Aggression must be addessed
Owners need to seek professional help for dog's problems

Eamon Riley
As a professional dog trainer and canine behavioral consultant, I am called upon to help owners train their dogs and understand canine behavior. While some requests come from veterinarian referrals, the vast majority come directly from dog owners themselves. Of all the behavioral problems encountered by dog owners, canine aggression is one of the most difficult to correct.
Here is a good example. A few weeks ago I received a phone call from a young lady who was worried about her dog's aggressive behavior toward her 10-month-old son. The dog had begun to stalk and circle the toddler. The mother told me that the dog had gone as far as rolling the child onto his back and biting him on the face. The dog had also shown aggression toward all family members, including a 3-year-old daughter. She told me that the dog had been placed on medication to help curtail the behavior, but with no results. The mother asked if it would be possible to place the dog in a home with no children. I told her that the danger was far too great, especially if there was a possibility that a child might visit that adoptive home. I reluctantly recommended that the animal be euthanized for the safety of herself, her children and others. It turned out that her local veterinarian, who had referred her to me, had also recommended euthanasia. The dog was euthanized the next day.
Not all canine aggression is the same. According to the Dumb Friends League/_Humane Society of Denver, canine aggression can be categorized into six different types. They are:
Dominance Aggression: Dominance aggression is motivated by a challenge to a dog's social status or to his control of a social interaction. Dogs are social animals and view their human families as their social group or "pack." Based on the outcomes of social challenges among group members, a dominance hierarchy or "pecking order" is established.
If your dog perceives his own ranking in the hierarchy to be higher than your rank, it's likely that he'll challenge you in certain situations. Because people don't always understand canine communication, you may inadvertently challenge your dog's social position. The most common reason for dogs in the same family to fight with each other is instability in the dominance hierarchy. As a dog trainer, this is by far the most common type of aggression I see.
Fear-Motivated Aggression: Fear-motivated aggression is a defensive reaction and occurs when a dog believes he is in danger of being harmed. Remember that it's your dog's perception of the situation not your actual intent that determines your dog's response. For example, a dog may be fearfully aggressive when you innocently raise your hand toward it.
Protective, Territorial and Possessive Aggression: Protective, territorial and possessive aggression are all very similar, and involve the defense of valuable resources. Territorial aggression is usually associated with defense of property. However, your dog's sense of territory may extend well past the boundaries of "his" yard. Protective aggression usually refers to aggression directed toward people or animals that a dog perceives as threats to his family, or pack. Dogs become possessively aggressive when defending their food, toys or other valued objects.
Redirected Aggression: This type of aggression is relatively common, but is a behavior that pet owners may not always understand. If a dog is aroused into an aggressive response by a person or animal that he is prevented from attacking, he may redirect this aggression onto someone else and this sometimes is the owner.
The Dumb Friends League recommends the following:

• First check with your veterinarian to rule out medical causes for the aggressive behavior.
• Seek professional help. An aggression problem will not go away by itself. Working with aggression problems requires in-home help from an animal behavior specialist.
• Take precautions. Your first priority is to keep everyone safe. Supervise, confine and/or restrict your dog's activities until you can obtain professional help. You're liable for your dog's behavior. If you must take your dog out in public, consider a muzzle as a temporary precaution, and keep in mind that some dogs can get a muzzle off.
• Avoid exposing your dog to situations where he is more likely to show aggression. You may need to keep him confined to a safe room and limit his people-contact.
• If your dog is possessive of food, treats or a certain place, don't allow him access to those items. In an emergency, bribe him with something better than what he has.
• Spay or neuter your dog. Intact dogs are more likely to display dominance, territorial and protective aggressive behavior.
• Finally, take your dog to obedience training. This will help the dog learn its place in the family and respond to commands quickly.

What Not To Do

• Punishment won't help and, in fact, will make the problem worse. If the aggression is motivated by fear, punishment will make your dog more fearful, and therefore more aggressive. Attempting to punish or dominate a dominantly aggressive dog is likely to cause him to escalate his behavior in order to retain his dominant position. This is likely to result in a bite or a severe attack. Punishing territorial, possessive or protective aggression is likely to elicit additional defensive aggression.
• Don't encourage aggressive behavior. Playing tug-of-war or wrestling games encourages your dog to attempt to "best" you or "win" you over, which can result in the beginning of a dominance aggression problem. When dogs are encouraged to "go get 'em" or to bark and dash about in response to outside noises or at the approach of a person, territorial and protective aggressive behavior may be the result.

Dogs show aggressive behavior differently in any particular situation. Some dogs tend to respond aggressively with very little stimulation while others may be subjected to all kinds of threats and never attempt to bite. Aggressive behavior can be influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. To successfully deal with canine aggression, there are several elements to consider, such as the dog's gender, age, breed and how the dog perceives itself in the pack hierarchy. It is also important that the appropriate behavior modification techniques are chosen and correctly implemented.
FYI: If you are among the hundreds who are interested in seeing a dog park in Wichita Falls, please stop by Petco and sign the dog park petition. Make your bark heard.
Eamon P. Riley is a professional dog trainer and canine behavior consultant. For comments or suggestions, he can be contacted at dogmanusmc@aol.com or by calling 636-5777.