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How to Stop a Dog’s Aggressive Behavior: Whether a dog owner likes it or not, one of the most critical pieces of information they need to know is what to do if their dog turns aggressive. The good news is that you can do something about this immediately, in terms of understanding, reducing, and even completely stopping this behavior.

Aggressive Dog Behaviors

Contact your veterinarian immediately if your dog displays any of the following aggressive tendencies.

Among the actions of an aggressive dog are:

• Aggression in the face of strangers
• hostility directed to family members
• defending supplies, such food, candy, or toys
• acting menacingly or getting into fights with the family’s other canines
• acting menacingly or engaging in combat with unidentified dogs

If there is a clinical explanation for this behavior, like as pain, discomfort, or another physical factor, your veterinarian can evaluate it.

If the cause of the behavior is not immediately medically based, ask your veterinarian for a referral to a certified behaviorist. Check your pet insurance policy to determine if behaviorist visits are covered.

No matter how long you have known your dog, never try to deal with aggressiveness alone. If you act fast, you’ll prevent your dog from going way bad with behavior out of control and, more especially, keep safe yourself, family members, other people, and animals.

Why is My Dog Aggressive?

A professional behaviorist or your veterinarian should examine you to answer this question.

They will be able to pinpoint the triggers of your dog’s aggression and lay out the subsequent steps to address it.

How to Stop a Dog’s Aggressive Behavior

Leash Aggression

Keep your dog on a leash and consider training him to wear a muzzle outdoors or in public if he shows a bit of aggression toward people or other dogs while walking.

dogs that pull terribly on the leash- play/ exercise in an enclosed yard while you work on reward-based training, ensuring that he has enough cerebral stimulation from games and enrichment activities. This, until a behaviourist can assist, will allow you to release some energy and bond in a secure environment.

Aggression Toward Visitors

Before letting your dog in from the yard or allowing visitors to enter if your dog is aggressive toward them, keep him outdoors. Some dogs are only aggressive when humans come into their space. Be particularly careful at gateways, doorways, and even car doors.
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Aggression Toward Other Dogs

Until you can discuss your problem with a behaviourist, separate your dogs to prevent any aggression towards other dogs.

If two dogs are fighting, temptingly do not try to separate them with your hands; you can be seriously hurt. First, concerning your safety, the steps to keep in mind include the following: Keep back away and prevent your dog from redirecting his aggression towards you.

Dog fights often look and sound far worse than they really are. In most instances, the dogs will break up on their own and do not require any human interference. If a fight does occur, however, one needs to act fast. Start by yelling or clapping your hands loudly to distract them. If that doesn’t work, try draping the dogs with a blanket or dousing them in water, or make a sudden loud clamor, like pots clattering in metal pans.

That one second of surprised shock could easily see one of the dogs back out of the fight.

Fear Aggression in Dogs

Most dogs react aggressively when they are afraid and in a form of self-defense. It is an attempt on his part to stop or cease the things that concern or bother him, either by making them go away or by preventing their happening at all.

A dog may become fearful due to inadequate early socialization, traumatic experiences in the past, or the belief that important resources, like food, could be taken away. Adults who have had their puppies treated roughly may also exhibit increased reactivity.

You should never punish your dog for growling or any other aggressive behavior. Aggression in dogs is mostly based on fear. If you punish a dog for growling at something that you don’t like, then you will make him even more afraid, confused, and probably more violent. Furthermore, yelling at your dog might unintentionally teach them to suppress their fear and instead turn to biting in the same circumstance down the road.

Also Read : Reasons Reading to Dogs Benefits Kids

Dog Aggression Warning Signs

Warning indicators of dog aggression may include:

• Yawning or licking lips: This is frequently the first sign that something is off with your dog.
• Head turn: He may lick his lips, yawn, and turn his head away from whatever is bothering him. This is often the very first indication that there is something wrong with your dog.
• Whale eye: When a dog is feeling aggressive, it’s common for him to show his “whale eye,” or the whites of his eyes.
  
• Crouching with his tail between his legs: More overt warning cues include paw lifts, tensing around the mouth or eyes, or crouching with the tail between his knees.
• Stillness: Sometimes a dog would get stiff or paralyzed before acting violently.
• A wagging tail: Not all dogs that wag their tails are friendly. A dog who is crouching and displaying lowered body language, or a stiff, wagging tail, might all be signs of conflict, fear, or worry in the dog.
• Growling: This is frequently the final warning, but for a lot of people, it’s the first indication that something is off. A growl is an obvious way to tell of unease and anxiety. If things remain the same, he will most likely progress to biting. Your dog may bypass that last warning and move right on to the final step of biting if he feels punished for growling.
  

What Should I Do if My Dog is Aggressive?

Recognize the emotions that your dog is experiencing. Before they bite or attack, especially the first time, most dogs provide warning signs, but owners don’t always recognize them.

How to Help an Agitated Dog

• Either remove the source of your dog’s anxiety, fear or agitation, or remove him from the situation.
• Do something to make sure it doesn’t happen again. For instance, if your dog in your house has food aggression, feed him in a room by himself until you talk to a professional.
• Every dog is different, and each has different stressors. Look for your dog’s cues. Probably the biggest cause of dog aggression is putting dogs in situations that are uncomfortable for them—owners do this all the time.
• If your dog becomes regularly aggressive, if you suspect that it might become aggressive, or if you feel in any other way intimidated by it, seek expert advice immediately.
• If your dog does any of the above when near children, separate them immediately and ensure that your dog keeps away from children under all circumstances until you can have your dog referred to a dog behaviorist. The same applies to everybody else you meet or other family members. Never compromise the safety of your dog or other human beings.
• In cases of all forms of aggression, seek professional advice at the earliest.