How to train an anxious aggressive dog will depend on what the dog is feeling at that moment. This is a critical part of dog training tricks because you have to recognize and understand what your dog is feeling at any given time. Your job is to determine what is causing this feeling and then translate it into commands that will control his behavior. I will give you some tips on how to train an aggressive dog by describing what causes this behavior.
Dogs can become aggressive for many reasons. These reasons can range widely with every dog. It really depends on the individual dog. Some dogs can become aggressive when they feel trapped or cornered and may retreat into what they’re finding potentially threatening. This can be caused by traffic, other dogs or other humans.
A dog with reactive aggression has a response that is physically triggered by something he sees as a threat. He either lunges or bites at the perceived threat. For example, if your dog sees cars coming down the road he may react by lunging. You can determine how aggressive he is by looking at his reaction to a leash, you can assess if he is reactive by asking him to stand still while you give the leash a tug on his leash.
Some dog behaviors are considered acceptable while others are not. Some dogs will let you know what their acceptable behavior is by staying away from you, by barking or by running away from you. You need to make sure that you understand the rules of acceptable and unacceptable behavior before you handle them. Some people will use positive reinforcement while other people will use punishment.
How to train an anxious aggressive dog by using positive reinforcement starts by establishing yourself as the pack leader. You have to learn how to control your dog effectively. When you use punishment you are communicating to your dog that he is wrong. You must get your dog to understand that when he reacts negatively to your commands it means that he is being ignored and that’s how you get him to change his behavior.
In addition to using positive reinforcement you must also get your dog to understand that you mean the same thing each time you use the leash. That means you have to get your pup to understand that you are in control and that if he acts in a way that you disapprove of then you can tighten up the leash until he learns how to act in a more proper manner. Most reactive dogs respond well to a firm “no” followed by a treat.
Once you have learned how to train an anxious aggressive dog with a long line, you need to start introducing some fun to the leash training. Begin by walking the dog on a long line, much like the one you would walk your dog on at home. As the dog gets accustomed to walking the long line you can take on short line and increase the distance. The idea is to simulate the things he would do when you were around. For instance you can pretend to be playing with him and run in front of him. You want to give him enough time to get used to the motion of coming onto the long line and paying attention to you.
When he pays attention to you then start to move out of range of the dog the correct response is to either release the treats or move back to where you started the exercise. Remember that you want to increase the distance but not the length of time that you spend next to your dog. Also make sure you do not start the exercise when your dog is very excited or aggressive. If you do you will only make him more likely to react aggressively. So you must first calm your dog down and make sure it is in a neutral state of mind before you begin leash training with your dog.
