Agility training handling the dog's aggression
Agility training handling the dog's aggression:
A dog is an instinctively aggressive creature.
In nature, aggression was very useful: dogs needed aggression to hunt, to defend themselves from other creatures and to defend resources such as food, a place to sleep and a couple. Selective breeding over the centuries has significantly minimized and refined this trait, but there is simply no way to avoid it: dogs are physically able to inflict serious damage (just look at those teeth!) Because that's how they've survived and evolved.
And mother Nature is rather cunning, it is difficult to counteract the power of instinct!
But that does not mean that we, as lovers and owners of dogs, are totally helpless when it comes to handling our dogs. There are many things we can do to prevent aggression from raising its ugly head, and even if prevention has not been possible (for whatever reason), there are still steps we can take to recognize and treat it efficiently.
There are several different types of canine aggression. The two most common are:
Maybe you're wondering why we're bothering to categorize this: after all, aggression is aggression, and we want to let it run now, not waste time on the details, right? Well... not quite. These two different types of aggression come from very different causes and require different types of treatment. [View: Pets for homes]
-Aggression towards strangers-
What is it? It's pretty easy to know when a dog is nervous with strange people. He is nervous and alert: either he cannot sit still and fret constantly, jumping at the slightest noise and walking between barking and whining; Or he is still quite unstable, sitting in a firm place like a rock, staring at the object of his suspicions (a visitor, the postman, someone who approaches him in the street while tied out of a shop).
Why does it happen?
There is an important reason why a dog does not like strange people: he has never had the opportunity to get used to them.
Remember, your dog trusts 100% on you to broaden your horizons for him: without having to take many exits to see the world and realize it by itself, through consistent and positive experiences, that the unknown does not necessarily equal bad news For him, how can you realistically expect to relax in an unknown situation?
What can I do about it?
The process of getting your dog accustomed to the world and to all the strange people (and animals) it contains is called socialization. This is an incredibly important aspect of your dog's education: in fact, it is quite difficult to emphasize how important it is. Socializing your dog means to expose him from an early age (generally speaking, as soon as he has received his shots) to a wide variety of new experiences, new people and new animals.
How does socialization prevent the strange aggression?
When you socialize your dog, he is teaching you through the experience that new images and sounds are fun, not scary. It is not enough to expose an adult dog to a multitude of strangers and to say "calm down, Roxy, it's okay", you have to learn that it's okay for him. And he needs to do it from his puppy for the lesson to assimilate. The more types of people and animals you know (babies, toddlers, teenagers, old men, women, people with uniforms, motorcycle helmets, people who wear umbrellas, etc.) in a fun and relaxed environment, the more at ease And happy, and safer with strangers, he will be in general.
How can I socialize my dog so he doesn't develop fear of strangers?
Socializing your dog is easy enough to do; It is more a general effort than a specific training regime. First of all, you have to take him to puppy preschool. This is a generic term for a series of easy group training classes for puppies (often performed in the veterinary clinic, which has the additional benefit of teaching your dog positive associations with the vet).
In a puppy preschool class, approximately ten puppy owners meet with a qualified trainer (there will often be at least two coaches present; the more, the better, as it means that you get more time from one to one). With a professional) and begin to teach their puppies basic obedience commands: Sit down, stay, etc. Although the work of obedience is very useful and is a great way to start your puppy in the way of being a reliable adult dog, the best part of the preschool are the game sessions: several times during the class, the puppies are encouraged to run without Corr EA and play among them.
This is an ideal environment for them to learn good social skills: there are a lot of unknown dogs (that teaches them to interact with strange dogs), there are a lot of unknown people (that teaches them that new faces are nothing). Be afraid), and the environment is safe and controlled (there is at least one certified coach present to make sure things don't get out of control).
However, socialization not only ends with puppy preschool. It is a constant effort throughout the life of your puppy and your dog: it needs to be taken to a lot of new places and environments. Remember not to overwhelm: start slowly and gradually increase your tolerance. [View: Easy to train dogs]
-Aggression towards family members-
There are two common reasons why a dog is aggressive with members of his own human family:
What is resource protection?
The protection of resources is quite common among dogs. The term refers to excessively possessive behavior in the name of your dog: for example, grunting with you if you approach him when you are eating, or giving him "the eye" (a direct look of fixed eyes) If you reach your hand remove a toy.
All dogs can be possessive from time to time, it is in its nature. Sometimes they are possessive about things without any conceivable value: non-edible rubbish, pieces of paper or tissue, old socks. More often, however, the protection of resources becomes a problem over items with a very real and understandable value: food and toys.
Why does it happen?
