aggression should not be confused with dog-human aggression (also referred to as "dominance" aggression when directed at the owner).
Many people commonly mistake fear and anxiety-related aggression as "dominance aggression," which is inaccurate. Dominance is rarely the cause of aggressive behaviors in dogs, with fear and anxiety being the greatest cause of both dog and human directed aggression.
Lack of exercise is not a cause of aggressive behavior, although exercise boosts serotonin levels, which offset stress hormones such as cortisol, and can complement a behavior modification program. However, it is a common misbelief that aggressive dogs are "not exercised enough." Many aggressive dogs are exercised regularly.
Dogs that are aggressive from fear can be that way either from genetic predisposition ("weak nerves"), or from a traumatic experience. With these dogs, a programme of gradual desensitisation (DS) and counter-conditioning (CC) is often used to reduce the dog's reactivity to the stimulus that triggers the aggression. This can be accomplished through management (minimizing the dog's exposure to situations where he can practice the behavior while working on the training program) food rewards, toy/play rewards and praise as a reward. Ignoring aggressive behaviors is not standard or sound advice when implementing a DS/CC program.
Punishing aggressive behaviors through the use of leash "corrections" or leash "pops" and/or the use of training collars such as choke, prong or shock, is not recommended in cases of fear-based aggression, as these measures run a high risk of increasing the dog's anxiety in those situations. Further, it is difficult to control what the dog associates the punishment to, as it is often what the dog is looking at the moment it is corrected, so sloppy application of punishment can create a more negative association to the stimulus than before. The final risk with punishment in treating aggression is that it runs the risk of punishing the aggressive display, such as growling, barking, baring teeth, etc., which are all warnings. Punishment decreases behavior, but does not modify it, so the dog may stop exhibiting aggressive displays (designed to increase distance between the dog and the stimulus) and skip straight to aggressive actions, such as biting.
"Dominance" based approaches are highly controversial and more formal study is needed to validate these methods. Further, these approaches carry a greater risk of behavioral fallout, such as the escalation of the aggressive behavior and/or redirected aggression on the owner or other family members.
has the highest reported incidence of dog aggression problems of any country in the world, with an estimated 4.5 million dog attack victims each year. One of the major contributing factors to the development of dog aggression is living as part of a multidog (more than one) household. More than a third of dogs in the United States—a higher percentage than any other country in the world—live as part of multidog households.
Busy lifestyles are also a major contributing factor to the rising occurrences of aggression related attacks. As the American working week gets longer and longer, the responsibility of many dog owners often slips, leading to mild and more extreme cases of neglect. This neglect can start with something as simple as missing a walk here and there because of business meetings or late nights, neglect that does eventually have an effect on the mental and/or physical well-being of the dog.
Dog Fancy
Dog Fancy is a monthly magazine dedicated to dogs, owners of dogs, and breeders of dogs. It was founded in 1970 and is described by its publishing company BowTie Inc. as world’s most widely read dog magazine. BowTie Inc. also publishes its sister magazine Dog World and Cat Fancy for cats and their...
and breeders
Dog breeding
Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected specimens with the intent to maintain or produce specific qualities and characteristics.Dogs reproduce without human interference, so their offsprings' characteristics are determined by natural selection. Domestic dogs may be intentionally bred by...
to describe canine-to-canine antipathy
Antipathy
Antipathy is dislike for something or somebody, the opposite of sympathy. While antipathy may be induced by previous experience, it sometimes exists without a rational cause-and-effect explanation being present to the individuals involved....
.
Aggression
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
itself is usually defined by canine behaviorists as "the intent to do harm". Many dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s show "displays of aggression" such as barking, growling, or snapping in the air, which are considered distance-increasing actions, those that intend to get the person or dog to move away from the dog. Some dog-aggressive dogs display aggression that is mainly defensive, and they harm another dog only if they perceive that they have no option. Yet, other dogs may develop dog-aggressive behaviour due to medical reasons, such as hormonal imbalances.
Dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
aggression is a common dog behavior, and can be seen in all breeds of dogs, although some dog breed
Dog breed
Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....
s have a predisposition
Predisposition
Predisposition may refer to:* Genetic predisposition, a genetic effect which can identify individuals who may be predisposed to certain health problems* Predispositioning Theory, mathematical term in the field of decision theory...
to display such aggression. The breed standard
Breed standard
A breed standard in animal fancy and animal husbandry is a set of guidelines which is used to ensure that the animals produced by a breeder or breeding facility conform to the specifics of the breed....
usually spells out whether dog aggression is common in the breed and to what degree it is allowed. Most of the terrier
Terrier
A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function...
breeds and the bull
Bulldog
Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
breeds are believed to have a higher likelihood of developing dog-aggression upon reaching maturity. Individual dogs may or may not display the level of aggression that their breed standard suggests. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure that these types of dogs are properly socialized and given a proper amount of exercise.
