I act as a translator between various species because I am an intermediary. You’d think that the majority of my work involves the mechanics of dog training, but that isn’t the case.
Correcting false information and ingrained biases that calcify in people’s minds is the most monotonous aspect of the job. It’s human training.
Just hearing the term “dog aggression” makes one feel compelled to flee the killer dog and find safety.
When discussing a troubling subject like dog aggression, it is necessary to separate fact from fiction.
You essentially accept any idea or interpretation as blind truth and live by it when you buy into it wholeheartedly without questioning its veracity, regardless of how unfounded it may be.
Mean dogs are not just born that way
Aggressive behavior is one of the most frequent causes of dogs being surrendered to shelters, abandoned, or put to death. Canine aggression is frightening, upsetting, and perplexing for dog owners. Understanding why dogs become aggressive, why punishment is not the solution, and whether there are any steps we can take to help prevent this behavior is one of the most crucial things dog owners can do.
Some people believe that some dog breeds and certain canines are inherently aggressive. But dogs aren’t just born mean. The majority of the factors that contribute to them becoming that way are complex interactions over which the dog has no real control. Conditions experienced by the mother during pregnancy, age at weaning, early socialization, training techniques, diet, exercise, and genetics are some of the variables that can affect aggression. However, there is still a lot we don’t know about canine aggression, and new studies are helping to improve our understanding. Unsurprisingly, controlling dog aggression necessitates closely examining dogs and those who “own” and train them.
The following intriguing recent studies provide more insight into dog aggression:
→ Outbursts of aggression are sometimes triggered by pain. 12 dogs with aggression issues were carefully examined by a research team from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. They determined that each of the twelve dogs had pain-related aggression. Eight of the dogs had a hip dysplasia. Pain can make a normally non-aggressive dog act aggressively, and it can make an aggressive dog’s outbursts more frequent and intense. It is crucial to consult a veterinarian, especially if an older dog exhibits behavioral changes or a typically calm dog suddenly starts to bite or growl. A painful medical condition is often to blame. The study was released in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior’s March issue.
→ Contrary to popular opinion, pit bulls, German shepherds, and Rottweilers are not inherently aggressive. A dog’s breed has far less to do with aggression than owner-dependent factors such as how a dog is trained. According to a study in the Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 40% of dominance aggression in dogs can be traced to the owner having failed to provide basic obedience training.
→ Aggressive training leads to aggressive dogs. This may seem obvious, but many dog owners who want their dogs to be well-behaved still use confrontational, even brutal, training techniques. Unfortunately, these methods tend to backfire. A study conducted by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania found that aggressive training methods, such as hitting, growling, rolling onto its back, and staring down the dog, frequently elicited aggressive reactions from the pet. Many of these dog owners had sought assistance from a veterinary behaviorist for their dog’s aggression issues. The journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science published this study.
→ Disagreeable people tend to prefer aggressive dogs. One of the prevalent beliefs about dogs and their owners—that the personalities of the two often coincide—was confirmed by research at the University of Leicester. According to the study’s findings, younger people who score highly on psychological tests for disagreeableness—those who are unconcerned with the needs of others, suspicious, unfriendly, or hostile—are more likely to favor aggressive dogs like pit bulls or boxers. The study’s findings also refuted some long-held beliefs about dog ownership, as they discovered no connection between having an aggressive dog and acting in a delinquent manner. They also failed to discover a connection between status display or what researchers refer to as “mating effort”: young men don’t buy intimidating dogs to attract girls. The tendency for those who liked aggressive dogs to score highly on conscientiousness (being careful and reliable) was one of the findings that surprised the researchers the most.
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A recent study published in Applied Animal Behavior revealed that a dog’s behavior – particularly in the case of aggression – is more likely to be the result of his owner and upbringing than his breed. While certain behaviors and temperaments are undeniably more prevalent in specific types of dogs, study results showed that no form of aggressive behavior can be considered exclusively “breed-specific” – including barking, lunging, growling and biting.
The researchers came to the conclusion that “it would be inappropriate to make assumptions about an individual animal’s risk of aggression to people based on characteristics such as breed,” giving even more power to those fighting to end breed-specific legislation. Therefore, the next time you dismiss a dog because of his appearance, think twice!
The findings also emphasized that training methods play an important role in determining how a dog will interact with humans. Positive training methods and puppy classes reduced the risk of aggression, while negative training methods had the opposite effect. Once again, this suggests that individual factors and experience have more effect on a dog’s behavior than his lineage.
The study’s objective was to ascertain how aggressive dogs are toward people in three different situations: strangers entering the home, strangers outside the home, and family members. It’s interesting to note that the majority of the participating dogs never showed aggression in multiple situations. To put it another way, a dog that was hostile to strangers wasn’t necessarily hostile to his family, and the opposite was true. Researchers contend that this indicates that aggression is a learned behavior rather than a universal quality shared by all members of a breed.
“No Bad Dogs, Only Bad Owners” – True or False?
Similar to how stereotypes and broad generalizations don’t help people or certain dog breeds. No breed will ever be all good or all bad. However, some breeds are more vulnerable to behavioral problems if they are not properly socialized and trained because all breeds do have distinctive personality traits and innate characteristics.
When certain traumas occur during the crucial fear imprinting periods, dogs may also experience behavioral problems. And occasionally, for unknown reasons, a dog will exhibit unusual behavior. Fortunately, these incidents are extremely uncommon, so it’s unlikely that this is what’s wrong with your dog.
The majority of the time, dogs become aggressive due to the way that humans have handled, socialized, and trained them.
FAQ
Is dog aggression genetic or learned?
The results clearly show that a dog’s propensity for aggression has a genetic component, but Professor Lohi emphasizes that environmental factors also play a significant role, meaning that owners have the ability to influence their dog’s level of aggression.
Are aggressive dogs born or made?
ARE SOME DOGS NATURALLY AGGRESSIVE? While it may appear that some dogs are born with an aggressive nature, it is more accurate to say that these dogs are born with inherited traits that may, if left unchecked, increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior.
What causes dogs to have aggressive behavior?
Dogs may become aggressive out of fear, frustration, prey drive, pain, or the need to protect their territory, resources, or family members. A dog may be pushed too far in any of these circumstances and may quickly change from reactive, fearful, or guarding behaviors to aggressive ones.
Is aggression a learned behavior?
Aggression is something that can be learned at home, in school, and even from television shows. Children who are repeatedly frustrated, rejected, and exposed to other aversive stimuli over an extended period of time may eventually learn to respond aggressively and perceive the world as hostile.