Calmyouraggressivedog

Chapter 1 - Recognizing Aggression
What do dogs own? Primarily dogs consider themselves owners of: • • • • Themselves and the space around them, Possessions such as beds, toys, bones, chew toys, leash, and food, Home (and yard if they have one) and business (if they go to work with you), and Humans (their owner and their family or pack, sometimes including other pets in the household).

Not surprisingly, these are the things your dog will want to protect or guard. Whether she is guarding you while on a walk or guarding her food from another dog in the household or keeping the cat off of her bed (or your bed), these are natural and normal behaviors for any dog! Your dog will feel threatened if another dog, a cat, or a human oversteps her boundaries on these things. Do not be surprised to hear a growl or see a snap in these situations. Do not scold your dog for that behavior in these situations. Your dog has as much right to her space and her possessions as you do. Either you can guard her rights and possessions, or she will do it herself. Is guarding the same as aggression? Sometimes a dog that is guarding can be aggressive about it. Some breeds tend to guard very aggressively. However, if the dog does not feel there is a threat to his ownership, he should not be acting in an aggressive manner. It is usually when someone reaches for the toy or bone he is using that you hear a low, threatening growl. For this reason, family and friends should be warned about any possessions your dog guards aggressively and children should be chaperoned around the dog when the dog has those possessions. A bigger problem is the dog who aggressively guards you. This often happens when a dog is raised with a single person and then that person gains a new friend or a significant other. If there is physical closeness, touching, kissing, sitting next to one another on the couch, etc., the dog will very often go ballistic. There may be barking, growling, rushing, even snapping or