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Dominance & Aggression

By: Suzanne Buckley - Dog Behavioral Specialist & Therapist

With the holiday season upon us and so many people receiving new puppies as gifts, we at Bark Busters would like to take few minutes to discuss traits in dogs that can confuse owners. The two most common traits in our canine companions that can cause confusion are dominance and aggression

Dominance is directly related to a dog’s ranking within its pack or family. Many owners make the mistake of applying human standards to their relationship with their dog. They fail to recognize that the dogs view the relationship in a completely different manner. Because of these differences, dogs are often inadvertently given a leadership role, which leads to dominance issues.

Some common dominance issues we typically see include dogs not listening to their owners, jumping on people, demanding attention and/or pulling on leash. Dominant dogs may resist their owners’ attempts to train them and are often described as being stubborn. Many owners feel that if their dog displays many of these dominant traits, the must have a confident dog. But, this is a common misperception among owners. It’s not at all unusual to see a dog who doesn’t listen to his owners quickly submit to another dog.

Aggression is related to a dog’s reaction to people, animals or their environment. Aggression is a behavioral pattern and is not breed related. Over 90% of the time, any issue related to aggression is directly related to fear. In attempting to deal with these issues, owners can accidentally increase the aggression issues. Being physical, i.e. grabbing the collar to restrain a dog or pushing a dog off furniture, will often increase the misunderstandings and escalate into issues of aggression. Often, from the dogs’ perspective, being physical is viewed as being aggressive and it can teach dogs that aggression is the right way to deal with problems. Dogs learn by observation and experience, so it is important for owners to recognize that they are always training their dogs, intentionally or unintentionally.

There is a great article in the enclosed newsletter regarding aggression, which I hope you will find informative. Please share it with your staff and clients.

We are both working towards the same goals, happy healthy dogs and happy clients. Please feel free to contact me at 804-245-1038 or via email at vacapitalcity@barkbusters.com. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss Bark Busters and how we might be able to help you, your staff and your clients.