There are times it is okay for your dog to be aggressive. You do not want your dog to be so submissive that it begins to display just as many if not more disobedient behaviors.
No one wants to play with a dog that has absolutely no aggressive nature. It would be boring. Aggression is not just reaching out and biting the person or animal next to them because they want to exert dominance. Aggression is a personality trait. Aggression can present as a go-getter attitude. Think of an employer looking at possible new hires. Do you think they want an aggressive personality or a submissive one? If you chose aggressive, you are right. They want someone who isn’t afraid of tackling the task at hand.
Just as a employer doesn’t want to hire a non-aggressive employee, a dog owner doesn’t want a dog who has no aggressive personality at all. When you throw a ball for your dog to fetch, you want it to go fetch it, not lay down. A submissive dog may lie down and not bother to get up unless you yell at it to do so. That is a form of disobedience. However, with an aggressive dog, although it is great that they are a go-getter, you still want to make sure you keep the aggression level in check.
Aggressive behavior can tell you when something is wrong with your dog medically. Your dog may snip at you when it is hurting or not feeling well when normally it wouldn’t. Immediately you will know something is out of the norm for your dog and seek out the problem.
When dogs get aggressive with other dogs it is your responsibility as the dog owner to take control of the situation. Other dogs can make your dog feel uncomfortable or threatened. This can result in them acting out aggressively by growling, barking, or even attacking the dog. Take control (or have the other dog owner take control) of the situation, removing the other dog's behavior. Remember, not all dog owners are responsible. Give your dog space to calm down and let him/her know that there is no need for aggression. If the reaction was something totally out of your dog’s control, such as another dog attacking first and your dog reacting to the situation, disciplining him or her is unnecessary, however it is still important that you quickly end the situation or remove your dog from a situation that can result in such behavior.
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I guess what you say is true enough but it scares me when 2 dogs go at each other. I sure as hell don't want to get into the middle of it even if one of the dogs is mine. I can be aggressive when I need to be but not where dogs are concerned.
ReplyDeleteI would have said never before I read the blog. I see and agree with your reasoning about the dog being aggressive under certain circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI live in a trailer park and I own a small dog. There is no fence around our yard but my dog has been trained not to leave the yard and he responds immediately when called. I've never chained him up. Last month a young couple moved in and they have a good sized dog. They let it run pretty much all the time. Their dog is always in our yard and is very aggressive with me and my dog. Short of reporting him to the office, I don't know what to do. He thinks it's funny that we are intimidated by 'a dog'.(His words)
ReplyDelete