One of the biggest behavioral reasons that many dog owners seek professional help is a dog’s aggressive behavior. Aggressive dog behavior can be very difficult to break in puppies, but with constant dog training it can be done. It’s also one of the commonest reasons that dogs are surrendered or returned to animal shelters. Training an overly aggressive dog shouldn’t be done on your own without the proper help of an experienced dog trainer. Here are some aggressive dog training tips to help you train your dog and make him more obedient.
To start with, here are some basic tips for aggressive dog training. Try to stay away from using a shock collar, prong, choke chain, or any other form of collar training. These can actually cause more harm than good to a dog. Some dogs may even become fearful of your approach due to being spooked beforehand. If you do decide to use one of these collars, give the training a pass and try another later.
To break dog aggressive behavior down into its primary triggers, think of your dog as having three separate states: Alert, Aware, and Reactivity. When your dog is alert, he’s in the “alert” state. He needs to look around to see if there are threats, so he might raise his ears, rub his face, or look behind him for danger. If your dog is aware, he’s in the “aware” state. He will hear or sense things around him such as approaching strangers, barking dogs, car engines, or anything else that would usually set off a full-blown reaction.
Your dog will most likely exhibit behavior tricks once he’s in the “reactivity” state. There are many different behavior tricks that can be taught to dog owners. Most of them are effective, so try to incorporate them as often as possible. One trick that is very effective is called “throwing down the goodies.” This involves sitting down with your dog on a leash and giving him treats (red apples, dog treats, etc.) When he obeys, give him a treat and praise him.
The goal of this training is to teach your dog that reacting to stimuli in the present will make him receive a reward. The goal isn’t to teach him to lie down and be quiet. A dog that learns to lie down and be quiet can actually be quite a handful and may cause problems for you and other family members. Your goal is to have a reactive dog that knows when it is expected to sit and when it is not, and learns how to behave accordingly.
This type of training is best started when the puppy is still a puppy because a new dog owner does not know what behavioral issues might be associated with a dog that is older. During this stage of puppy training, the trainer must be very attentive and watchful for any undesirable behaviors. Some of these behaviors might include: barking, jumping, chewing, barking when it is not appropriate, whining, jumping on people and digging holes in the yard.
After the dog has learned to be responsive, you can move on to teaching him to react in different situations by reinforcing his positive behavior. It’s important to make sure that he’s always rewarded with treats, praise or attention when he exhibits acceptable behavior. If he receives no positive reinforcement, it’s the dog’s fault and you should take steps to correct this. Your dog wants to please you and if you don’t want him to feel sorry for himself, make sure he knows that he will receive no positive attention or treat when he doesn’t follow your commands. This way he learns that if he responds in a negative way, he gets no positive reaction.
One good way to encourage your dog to learn proper manners is to give him some chew toys to play with. Although you might think that a dog shouldn’t have any chewing toys, there are specially designed chew toys for dogs that make them feel loved. The soft fabric of these toys makes it impossible for your dog to chew through them and leave the pieces lying around the house, where he can do damage to them. The chew toys also make it possible for you to give your dog some enjoyment while making sure that he doesn’t chew anything else as well.