As well as breeding, a dog's experiences may affect his chance of developing dog aggression. A dog that is attacked as a puppy may develop fear-based dog aggression towards all dogs, or perhaps only towards dogs that resemble the dog that attacked him. Although people tend to bring these reactions out of dogs more often than dogs themselves, dogs only pay attention to what their owners allow.
Dogs that display dog-aggressive behaviour do not necessarily show aggressive behaviour towards humans. The two types of aggression are not necessarily related, and do not always occur in the same animal.
Factors contributing to aggression
Factors contributing to the likelihood of the development of dog aggression include:- Anxiety, fear or phobia
- Lack of structure
- Lack of proper exposure to other dogs during the critical socializationSocializationSocialization is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists and educationalists to refer to the process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies...
period - Early imprintingImprinting (psychology)Imprinting is the term used in psychology and ethology to describe any kind of phase-sensitive learning that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior...
by an aggressive or nervous damMotherA mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally... - A traumatic experience
- Territorial behavior
- ThyroidThyroidThe thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid , in vertebrate anatomy, is one of the largest endocrine glands. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage...
malfunction or other medical conditions - Abuse from owners
- Medical or physical ailments
- Breeding and genetic predisposition
Dog aggression manifests at the age of adolescence to social maturity (6 months to 4 years). Warning signs such as fear and/or nervousness around other dogs, displays of aggression only under certain circumstances (while on leash, in the presence of food, in the presence of the owner, etc.), or most commonly, over-the-top play behavior can be seen at any stage of the dog's development. Play behavior such as tackling, chasing, mouthing, nipping, pawing, and wrestling are all normal canine
Canidae
Canidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...
behaviors that serve the evolutionary function of preparing the young dog for later combat and hunting. Young dogs that engage in excessive amounts of these behaviors are much more likely to develop dog aggression as they age.
Dog-dog aggression should not be confused with dog-human aggression (also referred to as "dominance" aggression when directed at the owner).
Many people commonly mistake fear and anxiety-related aggression as "dominance aggression," which is inaccurate. Dominance is rarely the cause of aggressive behaviors in dogs, with fear and anxiety being the greatest cause of both dog and human directed aggression.
Lack of exercise is not a cause of aggressive behavior, although exercise boosts serotonin levels, which offset stress hormones such as cortisol, and can complement a behavior modification program. However, it is a common misbelief that aggressive dogs are "not exercised enough." Many aggressive dogs are exercised regularly.
Fading dog aggression
The form that treatment for dog aggression takes depends on the underlying cause of the aggression, and an accurate assessment is therefore essential. Most reputable trainers recommend that a dog has a vet screen for medical changes that may cause aggression before attempting any form of behavioural modification.Dogs that are aggressive from fear can be that way either from genetic predisposition ("weak nerves"), or from a traumatic experience. With these dogs, a programme of gradual desensitisation (DS) and counter-conditioning (CC) is often used to reduce the dog's reactivity to the stimulus that triggers the aggression. This can be accomplished through management (minimizing the dog's exposure to situations where he can practice the behavior while working on the training program) food rewards, toy/play rewards and praise as a reward. Ignoring aggressive behaviors is not standard or sound advice when implementing a DS/CC program.
Punishing aggressive behaviors through the use of leash "corrections" or leash "pops" and/or the use of training collars such as choke, prong or shock, is not recommended in cases of fear-based aggression, as these measures run a high risk of increasing the dog's anxiety in those situations. Further, it is difficult to control what the dog associates the punishment to, as it is often what the dog is looking at the moment it is corrected, so sloppy application of punishment can create a more negative association to the stimulus than before. The final risk with punishment in treating aggression is that it runs the risk of punishing the aggressive display, such as growling, barking, baring teeth, etc., which are all warnings. Punishment decreases behavior, but does not modify it, so the dog may stop exhibiting aggressive displays (designed to increase distance between the dog and the stimulus) and skip straight to aggressive actions, such as biting.
"Dominance" based approaches are highly controversial and more formal study is needed to validate these methods. Further, these approaches carry a greater risk of behavioral fallout, such as the escalation of the aggressive behavior and/or redirected aggression on the owner or other family members.
United States
The United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has the highest reported incidence of dog aggression problems of any country in the world, with an estimated 4.5 million dog attack victims each year. One of the major contributing factors to the development of dog aggression is living as part of a multidog (more than one) household. More than a third of dogs in the United States—a higher percentage than any other country in the world—live as part of multidog households.
Busy lifestyles are also a major contributing factor to the rising occurrences of aggression related attacks. As the American working week gets longer and longer, the responsibility of many dog owners often slips, leading to mild and more extreme cases of neglect. This neglect can start with something as simple as missing a walk here and there because of business meetings or late nights, neglect that does eventually have an effect on the mental and/or physical well-being of the dog.
External links
- Behavioral Medicine for Aggressive Dogs
- International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC)
- HSUS Information on Aggression
- K9 Aggression Informational Website
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
- American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
- Article from ASPCA Virtual Pet Behaviorist on aggression in dogs
- Article from ASPCA Virtual Pet Behaviorist on working with dogs who are aggressive while on leash