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Aggression

Most people who call me about aggression issues start off by telling me what a wonderful dog their dog is "95% of the time".  It's that other 5% of the time that is a problem.  It's a big problem!  Whether your dog is aggressive with family members, visitors, other dogs, or a combination, aggression is concerning at the least.

Most aggression spring from anxiety and stress, not because your dog is a "bad dog".  These problems can be reduced by management and training.  By understanding what provokes your dog, we can program an alternate emotional response in him that will reduce the likelihood of aggression.  You need to become an expert in this subject so you can anticipate his behavior.  So many people say to me that "he bit without warning".  We need to make you aware of his often subtle cues that aggression is imminent so that you can avert it.  Eventually, we want to reduce his stress enough so that he does not feel he has to bite.

I never tell someone that their dog is "cured" of aggression.  It is important to handle your dog in such a way as to reduce the likelihood of an aggressive incident.  For example, if he has been aggressive with visitors to the home, you cannot allow strangers to walk into your home without you supervising your dog.  You will, however, be able to safely welcome visitors at the door with your dog.  Through the training program, there will be many less situations that will make him behave aggressively.

If your dog has behaved aggressively, the time to act is now!  Without help, aggressive incidents increase with frequency and severity.  You owe it to your dog and to the safety of others to deal with this before the episodes become too dangerous.