Dominate Dog Aggression

Dominate Dog Aggression is clearly only one type of aggressive behavior dogs can display.

Dominate Dogs like to be in charge. Perhaps they were not required to work for anything for their owners, but for some reason, they have it in their heads that they are in charge. This dog can be seen actively approaching other dogs with powerful body language- tail and head held high.

If other dogs submit to his control, there will less than likely be a problem, but if a dog tries to stand up to him, watch out. This dog can be very dangerous and can often be seen causing fights in local dog parks.

Dog aggression can be displayed in many different situations and of varying types and degrees. Don’t be misled; Aggression is aggression no matter what! And if left uncorrected may lead to serious consequences.

Aggression Is Not Breed Or Size Related

Although some breeds may appear more outwardly intimadating in size we focus on them more than others, and we tend to look for aggression in larger breeds don’t be fooled. Toy dogs, such as the Chihuahua or the Pomeranian can be equally aggressive.

Maybe your dog got an attitude problem because of how owners prior to you treated him. Regardless, aggression is often a problem in untrained dogs and can vary from just an annoyance to downright dangerous.

Keep your eye out for dominate dog aggression as well as these other types of aggressive behaviors in your dog. Timing is very important here; if you do see them, be sure to correct them immediately, you may need to start by removing your dog from the situation.

Nervous Aggression

This dog is often afraid. Afraid of loud noises such as phones, doorbells, outside disturbances or other dogs or humans, this dog reacts negatively by barking, snarling, biting, baring its teeth and generally getting upset.

This dog may not have been socialized properly at an early age and is often enabled by their coddling owners who are concerned for their scared dog. This dog can be violent if cornered and often responds poorly to anything they feel threatened by when they are on a leash or lead.

Many owners do not take this sort of dog aggression seriously, but it should be noted that this is a very serious behavior problem.

Territorial Aggression

A common kind of aggression, this dog is very protective of his space. He feels threatened by any humans or other dogs entering his home, yard, garden or personal space. His desire to keep his space his own may stem from either fear or a need for dominance.

This type of dog can be very dangerous if you cross his boundaries and could easily bite someone for being in his home.

Possessive Aggression

This dog doesn’t know how to share well. This type of aggression in dogs is a need for possession of their things, this could be a sign of dominate dog aggression. They react violently if you play with their toys, try to get in their food or water bowl or are getting attention from their owner’s (who they may feel are their possessions).

This dog was possibly poorly socialized as a puppy and can be dangerous if you get too close to his things.

Predatory Aggression

This type of aggression is triggered by the need to chase or the prey drive; possibly created in dogs by lack of basic training or socialization (probably not dominate dog aggression).

This type of dog becomes aggressive by seeing something small that could be considered prey move quickly in his line of sight. It could be anything from something that could actually be prey such as a squirrel or rabbit to a small dog or even a passing car, bike or skateboard.

There are varying degrees of this aggression and you should not be worried if your dog happens to go wild when you encounter a bunny on a walk. If your dog gets overly aggressive when he is set off by his prey drive and begins snarling, biting, growling, you may want to contact a behaviorist.

Misdirected Aggression

This type of aggression is often seen in dog parks when owners try to break up a fight, dominate dog aggression was likely a trigger. When a dog gets into fight mode, he is often so sharply focused on his opponent than any external forces he may consider his combatant as well. This is a tough one, because just about any dog who is in such an intense situation may succumb to misdirected aggression.

The best key to avoiding misdirected aggression is to do preventative maintenance. Keep your dog out of fights to begin with. When at the dog park or on a walk, make sure to monitor your dog’s body language including the position of his tail, whether his coat is standing up or not and how he moves.

If you do have to break up a dog fight, avoid using your hands; instead use a large blanket (if possible) to pull your dog out.

You may need to contact a dog behaviorist to help you with correction and prevention techniques for dog aggression.

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