Dog aggression is an overloaded word.
It can mean anything from staring, jumping, showing teeth, lunging, growling, barking, or the terrible B-word – biting.
Usually, aggression is used to describe dogs that overact to a stimuli (e.g. another dog, a stranger, food).
Reactivity is a new, perhaps less negative term, coined to describe the same behavior. Some trainers use aggression to describe dogs that overact as a result of dominance and reactivity to describe dogs that overact as a result of fear.
These terms, however, are just labels, and it is not useful to overly focus on which label to use.
The important thing is to recognize extreme behavior in our dogs, which causes us to lose control.
What constitutes extreme behavior varies from person to person, and is dependent on context. Mouthing and showing teeth in one context may just be play (top and right), while in another, it may be dangerous.
A problem only arises when the human/owner is not in control of the situation.
If your dog is biting you and causing puncture wounds, it is best to seek help from a professional dog trainer.
My Experiences with Dog Aggression
I was very embarrassed, shocked, and worried when my Shiba first showed signs of aggression. It happened four days after we brought him home (at 10 weeks old), when we took him to the vet.
The vet was very afraid of him and had to muzzle him to do an examination. She later recommended that we return him to the breeder. I never visited with this poor vet again, but at the time it was very difficult not to be embarrassed, and try to show that we were good dog parents by scolding and punishing our Shiba.
Many of my neighbors also gave us the ‘you are such a bad dog parent‘ look.
Because I was so embarrassed I made some very bad mistakes. The worst was using alpha rolls and other aversive techniques including leash jerks with him. My embarrassment also caused me to get angry, and frustrated with my dog.
I was jealous and hurt when my dog would behave better with other people. After all, I feed him and take care of him most of the time, why should he misbehave most with me?
Although it is very natural to have such feelings, they are very detrimental to helping a dog with his reactivity or aggression issues.
Dog Aggression and Love
Remember that your dog’s behavior is a result of behavior conditioning, and not from lack of love
It is natural for us to place our own, very human values and expectations upon our dogs but that is not the way they think.
Dogs respond to conditioning (classical and operant). Dogs will repeat behaviors that have good results and reduce behaviors that have bad results.
What constitutes a good or bad result can sometimes vary from dog to dog. If your dog is showing aggressive behaviors that are continuing to escalate, then he is inadvertently being rewarded for that bad behavior.
- Does he get to go on a walk when he jumps up on you and makes a pest of himself?
- Does he get to smell the other dog by whining loudly and lunging?
- Does nail clipping stop when he mouths or bites you?
- Do you back away when he growls and shows teeth?
If so, then your dog is getting what he wants through aggressive behaviors and will continue those behaviors.
Once we accept that our dogs are not acting out of hate, jealousy, or some other human emotion, we can move on and start reshaping their behavior by changing the consequences of their actions.
Dog Aggression and Other People
Do not worry about what strangers think. Your dog’s welfare is a lot more important.
Actively watch out for feelings of embarrassment, anger and frustration and try to redirect yourself to a more positive frame of mind. Rather than focus on the judgment of strangers –
- Think about the fun you had with your dog just this morning and how cute he looked with cheese bits all over his muzzle and his tongue hanging out in a goofy smile.
- Carry some happy pictures of your dog with you to help redirect your negative feelings.
- Remove yourself and your dog from the unpleasant stimulus as soon as possible.
Dog Aggression and Breed
Some dog breeds may be more prone to reactive or aggressive behaviors. Breeds that are strong-willed, stubborn, and independent will have a higher propensity for challenging you, and displaying aggression in that process.
Breeds that have a strong prey drive may easily become over-excited when they spot prey (e.g. squirrels, cats) and redirect that energy onto you if you thwart their instinct to chase.
Similarly, a strong protective drive may result in using aggression to guard territory, food, toys, or other resources.
More primitive dog breeds often have a lower reactivity threshold. I.e., they may easily go rear-brained when excited, stressed, or fearful.