It all comes down to the question of domination. Let me take a moment to explain this concept. Dogs are animals of load: this means that they are accustomed to a very structured environment. In a pack of dogs, each individual animal is classified into a hierarchy of position and power (or "domain") in relation to any other animal. Each animal is aware of the range of each other animal, which means that it knows specifically how to act in any given situation (either to go back, either to push the problem, whether to exercise or not in another person's lawn, etc.). For your dog, the family environment is no different from the environment of the dog pack.
Your dog has classified each member of the family, and has its own perception of where it is located in that environment as well. This is where it gets interesting: if your dog perceives himself as one of the first in the social totem that other family members, he will get nervous. If you really have an overinflated sense of your own importance, you will begin to act aggressively. Why? Because dominance and aggression are the exclusive rights of a higher-ranking animal.
No loser would ever show aggression or act in a dominant way to a better-classified animal (the consequences would be terrible, and he knows it!) Resource protection is a classic example of dominant behavior: only a higher-ranking dog (a "dominant" dog) would act aggressively in defense of resources. To put it clearly: if your dog was clear that he is not, in fact, the leader of the family, would never dream of trying to prevent you from taking food or toys, because a dog of lesser rank (he) will always agree with what they say the highest-ranking dogs (you and his family).
So what can I do about it?
The best treatment for dominant and aggressive behavior is consistent and frequent work of obedience, which underlines your authority over your dog. Only two sessions of fifteen minutes a day will make it perfectly clear to your dog that you are the boss, and that it is worth doing what you say. You can clarify this fact by rewarding it (with lavish gifts and praise) for obeying an order and isolating it (putting it in "dead time", either outside the house or in a room alone) for misconduct.
Why doesn't my dog like to be handled?
All dogs have different driving thresholds. Some dogs like mimes and are content to hug, kiss and hang them on the shoulders (this is the last gesture of "I'm the Boss" for a dog, and so many won "). T tolerate it.) Others--usually those who are not accustomed to great physical contact from a very early age--do not feel comfortable with too much full body contact and will become nervous and agitated if someone persists in trying to hug them.
Another common cause of manipulation-induced aggression is a bad personal grooming experience: the nail cutting and bathing are the two most common culprits. When you cut a dog's fingernails, it is very easy to "accelerate" it, i.e. cut the blood vessel that runs inside the nail. This is extremely painful for a dog, and it is a sure way to provoke a lasting aversion to those clippers. Being washed is something that many dogs have difficulty coping with: Many owners, when faced with an angry, half-washed and annoying dog, feel that to complete the wash they have to restrict it by force. This only increases the dog's sense of panic and reinforces his impression of washing as something that should be avoided at all costs, if necessary, to defend against it with a display of teeth and hairs at the end.
Can I "train" you to enjoy being manipulated and groomed?
In a word: yes. It is much easier if you start from an early age: Manage your puppy a lot, make them accustomed to touch and rub it everywhere. Young dogs generally enjoy being handled; Only older people who have not had much physical contact throughout their lives sometimes find that physical affection is difficult to accept.
Practice lifting your legs and touching them with the clipper; Practice taking it to the tub (or outside, under the faucet-whatever it is that serves you, but the warm water is much more enjoyable for a dog than an icy stream of icy water!), and increase the process with many praises and the occasional little gift.
For an older dog that may have had several unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, things are a little more difficult. You must undo the damage already caused by those bad experiences, what you can do by taking things very slowly, with an emphasis on keeping your dog calm. The moment you start showing signs of stress, stop immediately and let it relax. Try to turn everything into a game: give him a lot of praise, pats and treats. Take things slowly. Don't Push it too far: if you get nervous, stop.
Dogs show Aggression for a reason: they're warning you to back off, or else! If it seems that your dog does not agree to be fixed, no matter how much practice you do, the best thing is to deliver the job to professionals. Your veterinarian will cut off your nails (be sure to tell you first that you get aggressive when the Clippers come out, so your veterinarian can take the necessary precautions!).
As far as washing and brushing is concerned, the dog grooming business is a thriving industry. For a small fee, you can get your dog washed, trimmed, brushed and everything you need by experienced professionals (again, be sure to inform them about your dog's reaction to the experience first!)
For more information on handling aggressive and dominant behaviors as well as a lot of detailed information on a number of other common dog behavioral problems, check out pets for home Training. It is a complete guide for the owner of the property, parenting and training of his dog, and deals with all aspects of the dog's property. To learn about the prevention and handling of problematic behaviors such as aggression and your dog's dominance, it is worth taking a look at secrets to dog Training. You can visit the secrets site to train dogs by clicking on Positive Dog Reinforcement Training >>
A dog is an instinctively aggressive creature.
In nature, aggression was very useful: dogs needed aggression to hunt, to defend themselves from other creatures and to defend resources such as food, a place to sleep and a couple. Selective breeding over the centuries has significantly minimized and refined this trait, but there is simply no way to avoid it: dogs are physically able to inflict serious damage (just look at those teeth!) Because that's how they've survived and evolved.
