The dog became aggressive: why and what to do?

By their nature, dogs are fairly calm and peaceful animals. In service and fighting dogs, hunting and watchdogs, of course, there is aggression in the character, but it manifests itself only in situations that require it. At other times, they are friendly and will not cause damage without having a reason. But sometimes the pet loses control.

Aggression, which at first glance has no reason, can conceal emotional or physical trauma, irritation or loss of understanding.

Varieties of aggression

A dog may have only two types of aggression, which include congenital and acquired. The first is inherited, so it is difficult to suppress it.Usually, this happens with service dogs, and if the owner has a desire, then the pet's behavior can be corrected. This will require a course of study, the nature of the animal is subject to change, and after a while the pet becomes simply unrecognizable. But learning is a hard and long process.

Acquired type of aggression may occur in a dog as a consequence of a particular cause. Along with people, dogs can feel fear, emotional or physical pain. These, as well as a number of other reasons, can turn into manifestations of aggression, which can become sudden, uncontrolled, as if taken from nowhere.

Sometimes an animal can show unprecedented aggression when it only enters puberty. In such situations, the dog's mood can change dramatically, it becomes unusually vicious, then, on the contrary, it is timid and shy, sometimes it is closed in itself, and sometimes extremely sociable. Various attempts to display dominant behavior can be combined with jealous behavior, when a pet can harbor a grudge or a real anger atthat its owner draws his own attention to other household members (including children) and even other pets.

Sometimes you can even find food aggression. No matter how unusual it may sound, just by protecting his own right to food and the food itself, the dog can even cause injuries to other people. Many owners cannot solve this problem on their own.

"Symptoms" aggression food type:

1. The dog is nervous, waiting for a bowl of food.
2. The dog may be angry, taking food - he does not allow to approach her and touch the bowl.
3. The animal shows anger toward those who simply walk past.

Food aggression can affect absolutely every member of the family who lives with the animal in the same room.

Factors of aggression

Congenital aggression completely and entirely depends only on heredity, therefore the only thing that can be done is to properly raise a pet. But there are other reasons that are random, temporary:

1. Fear. If your pet is frightened, then the natural reaction to the fear of him will be aggression in order to protect, which is quite normal and is not a deviation.
2. Disease. In some situations, animals can show anger to protect themselves from humans if they experience pain. Not every dog ​​can be patient and expect help, many are afraid of it. And with the feeling of pain, the dog may bark loudly, growl, or even bite the hand that caused the pain.
3. The feeling of competition. A dog can compete for the most convenient place or its territory, if there are still pets in the house. They are only engaged in the division of the area, and therefore show aggression.
4. Mother's aggression. She is always against man. If the dog carried out and gave birth to puppies, then sometimes it is not necessary to approach them, as this is excessively dangerous. There are breeds that even purposely hide puppies from a person for a while.
5. Lack of comfort. In such cases, the pet can sometimes lose control. Lack of commonplace rules for living, poor food, lack of own place, dampness or being in the cold turn out to be harmful for dogs.

How can this turn out?

The aggressive behavior of the animal is unlikely to go unnoticed at home.An enraged dog can seriously scare even the person who truly and always loved the dog. Therefore, it is important to be aware of not only the reasons that led to such manifestations of aggression, but also what this may ultimately turn into.

The most important thing in such cases is how a person behaves towards which anger is directed. If the one who became the cause of aggression in an animal escapes, disappears from its eyes, then at the next meetings the anger can only increase. A similar reaction of the animal can be explained by ordinary instincts, which were laid in him by nature. Her inadequate behavior of someone scared, and, consequently, the dog will begin with increased zeal to try to protect themselves and their homes. The same will happen if, on the contrary, the dog is taken away from the subject of its aggressive behavior.

If the subject of aggression does not disappear from the dog’s field of vision, but begins to approach it, then the dog will become more frightened and take active steps to defend: he will not only bark and grin his teeth, but may also attack.

It is very important how the owner of the dog will behave. The dog tries to take into account the opinion of its owner always,and if he is indifferent to the fact that his pet shows discontent, then he may begin to experience even more fear, while being afraid for a person. Again, when the owner of the dog tries to forcibly reassure his pet, this also becomes a temporary measure. This can frighten the dog even more, and the dog can lose control of itself.

How to render first aid to an animal

In cases with those pets who can only rarely show signs of aggression, it is important to start being attentive and careful. It is important not to let the situation go out of control, but only to prevent it. If there is a chance that your pet will get nervous, worry, then you can take him for a short walk, take another road or not allow the animal to see certain people. In other words, it is important to try to predict the possible development of events and look ahead.

An animal that can show aggression at any time should be kept under special control. For this you will need to use:

• Dog's lead.
• Sledding
• Muzzle.

Sometimes breeders use a cage in this case. But, if the animal does not know how to live in it or is not accustomed to such conditions, then this may turn into an additional source of experiences and stress for it. Therefore, it is possible to use this option only for some breeds of dogs that have known from puppyhood what an aviary is.

Thus, we can come to the conclusion that the only way to assist the pet in its aggression is to avoid it and the owner of situations where it can act in an undesirable way. The owner will need to use a leash, take the animal to the side, try to draw her attention to something neutral, pleasant for the dog. This method is used for walking. At home, you can try to isolate your pet from the object of aggression.

Ways to combat manifestations of aggression

If the animal has already been noticed or suddenly began to show aggression, then you will need to first contact a veterinarian or a dog handler. This will help determine the factors contributing to this behavior and select the therapy.

1. Socialization.The owners do not just try to bring a pet for a walk to public parks at a puppy age and introduce them to other animals or people. This allows the puppy to socialize, to see how many-sided the big world can be. If the dog has grown up in a cage, then other animals and other creatures can cause fear in him, turning into aggression.
2. Training. In situations where the dog became aggressive, and it was impossible to avoid past mistakes, you can slowly train him to communicate with other creatures. This happens due to acquaintance with new things, smells, communication through a mesh or a wall, getting used to the game process and other people's voices, etc. Sometimes the owner fails to solve this problem on his own, and then an experienced and professional dog handler can come to the rescue.
3. Medical therapy may be required to relieve pain in an animal. Aggressive behavior arising against the background of a sense of pain is a common cause. Not every dog ​​can suffer the pain, just looking at the owner with sad eyes, some try to protect themselves from the enemy, which they do not see.
4. The division of space, which relates to the needs of animals, makes it possible to prevent various collisions and aggressive manifestations between pets.
5. Attention to his own pet, taking care of him, allow the owner to improve the quality of the dog's life, change his emotional state for the better, save him from fear and fear. This method can help if the animal is scared, devoid of communication, care, attention and love.

Video: how to rehabilitate aggressive and uncontrollable dog