Make sure to take your dog’s temperament and natural breed instinct into account while retraining his aggressive behaviors.
Dog Aggression – What to Expect
Dealing with dog aggression can be difficult, and may take a long time to fix, but …
- The rewards are well worth the trouble.
The journey will reveal many things not just about your dog, but also about youself. In the process, you will develop a special relationship and strong bond with your dog – and that in itself is priceless. - Things will get better.
Many dog owners are going through the same thing, and their dog’s behavior has and continue to improve. - Your dog will challenge you less as he matures.
… but he may keep challenging you. That is one of the joys of dog ownership 😀
When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~~[ Author Unknown ]
If you are having aggression issues with your dog, know that you are not alone. I had many aggression issues with my Shiba Inu.
There are also many touching stories from the Toronto Shiba Meetup and Dogster about dealing with dog aggression.
More on Aggression
- Aggression: The Humane Society of the United States
- Behavioral View on Dog Aggression
- Desensitizing your Dog with Clicker Training
Canine Body Language
- Calming Signals: An article about Turid Rugaas.
- How to Interpret Your Dog’s Body Language, Facial Expressions and Vocalizations
Hi! I realllly need your help! I have a 18month old german shepherd. Untill she turned 1 she was the best dog i could ask for! She was perfect with ALL people, ALL dogs and in general everyone! One afternoon walk, when she was off leash she ran at a man with a guitar case barking at him. I didnt know what to do other than call her to me, ever since she does this repetedly to anyone she sees really. Mainly men. She decides on the people she likes and dislikes:/ I dont know what to do other than introduce her to asmany people as i can. Once she has said ‘hi’ to the people she barks at she is friends for life but as you can imagian, most people arnt willing to approch a barking, large german shepherd!
Another problem which has rised in the past 3 month is dog agression. Before I could let her off leash with dogs and she would be fine, just over playful. One time i let her off and after 30mins of playing, she began baring her teeth, so i clipped her on her leash and led her away. She has been going to 1 hour long classes every week on sundays which teach the basics, sit, stand, lay, hold, drop, here, stay, heal work, and at the end, in and out of dogs and owners and back to your place. She seems fine with dogs at a distance, or even a meter away! but as soon as she comes into contact with one, face to face, bum to face etc, she lunges and growls and snaps!
For example, yesterday, she was on a walk, and a staffy pup passed, 11month old. The owner asked if the pup could say hi to my dog ‘Lacey’. I said, yes, however she can be over playful. because at this point i had never seen her lunge for a dog! So the pup came over, i had laceys lead slack, as i was sorting out her training lead which was tangled, and the pup was sniffing at lacey and lacey was sniffing the pups head which she then lunges ontop of the pup! I was lucky i could pull her back before she get her. However after she then stood next to me on a slack lead looking at the pup wagging her tail and quickly kinda calmed down. I dont dare let her meet a dog again! I was terrified as she is a big dog and of course can do damage!
Any suggestions? if you have any questions please please email me!!:(
Re: Other Dogs
I think that different dogs have different social tolerances and those tolerances change with age and experience. Here is a bit more on dogs and social tolerance.
My Shiba Inu was also reactive toward other dogs when he was young. Here are some things that helped with my Shiba.
Re: Off-leash and People
The key with off-leash training, is to have a very strong recall (come when called). This article from the ASPCA has a good list of recall training techniques-
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/teaching-your-dog-come-when-called
With my dogs, I start small and only very slowly build up the environmental challenge. We first do recall in the backyard where there are very few distractions, then we move to an outside enclosed field, etc.
I also do people desensitization exercises with my dogs, to teach them to be calm around people and to teach them what behaviors to use when greeting people.
Hi! Thanks for getting back so quick! could i have your email please just incase i need any more advice?
Feel free to post more questions here or on any of the other articles. I try to check site comments regularly, more so than email. 😀
Hello! Thank you for a great website!
