Almost everyone loves dogs. People like to run, throw a stick, play fetch and pass time with dogs. We enjoy sitting on the sofa and scratching the dog’s back. People like to receive a big kiss when they get home from work. The one time when this isn’t the case is when you have an aggressive dog. In this instance, aggressive dog training will be required.

If you have an aggressive dog, you can face legal problems. Different states handle this problem in different ways. Dog owners can end up in jail. If your dog attacks and injures someone, the dog could be put down. You can curb the aggression in your dog through aggressive dog training.

First you need to understand what makes a dog aggressive. It could be the dog is territorial and doesn’t want their space compromised. Or it could be they feel threatened by something or somebody nearby. The root cause of aggression is often found to be a lack of security. The dog may often have little or no confidence. Dog obedience training on a simple level won’t help with these dogs.

Perhaps the dog barks and lunges at people. This may imply it needs thorough aggressive dog training. This demands a special skill and you should select your trainer carefully, or if you choose to train the dog yourself you should consider using a training guide specifically suited for aggressive dog training. You want to put your worries to rest. Normal training classes won’t be right for an aggressive dog. You want a school that knows how to handle aggressive dogs.

There are some basic facts about aggressive dogs that people should know:

90% of dog bites happen to those who are familiar with the dog

Most biting dogs can be called family pets

60% to 70% of bites happen to children or to elderly people

40% of bites to children cause damage to facial tissue (lips, cheek etc.)

1/2 of the claims created on homeowners insurance come from bites claims

Aggressiveness in dogs is caused by a number of different things that all can be tracked to poor breeding or poor socializing

Dogs don’t get to be monsters in one day. Most dogs display some kind of warning signs. Maybe it was timid when it was younger or maybe it became a bully after growling at different people who came to close to its toys and food. You can’t blame the owner for missing these early alerts. It’s hard enough to teach a puppy to pee outside. Still, that pet owner must take some responsibility for the dog’s aggressive nature.

There’s a variety of aggressions dog’s can display. These include:

Dominant Aggression

Territorial Aggression

Fear Aggression

A dog is showing dominant aggression when it does things like snap at people fingers if they get too close to a toy or a food bowl. The dog may grow up to be one that is aggressive to people in the family as well as strangers. The dog may try to gain control of the entire home.

Keep in mind that dogs are pack animals. This has been bred into them since time began. They demand a pack order. They will develop a pack by which they can live. They learn to think of their owner as the pack leader. This is why they take commands better from the man of the house.

To get control of the dog, it’s a good idea to switch him to the bottom of the pack. Control every aspect of his life and you can succeed in this mission. Feed him only after the owner eats. Never let him sleep on the owner’s bed. If motivation is used in training, it must have corrections for failure to learn. Only allow the dog to play with toys the owner provides. The dog can’t play with the toys until the owner hands them over.

Dogs that are territorial often believe the yard, house, or car belongs to them. This form of aggression can be considered one of dominance. Some dogs seem to think they need to let people know who owns what. Usually, a territorial dog is simply going to guard the estate from strangers.

When someone owns a guard dog, they want it to be territorial. A dog that barks and even bites is a good thing. Still, these people don’t want the dog to actually attack anyone. No one wants to lock their dog in the basement when guests come for dinner.

Once again it is necessary to show the owner is the pack leader to contend with this type of dog. The pack leader is the one that tells other dogs what part of the territory belongs to them. The owner can’t allow the dog to think of the back yard as his own back yard. The dog should simply wait for the owner to be present and ready to give attention.

Fear based aggression is what happens when the dog wants to avoid all people and strange places. The dog understands that showing its teeth to a stranger will mean the stranger will back away and not bother them. The dog may manifest fear by trying to bite people it doesn’t recognize the minute the stranger turns his back on the dog. Dogs that bite in this situation often bite the rear. This presents less threat than an attack from the front. This is why it is said a dog that bites from fear is a dog with troubled nerves that has learned a response.

Fear biters are dogs that are born shy. This is why they act like they do. They are the result of some poor breeding. Some people believe they were abused at an early age. It’s the bad temperament they were born with that causes the trouble.

Once you realize you have an aggressive dog, you can work with it by creating situations where training will help build a feeling of confidence and security for the dog. It might be a good idea to try to meet a friend when you take the dog for walk. Reward the dog with a treat if he behaves nicely.

If the dog is shy, it’s good to try and socialize him. Be careful when you get your dog around older dogs. It’s a good idea to protect your dog from dogs that may not treat him well. Again, having the dog meet your friends might be helpful.

A dog that is socialized and that has gone through some basic training will create a lot less of a problem. The owner needs to pursue education on the training of aggressive dogs, so he can find the right kind of help. Any owner can learn to help his dog become a friendlier, more loving pet. It takes patience and practice. If the owner is dedicated to make life good for the dog, he can’t lose.

If you are having trouble with properly implementing a plan for aggressive dog training or are facing any of the problems mentioned throughout this article, I suggest you consider using a dog training guide to help you train your dog. A wide range of dog training books exist, many of which are not worth the paper they are written on. If you want a quality dog training book I recommend you check out “Secrets to Dog Training” or “Dog Training Secrets”. Thousands of dog owners worldwide have used these books to get great results.

To find out more about how to train aggressive dogs, please click the links below.

Craig Clemins is a long time dog enthusiast. For more great tips and advice on aggressive dog training, visit http://www.dog-solutions.com.