And mother Nature is rather cunning, it is difficult to counteract the power of instinct!
But that does not mean that we, as lovers and owners of dogs, are totally helpless when it comes to handling our dogs. There are many things we can do to prevent aggression from raising its ugly head, and even if prevention has not been possible (for whatever reason), there are still steps we can take to recognize and treat it efficiently.
- Different types of aggression:
There are several different types of canine aggression. The two most common are:
- Aggression towards strangers
- Aggression towards family members
Maybe you're wondering why we're bothering to categorize this: after all, aggression is aggression, and we want to let it run now, not waste time on the details, right? Well... not quite. These two different types of aggression come from very different causes and require different types of treatment. [View: Pets for homes]
-Aggression towards strangers-
What is it? It's pretty easy to know when a dog is nervous with strange people. He is nervous and alert: either he cannot sit still and fret constantly, jumping at the slightest noise and walking between barking and whining; Or he is still quite unstable, sitting in a firm place like a rock, staring at the object of his suspicions (a visitor, the postman, someone who approaches him in the street while tied out of a shop).
Why does it happen?
There is an important reason why a dog does not like strange people: he has never had the opportunity to get used to them.
Remember, your dog trusts 100% on you to broaden your horizons for him: without having to take many exits to see the world and realize it by itself, through consistent and positive experiences, that the unknown does not necessarily equal bad news For him, how can you realistically expect to relax in an unknown situation?
What can I do about it?
The process of getting your dog accustomed to the world and to all the strange people (and animals) it contains is called socialization. This is an incredibly important aspect of your dog's education: in fact, it is quite difficult to emphasize how important it is. Socializing your dog means to expose him from an early age (generally speaking, as soon as he has received his shots) to a wide variety of new experiences, new people and new animals.
How does socialization prevent the strange aggression?
When you socialize your dog, he is teaching you through the experience that new images and sounds are fun, not scary. It is not enough to expose an adult dog to a multitude of strangers and to say "calm down, Roxy, it's okay", you have to learn that it's okay for him. And he needs to do it from his puppy for the lesson to assimilate. The more types of people and animals you know (babies, toddlers, teenagers, old men, women, people with uniforms, motorcycle helmets, people who wear umbrellas, etc.) in a fun and relaxed environment, the more at ease And happy, and safer with strangers, he will be in general.
How can I socialize my dog so he doesn't develop fear of strangers?
Socializing your dog is easy enough to do; It is more a general effort than a specific training regime. First of all, you have to take him to puppy preschool. This is a generic term for a series of easy group training classes for puppies (often performed in the veterinary clinic, which has the additional benefit of teaching your dog positive associations with the vet).
In a puppy preschool class, approximately ten puppy owners meet with a qualified trainer (there will often be at least two coaches present; the more, the better, as it means that you get more time from one to one). With a professional) and begin to teach their puppies basic obedience commands: Sit down, stay, etc. Although the work of obedience is very useful and is a great way to start your puppy in the way of being a reliable adult dog, the best part of the preschool are the game sessions: several times during the class, the puppies are encouraged to run without Corr EA and play among them.
This is an ideal environment for them to learn good social skills: there are a lot of unknown dogs (that teaches them to interact with strange dogs), there are a lot of unknown people (that teaches them that new faces are nothing). Be afraid), and the environment is safe and controlled (there is at least one certified coach present to make sure things don't get out of control).
However, socialization not only ends with puppy preschool. It is a constant effort throughout the life of your puppy and your dog: it needs to be taken to a lot of new places and environments. Remember not to overwhelm: start slowly and gradually increase your tolerance. [View: Easy to train dogs]
-Aggression towards family members-
There are two common reasons why a dog is aggressive with members of his own human family:
- You are trying to defend something that you regard as yours for a perceived threat (you). This is known as resource protection, and although it seems harmless, there is actually a lot more to do here than your dog just trying to save his croquette for himself.
- You do not feel comfortable with the treatment/management you receive from yourself or other family members.
What is resource protection?
The protection of resources is quite common among dogs. The term refers to excessively possessive behavior in the name of your dog: for example, grunting with you if you approach him when you are eating, or giving him "the eye" (a direct look of fixed eyes) If you reach your hand remove a toy.
All dogs can be possessive from time to time, it is in its nature. Sometimes they are possessive about things without any conceivable value: non-edible rubbish, pieces of paper or tissue, old socks. More often, however, the protection of resources becomes a problem over items with a very real and understandable value: food and toys.
Why does it happen?
