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Behaviorist asked in PetsDogs · 1 decade ago

Techniques for treating canine aggression?

I'm trying to list all the techniques commonly used for treating canine aggression. Please provide as much information as possible including links and references if possible! Thanks!

Update:

Thanks- I'm not looking for advice.

I'm looking for commonly used techniques that already exist for a book I'm writing. Just a list of methods you've heard of. Examples I already know of include desensitization, counter-control, Click to Calm, various forms of treat-retreat. Punishment. Shock collars. I'm not promoting those methods, I'm just listing them.

I want to make sure I address the majority of the well known methods.

9 Answers

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  • HDB
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    I'm not sure if I understand your question. Do you mean that you want to know how to stop aggression in a dog? If that's your question, you need to know that dogs can exhibit different types of aggression.

    There are several types of aggression: defensive or induced by fear, pain, or punishment; dominant; possessive; territorial; intra-sexual (male-to-male or female-to-female); predatory; or parental. A dog may exhibit more than one type of aggression.

    Dominant-aggressive dogs are characterized as confident, macho, and "on the muscle." They stand tall, up on their toes, with their ears up and forward. They carry their tails high and wag it slowly and stiffly from side to side. They often have their hackles up, stare menacingly, and emit a low growl with lips pursed and teeth exposed. They will place a paw on the shoulder of another dog, mount people's legs, and push children aside when going through a door. Dominant-aggressive dogs are demanding of attention. They demand to go outside, demand excessive affection, are possessive of their sleeping areas, and stop eating when approached. Many of these dogs will not obey commands, especially submissive commands (such as "down" or "wait"). Males lift their legs on everything, even in the house, even if their bladder is empty. Most dominant-aggressive dogs are purebred males.

    Defensive-aggressive dogs are much more ambivalent in their behavior. They display submissive body language (ears back, often flat against the head; avoidance of direct eye contact; lowering of the head and body; tucking tail between the legs; submissive urination) and they lick hands and roll over to expose their bellies. They resist handling, hate to have their feet touched, don't like to be groomed, and often shy away from human hands. These are the fear-biters; they may snap if cornered and will often bite at people who turn and walk away.

    If you have a dog that is showing aggression of any kind, it's best to consult a trained professional.

    I hope these links that I'm adding help.

    EDIT TO ADD MORE LINKS

  • Well I have alot of my own techniques, that I have always used on dogs whether it was for prevention or correction of aggression. Since these methods are of my own creation I wont really go into detail here because you want some techniques commonly used in dog training.... There are 2 commonly used methods that come to mind that I have often recommended with great success to people who have aggressive dogs. Both methods somewhat coincide with my experience with dogs and are similar to my own ways..

    The first is Nothing in Life is Free(NILF) http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog_nilf.htm

    The second is basically just a lesson for the owners on how to understand the social dominance hierarchy of dogs and learn how to be the "Alpha" it ties in with the NILF training and both are not just used to train the dogs, but also to train people how to understand and create a social dominance hierarchy in order to eliminate or prevent aggression of almost every kind... http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-alphadog.htm

  • 1 decade ago

    Solid exercise, most of it non-stop. No matter what the size of the dog, all dogs need walks. The first 15-30 minutes of the minimum twice daily walks should be non-stop with an Alpha human.

    Exercise satisfies every dog. Aggression ususally comes from

    doggie dissatisfaction with an ill-imposed human lifestyle.

  • 1 decade ago

    Do not use aggression toward your dog, this will only make your dog aggressive.

    Talk only in soothing tones and reward good behaviur immeditaly.

    If he starts being aggressive, put him in a crate, or a room by himself and remove him from the situation. He will catch on.

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  • 1 decade ago

    Newspaper

  • 1 decade ago

    I saw on animal planet that some shelters hand feed young dogs that show signs of food agression to teach them that hands are giving them food, not taking it away.

  • 1 decade ago

    Behavior modification or method?

  • 1 decade ago

    Rolled up news paper, Banged loudly against ur leg or table for example works wounders ;)

  • 1 decade ago

    rewards or good behavior

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