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Addressing Aggression In Dogs

Humans and dogs have a long history of happy co-existence. For many people, as the old saying goes, their dog is indeed their best friend. Dogs can serve many roles -family member, guardian, jogging buddy, worker and countless others.

Unfortunately, the relationship between dog and human is not always completely smooth. Sometimes, dogs can be a problem, annoying or even frightening people or other animals. What should you do if your dog is aggressive or exhibits destructive behavior?

Aggression is the most serious problem faced by dog owners. It can take many forms. Your dog may have a problem with other dogs, with children or with just certain people or in certain environments. So, first of all, you should narrow it down and pinpoint the exact issue.

The first thing you should do is take your dog to a trusted veterinarian. This will rule out medical causes for your dog's behavior. Once this has been addressed, you should be sure to keep your dog (as much as possible) away from situations that provoke the aggressive behavior.

In other words, do not tempt fate. If your dog tends to fight with other dogs, until you can get a handle on the situation, you really need to isolate your dog from other dogs. The same, of course, is true for dogs who are aggressive towards people. If necessary, use a muzzle. Be sure to warn people not to approach a potentially dangerous dog. You do not want to deal with lawsuits, or other repercussions of your dog attacking someone, whether human or another animal.

Most cases of aggression in dogs can be successfully dealt with. In rare cases, as when you have a young child at home, or if the dog is, for whatever reason, unresponsive to any kind of corrections, dog and owner must part ways. Fortunately, these situations are not the norm. The first thing you should make sure of is that your dog gets sufficient exercise. Aggressive dogs often have too much energy because they are idle.

When exercising or playing with your dog, do not encourage aggression. For example, if your dog tends to growl and snap at people, you should not play a rough game of tug-of-war with a leather toy. This is actually teaching the dog to bite and growl.

Sometimes the problem is isolation. Dogs are social animals who do not like to be left alone for long periods. Tying a dog to a stake in the ground all day is not going to make him/her happy, and in some cases it may cause behavior problems. If you are away from your dog for long periods, try to make an arrangement so the dog isn't alone all the time. At the very least, make sure the animal has some room to move around.

What I have given here are preliminary steps and not enough to solve a serious problem. If you have an aggressive dog, you are going to have to do something or hire someone to help. A qualified dog trainer or obedience school can usually help, but these solutions can be costly. If you have the patience, you can probably learn to correct your dog's problems yourself.

An aggressive dog is a situation you cannot ignore, hoping it will improve on its own. The fact is, most dogs are trainable and with some attention will turn out to be great companions. However, some dogs need more guidance and training than others when it comes to social behavior.