It all comes down to the question of domination. Let me take a moment to explain this concept. Dogs are animals of load: this means that they are accustomed to a very structured environment. In a pack of dogs, each individual animal is classified into a hierarchy of position and power (or "domain") in relation to any other animal. Each animal is aware of the range of each other animal, which means that it knows specifically how to act in any given situation (either to go back, either to push the problem, whether to exercise or not in another person's lawn, etc.). For your dog, the family environment is no different from the environment of the dog pack.
Your dog has classified each member of the family, and has its own perception of where it is located in that environment as well. This is where it gets interesting: if your dog perceives himself as one of the first in the social totem that other family members, he will get nervous. If you really have an overinflated sense of your own importance, you will begin to act aggressively. Why? Because dominance and aggression are the exclusive rights of a higher-ranking animal.
No loser would ever show aggression or act in a dominant way to a better-classified animal (the consequences would be terrible, and he knows it!) Resource protection is a classic example of dominant behavior: only a higher-ranking dog (a "dominant" dog) would act aggressively in defense of resources. To put it clearly: if your dog was clear that he is not, in fact, the leader of the family, would never dream of trying to prevent you from taking food or toys, because a dog of lesser rank (he) will always agree with what they say the highest-ranking dogs (you and his family).
So what can I do about it?
The best treatment for dominant and aggressive behavior is consistent and frequent work of obedience, which underlines your authority over your dog. Only two sessions of fifteen minutes a day will make it perfectly clear to your dog that you are the boss, and that it is worth doing what you say. You can clarify this fact by rewarding it (with lavish gifts and praise) for obeying an order and isolating it (putting it in "dead time", either outside the house or in a room alone) for misconduct.
- If you are not completely sure about doing this yourself, you may consider asking for assistance from a qualified dog trainer.
- Reflect on your understanding of psychology and canine communication, so that you understand what you are trying to say, this will help you to root out any dominant behavior and communicate your own authority more effectively.
- Train regularly: keep your obedience sessions short and productive (no more than fifteen minutes, maybe two or three of these per day).
Why doesn't my dog like to be handled?
All dogs have different driving thresholds. Some dogs like mimes and are content to hug, kiss and hang them on the shoulders (this is the last gesture of "I'm the Boss" for a dog, and so many won "). T tolerate it.) Others--usually those who are not accustomed to great physical contact from a very early age--do not feel comfortable with too much full body contact and will become nervous and agitated if someone persists in trying to hug them.
Another common cause of manipulation-induced aggression is a bad personal grooming experience: the nail cutting and bathing are the two most common culprits. When you cut a dog's fingernails, it is very easy to "accelerate" it, i.e. cut the blood vessel that runs inside the nail. This is extremely painful for a dog, and it is a sure way to provoke a lasting aversion to those clippers. Being washed is something that many dogs have difficulty coping with: Many owners, when faced with an angry, half-washed and annoying dog, feel that to complete the wash they have to restrict it by force. This only increases the dog's sense of panic and reinforces his impression of washing as something that should be avoided at all costs, if necessary, to defend against it with a display of teeth and hairs at the end.
Can I "train" you to enjoy being manipulated and groomed?
In a word: yes. It is much easier if you start from an early age: Manage your puppy a lot, make them accustomed to touch and rub it everywhere. Young dogs generally enjoy being handled; Only older people who have not had much physical contact throughout their lives sometimes find that physical affection is difficult to accept.
Practice lifting your legs and touching them with the clipper; Practice taking it to the tub (or outside, under the faucet-whatever it is that serves you, but the warm water is much more enjoyable for a dog than an icy stream of icy water!), and increase the process with many praises and the occasional little gift.
For an older dog that may have had several unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, things are a little more difficult. You must undo the damage already caused by those bad experiences, what you can do by taking things very slowly, with an emphasis on keeping your dog calm. The moment you start showing signs of stress, stop immediately and let it relax. Try to turn everything into a game: give him a lot of praise, pats and treats. Take things slowly. Don't Push it too far: if you get nervous, stop.
Dogs show Aggression for a reason: they're warning you to back off, or else! If it seems that your dog does not agree to be fixed, no matter how much practice you do, the best thing is to deliver the job to professionals. Your veterinarian will cut off your nails (be sure to tell you first that you get aggressive when the Clippers come out, so your veterinarian can take the necessary precautions!).
As far as washing and brushing is concerned, the dog grooming business is a thriving industry. For a small fee, you can get your dog washed, trimmed, brushed and everything you need by experienced professionals (again, be sure to inform them about your dog's reaction to the experience first!)
For more information on handling aggressive and dominant behaviors as well as a lot of detailed information on a number of other common dog behavioral problems, check out pets for home Training. It is a complete guide for the owner of the property, parenting and training of his dog, and deals with all aspects of the dog's property. To learn about the prevention and handling of problematic behaviors such as aggression and your dog's dominance, it is worth taking a look at secrets to dog Training. You can visit the secrets site to train dogs by clicking on Positive Dog Reinforcement Training >>