Dog Aggression

Offensive Aggression — This Spaniel warns not to proceed forward with a direct stare.

You reach for the dog nail trimmers. As you’re approaching your dog, he freezes, lowers his head and growls. His warning growl says, “Don’t do it.” You stop in your tracks, sigh and feel defeated so you put the nail trimmers back in the cabinet and watch TV instead. Sound familiar?

Learn how to identify and successfully manage offensive dog aggression. The solution is probably not what you’re thinking. 🙂

What is Offensive Dog Aggression?

Offensive means to stop something before it happens. Aggression means “hostile or violent behavior toward something.” When paired together, offensive aggression means to threaten violence toward someone before something bad happens. Usually, this is a learned behavior; a dog learns how to successfully stop a perceived threat before it happens.

Offensive aggression exists in the human world too. People usually stare threateningly at past enemies, freeze when an opponent walks into a room or verbally threaten attackers to prevent them from approaching.

When I say “learned,” it takes practice to figure out what aggressive displays work best to prevent a perceived attack. Direct eye contact may work, but what if it doesn’t? Offensive aggression is a fine line. Push too hard, then violent fights break out. Immediate physical attack can cause a fight, which dogs want to prevent. That’s why they’re learning to warn instead.

Prevention

Prevention means listening to your dog. If he is uncomfortable, stop. Offensive aggression stems from past negative experiences. Dogs learn that “x” equals “y” so they better stop “x (dog, person, whatever)” from “y (hurting them again).”

Instead of forcing nails trims or body handling, teach dogs to allow it. As much as we want dogs to be “little humans,” they’re not. So instead of grabbing your dog’s toenail and trimming, touch his nail, click and give a treat. The same goes for body handling. Most dogs dislike restraint so teach them it’s fun and they will not be harmed.

Never force a dog or puppy to meet strange dogs. This can create a dog aggressive dog in seconds. Dogs, which are scared of other dogs, will display offensive aggressive body language when they see another dog. It’s almost like they’re saying, “I’ll get you before you get me!” Yikes!

Still don’t believe me? Remember when Great Aunt Emma would grab and hug you until your eyes popped out at Christmas dinner? Soon you learned to avoid her by hiding under the table. But what if Great Aunt Emma gave you candy, as she hugged you, it wouldn’t be so bad, huh?

What Does Not Work?

For some reason, we feel that forcing a dog to deal with negative things is part of life. Have you looked into your dog’s mouth? Do you see those big teeth? Yeah, they can and will use them. Dogs are not fuzzy humans. Force means threats in their world and dogs will learn to fend off threats. Would you force a silverback gorilla to trim his nails? You probably wouldn’t because they’re bigger and stronger, and can cause serious harm — same with dogs. Dogs will never enjoy nail trims, but they will learn to tolerate. They trust you to not harm them and you will stop when they need a break. Plus, they earn yummy treats (their paycheck).

Management

If your dog already displays offensive aggression when her nails are being trimmed or when a strange dog approaches, then it’s time to teach her fun things happen instead.

To begin, you’ll need a clicker and yummy treats.

Nail Trims

Practice each step 5 times a day for 3 days. If your dog becomes confused, take a step back. I’ve found restraint of the paw usually causes a dog to become uncomfortable so practice often.

Touch a front paw with your hand and click/treat.
Touch a back paw with your hand and click/treat.
Touch a front toenail with your finger.
Now practice touching a back toenail with your finger.
Show your dog the nail trimmer (dog does not need to touch nail trimmer). Just pair a click/treat with the presence of the nail trimmer.
Touch nail trimmer to paw.
Now, touch nail trimmer to front toenail (Don’t trim a nail yet. If you do, you’ll most likely have to start back at step 1).
Touch trimmer to back toenail.
Hold front foot in your hand for 1 second.
Hold back foot in your hand for 1 second.
Trim a tiny tip off one toenail and end session.
Continue to practice until each toenail can be easily trimmed.

Body Handling

Take a peek at this video, which provides great tips on teaching body handling. Same principles apply when teaching your dog to allow nail trims too!

Coming Out of Crate

Move away from the crate opening. Better yet, stand next to the side of the crate. Toss a super yummy treat about 6 feet outside the crate opening. Bingo!

Strange Dog Approaching

This Dog Socialization Tips article covers prevention and management in detail.

