Aggrssion represents a spectrum of behaviors, ranging from minor posturing to serious and dangerous attacks. Aggressive behaviors typically occur when a dog is feeling threatened, fearful, stressed, anxious, conflicted/concerned, protective, overstimulated, frustrated, angry or in pain. Additionally, in some cases, I personally believe some dogs use aggressive behavior because they find it enjoyable and reinforcing to fight and scrap. Dogs typically display aggressive behaviors to warn, intimidate, defend/protect and/or cause harm. In effect, aggressive behaviors can serve the function of increasing distance from or cause harm to a perceived threat or danger. Aggressive behaviors range from warning signals to overt behaviors which include, but are not limited to: lifting the lip; growling; baring teeth; snarling; lunging; muzzle punching (bumping or punching with a closed mouth); air snapping (biting the air); biting without causing injury; and biting while causing injury (to various degrees). To learn about aggressive behavior in more detail, click here. 

Behavior issues in dogs can be a result of many things. Some common reasons behavior issues occur include:

• Lack of proper, early and appropriate socialization

• Fear, anxiety and stress

• Lack of training

• Traumatic experiences

• Rehearsed behaviors: when a behavior is practiced over and over

• Improper training and/or misuse of tools

• Genetic predisposition (poor breeding)

• Medical and physical issues

• Reinforcing inappropriate behaviors

The answer to this question really depends on a variety of factors. These include:

• What the behavior issue is

• The severity of the problem will determine how long it can take to address a problem

• How long the issue has gone on

• How the issue may have been addressed prior, if at all.

• How long it will take your dog to process and comprehend behavior modification protocols and training

• If the owner chooses to follow through on implementation of training and behavior modification protocols

There is a lot of debate about this question within the dog training and behavior community today. If you ask five dog training and behavior professionals, you will get five different answers. To make it more confusing, with social media, the growth of AI and some veterinarians and veterinary behaviorist organizations; all seem to have become sources claiming to be the “experts” of “knowing best”.

The truth is, every dog is different, every dog is an individual and there are many different reasons as to why a dog may have a behavior issue. This also means there are multiple ways to achieve results in many cases. In the end, the method chosen should depend on the individual dog and behavior issue. The approach should be as fair as possible and clear to the dog rather than being soley based on ideological beliefs.

Despite what you may read online or see on social media or on your favorite AI platform, behavior modification is not a one size fits all approach.

Understand What Your Dog Is Saying

Our dogs are constantly communicating through their body language and behavior. Understanding canine body language and communication signals is important because it can help us learn about how our dogs are feeling and why they are doing the behaviors they choose to display. Taking the time to learn about canine body language and communication signals is the first step in treating any behavior issue.

Upload Video Footage

If you have any videos of the problem behaviors, it is helpful to upload them to your computer. You can also upload a couple of videos where your dog is just being him/her self, regardless if it shows any of the behavior issues. If possible, please upload videos on Youtube and make sure to select it as “Unlisted” so that it is not public. Once your appointment is scheduled, you can send Anthony an email with the links to each video. You can also upload video to Google Drive if you prefer. If none of these options work for you, just save them to your computer and Anthony can share the screen view option together during the consult. All videos will be reviewed together during the consult. If you do not have video footage of the issues, do not worry. It is NOT worth trying to provoke your dogs behavior or put yourself or your dog in harms way for video footage.

Keep a Behavior History Journal

In a notebook, you should be writing down specific incidents when the problem behavior(s) happens is key! You should also include what happens before and after the behavior(s) as this provides valuable information. Include as much detail as you can.