Why is my dog aggressive?
Your neighbour may blame you for your dog’s aggressive behavior, but even people who understand dogs and raise them kindly can have a dog who behaves aggressively. And some dogs who were abused never become aggressive. Some dogs will even behave normally until the dog matures socially around 2 or 3 years of age.
It’s very common for people to feel guilt about their dog’s behavior, because most people feel it’s because of something they have done wrong. It is so common that people will sometimes deny there is a problem, or procrastinate on getting help.
It is becoming evident for humans doing everything “right” will not guarantee that a dog will not become aggressive even when the early experiences appear to be fine. Sudden aggression is dogs might be a result of medical concerns. Although much of the time people simply have not be taught to recognize the early warning signs, such as staring, stiffening, licking of the lips when the dog is not hungry, or yawning when the dog is not tired, making the aggression seem sudden when in fact, it is not suddenly aggressive.
In many cases the dog’s behavior attracts the kind of responses from humans, or other animals that make the problem worse, but there are ways to minimize this through environment control and treating the dog’s aggression through an effective treatment program.
There are other factors besides an abused history that may contribute to dog aggression. This can include a bad early socialization experience, genetics, hormones and interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system. As of yet, we have virtually no data on whether dogs can be born with conditions similar to Aspergers or Autism in humans that may cause problems in social settings. In addition congenital diseases, disorders or conditions that have occurred in the womb or present close to birth but not necessarily genetic may also play a factor.
There is plenty of evidence that dogs with serious aggression are functionally different than non-aggressive dogs. This does not mean they are beyond help however. There are ways to manage and treat dog aggression just as we would treat people with behavior challenges. This may include anything from modifying the environment around the dog, to medication, to behavior modification.