Prevention is key!

Communicate With a Dog, Don’t Scare Him!

Can dogs understand human behavior? Yes and no. Mostly, humans confuse dogs. Some human behaviors are offensive to dogs, especially when we crowd and insist on petting them. In this guide, we teach you how to better communicate with a dog.

How to Communicate With a Dog

Dos

As a dog approaches you, stand still and turn sideways.

Turning sideways is much more inviting than facing a dog with your body held forward (same for people too!).
Standing still asks the dog to make the first move.

Allow a dog to approach you first.

If a dog ignores you, it’s OK. Do you want to meet and shake hands with everyone in the grocery store? Probably not.
Dogs can engage without physical contact just like when a person nods and then goes about his business. Take the hint and do the same. 🙂

Bend down when attaching your dog’s leash or collar or petting him.

It’s intimidating when someone looms over you. I’m 5’2″ and it’s uncomfortable when this happens. I move away from the person.
Toss treats toward your dog. He learns you equals treats.

RELATED: Dog Socialization Tips

Only pet a dog when he wants to be petted.

Never reach out and sneak a few pats in. Read the dog’s body language if he’s ignoring you. Take the hint! 🙂
If you reach out to pet a dog and he moves away, it’s OK. Most people take this as an insult, but it’s your dog’s way of saying, “Nice to meet you too, but I’m not too sure about this situation.”
Always listen to the dog’s body language, then explain to the pet parent, “Well, she’s not too sure about me, so I’ll respect her space.”

Allow a dog to sniff you before petting him.

When dogs sniff you, they’re deciding if they want to meet you or not.
Just because a dog sniffs you does not mean he wants to be petted. If he moves away from you, do not attempt to pet him.

Provide plenty of space, especially if a dog is fearful or stressed.

Respect a dog’s bubble. We all have space bubbles and some have larger bubbles than others. We dread the guy who gets in your face when talking. He has a small bubble!
If a dog is uncomfortable, take 4 steps away from the dog. Respect the bubble!

Don’ts

How to Interact With Dogs — Good job! Bend down, stand sideways and pet dog’s chest.

While you’re reading these examples, imagine a person doing these things to you. Scary, right?

Stare directly into a dog’s eyes. Instead, look at the dog’s chin or upper neck.

Walk directly toward a dog to pet him.

Reach out and pet a dog you’ve never met before. Allow the dog to approach your hand held by your side.

Greet a dog and pet him on top of the head or face.

Force a dog to meet another person, dog or scary object.

Force your dog to play with other dogs, and it’s clear he isn’t comfortable in that situation. Not all dogs enjoy playing with other dogs. Just like some people don’t like hanging out with a bunch of other people.

Put your face next to your dog’s face (hugging or kissing your dog). In the dog world, this is rude behavior. Remember, dogs smell each others’ butts as greetings. 🙂 If your dog turns his head away or pulls away from you, he doesn’t like it.

Yell or scream at your dog. Dogs don’t know why you’re mad. They live in the moment and act guilty because you’re scaring them. Acting guilty is a combo of stress behaviors.

Play “I’m gonna get you!” game with a dog you’ve never met before. Usually, this involves a person jumping toward a dog, which is very scary to dogs. I’ve seen dogs lunge and attack a person because they were terrified. Dog are fast and have huge teeth, so never tease them.

Chase a scared or stranger dog. Instead, stop, bend down and say “puppy puppy puppy” in a high-pitched voice. Remember, when you’re standing still and squatting down, you’re more approachable and the high-pitched voice will draw the dog toward you.

Take a treat away from a dog. Instead, play the trade game.

Scare your dog by hiding and jumping out, wearing a mask, etc. Your dog learns you’re unpredictable, and this could cause a dog to become aggressive to people.

Can you imagine a person patting you on the head or a stranger walking directly up to you and touching you—yikes, respect the bubble! If you’ve done some of these human behaviors dogs hate, don’t beat yourself up. You did it because you didn’t know any better. 🙂 But now you do! It’s time to try to communicate with your dog again with these tips! Trust me, your dog will thank you!

Now, it’s your turn! How well do you communicate with your dog? What human behaviors have you noticed your dog hates? Please comment below!

Offensive Dog Aggression

Dog Aggression

What is Offensive Dog Aggression?