Author: Craig Clemins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Dog aggression is a fairly common problem that many owners will face at one time in their dog’s life or another. It is actually so common that there are hundreds upon hundreds of studies associated with aggression. Questions such as “Why does aggression occur,” “Why are some breeds more aggressive,” and “How can I use aggressive dog training to curb aggression in my dog,” are asked on a regular basis. Before you actually begin aggressive dog training, it is important to understand the type of aggression that your dog may be experiencing. Believe it or not, there are actually several types of aggression and each one will need to be handled in a slightly different manner. The types of aggression are:

- Dog Aggression: this can be seen in many different breeds and it is actually aggression that a dog shows to other dogs. · Fear Aggression: Many people may not see fear as an aggressive behavior but if a dog begins to bite, bark, growl or bare his teeth when he is frightened than it has moved from simple fear to fear aggression.

- Dominant Aggression: This is a very serious type of aggression since the dog has many traits that you would see in a “bully.” One of the biggest problems with dominant aggression is that it is not always seen as aggression, just an alpha personality doing what it does best, until the dog attacks someone or something. Another problem is that dominant aggression is very unpredictable.

- Possessive Aggression: To get a clear idea of this, watch your dog while he is eating and is interrupted by someone. If he is fine and continues to eat or even allows you to put your hand in the dish then there is no real aggression there; however, if he growls or bites then you know that he is being possessive about things he preserves as his. While this may seem appropriate, a dog should never be possessive.

- Pain Aggression: This is aggression that is shown when a dog is in pain. · Maternal Aggression: Seen only in female dogs, this is an aggression that is seen when a female is raising a litter of puppies.

- Territorial Aggression: There are several breeds of dogs that are prone to territorial aggression where they see an area such as the house, the yard, the neighborhood or all of the above as his. When other animals or people enter his territory, he reacts in an aggressive manner.

As you can see, there are a large number of aggressions and many dogs will experience one or the other at certain times in their life. While some forms of aggression are very serious and require aggressive dog training, some of them aren’t and really only require some patience by the owner to overcome. In the case of pain aggression, it is important to find out why your dog is being aggressive. If he is hurt, take him to the vet to have the problem looked after. When the dog heals, the aggression should go away on its own but if it doesn’t, you can move into training methods for it.

In addition, maternal aggression can be avoided simply by spaying your dog but if she does whelp a litter, the maternal aggression should diminish as the puppies are weaned and placed in new homes. In many cases, the easiest way to use aggressive dog training is to socialize your puppy and dog correctly. Many people see socialization as a process that is done when their puppy is young but socialization should be done throughout your dog’s life. Exposing him to other dogs, people, places and stimulants will help curb many different areas of aggression such as dog aggression. Remember that when you do socialize your dog, especially if he has some aggression problems, that you do so in a controlled manner.

Make sure all the dogs are on leashes and introduce him to one dog at a time. Never allow your dog to be surrounded by a group of dogs since this can frighten him and trigger his aggressive response. If at any time your dog starts to indicate aggression, simply correct him by removing him a few feet away from the other dog and then praising him when he calms down. Another way to make aggressive dog training easy is to place firm rules in your house from the moment your dog arrives home. This means that he is not allowed on the furniture and that he understands that the home is yours. To battle dominance aggression, it is important to put yourself and everyone else in the role of dominate. Your dog should never eat before the family and he should never be allowed to find food for himself.

When he does eat, take the time to place your hands in the dog’s food dish and feed him by hand. This teaches him that anyone is allowed in his dish and it will help curb some possessive aggression. Make sure that everyone in the house does this as well and never let the dog go around your hand to eat directly from the bowl. In many cases, aggressive dog training needs to start with owners. To make it easy, you need to look at how you are training your dog, how he is being socialized and what negative behaviors are being reinforced. For instance, if you nurture fright responses such as growling by coddling the dog whenever he is scared, then he will quickly learn that growling is the proper response to being scared, which may develop into fear aggression.

Ignore some behaviors and correct others with a firm “no,” which is an important command with aggressive dog training. When you are using aggressive dog training, it is important that you do not correct your dog in a harsh manner. Although it may not seem like you are being abusive to your dog, a small slap can cause a large amount of damage and if a dog is already aggressive, it will just reinforce the aggressive behavior. After you have corrected how you train your dog, it is time to start aggressive dog training and it is very easy; simply break out the basics of training. Many times, basic training on a regular basis can really help with many forms of aggression and many different types of negative behaviors.

To battle territorial aggression, start by inviting people over to your home and correcting your dog when he begins barking with a loud noise to interrupt the behavior and then a firm “no.” When your dog stops barking, praise him and treat. Increase the frequency that different guests visit as your dog becomes accustomed to people being in his space. If your dog is aggressive during walks, it is time to take aggressive dog training out on a walk. Start by taking different routes every time you take a walk. Since the route is different, your dog is less likely to imprint a route as being his.

When he meets people or other animals on the street, correct his negative behavior with a firm “no” and praise him when he doesn’t react. As the aggressive dog training is advanced, gradually begin taking him to higher traffic areas until he can walk in a busy place without reacting in an aggressive manner. Although aggressive dog training is fairly easy, it does take some time and it is very important to watch your dog’s stress levels and to take your time with training. Remember, your dog didn’t become aggressive over night and you can’t expect the aggressive dog training to work overnight either, so take your time and enjoy every success your dog has.

Nancy Richards has been involved with dog training for several years. Learn all about aggressive dog training , companion dog training, dog grooming, diet, care for all dog breeds.

Author: Nancy Richerds
Article Source: EzineArticles.com