I have a pack of three dogs (14 Year old spaniel, 7 year old Daschund and a 3 year old Yorkshire terrier.
They have been a pack for the last 17 Months with no issues or incident yesterday when my wife arrived home, as she does every day, the Yorkie attacked the Spaniel and the Daschund followed suite.
This behavior occurred again when I arrived home a few hours later, and again this morning after I have left for work and just before my wife left.
We have no idea what sets them off as this has never happened before not even a growl.
Is there any advice you may have ?
My dogs usually get excited when people leave or come home. Sometimes, they may redirect this excited energy onto each other and start something.
I always supervise them when people come home. Husky Lara is only 1.5 years old and still has a lot of puppy energy, so I usually hold her back or keep her outside. I let the other dogs meet and greet the person first, then Lara can come in and meet. When she was younger, I had her on a leash with just a flat collar so that I can teach her calm greetings.
I also try to stay very calm myself, and ask my dogs for simple commands, e.g. Sit. The one that stays calm and does commands, gets attention first.
For over-excitement issues, I find that daily exercise is also helpful. My dogs are a lot more calm after their long daily walks. If we are both going out, we walk them first, then they are a lot more relaxed about us leaving and coming home.
Each situation is different though, and it is strange for things to start up suddenly after over a year. Usually there is a trigger for sudden changes in behavior. Has anything changed recently? Are any of the dogs showing any physical discomfort? Before this incident, how do the dogs act when people come home? Are they very excited? Do they wrestle with each other? bark?
Getting a good trainer to come and observe the dogs can be very helpful. In this way, the trainer can identify the source of the aggressive behavior and come up with a good plan for redirecting and retraining it.
Hi I’ve just got a husky for the first time whom I’ve called Koda!! She is absolutely gorgeous & we are starting puppy kinda in a couple of weeks & I’m going to do everything I can to ensure she is a much loved but well behaved dog. As we only got her yesterday this mig be a bit preemptive but we already have a dog which is a staffy X (I think she may have a bit of pit bull in her). Snake is a lovely dog who has never shown any aggression however as she is a lot bigger & rougher than Koda, Koda isn’t as receptive as I’D hope she would be. I don’t blame her, a gigantic dog running at me full pelt would scare me too, even if she does just want to play. I’ve introduced them slowly & Koda does show signs that she wants to play by wagging her tail & play pouncing & approaching our other dog but Anake is just so big & rough that Koda gets a bit frightened & starts barkin & nipping. She will then come to me for reassurance & if Anake comes over she will continue to bark & nip at her. I was just wondering if you had any tips on how to handle this as I would love for both of them to get along & not feel as though I’ve got to constantly watch their every move.
Hope you can help
Congratulations on your new Sibe puppy!
When I first got puppy Lara I found that what worked best is to have her on-lead (with a flat collar) when she is playing with my other full grown Sibe. Initially, I did not do this, and Lara decided that she wanted to start a chase game. It ended with one of my other dogs banging into her and she got hurt. It wasn’t serious, just soft tissue damage, but we still took her to the vet just to be sure.
Because of the size difference, it was necessary to prevent any chasing games until she had grown up a little. Therefore I kept her on-lead with me during play and had many play breaks so that nobody got over-excited.
I also try to be fair to all of them and not give puppy Lara any special treatment. Puppies like being with their people so Lara stayed close to me more than my other dogs, which is fine. However, she is not allowed to snap at the others dogs when they come to join in. If she does this, I no-mark her and give her an alternative command. Then, I do a short group obedience session with them. In this way, they have a positive group experience and learn that if they are calm together and work together for me, they get rewarded very well.
Here is more on what I did while introducing a new dog-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Here is a bit more on Lara’s first 10 days-
http://shibashake.com/dog/a-new-puppy-first-10-days-of-hell
Big hugs to Koda and Snake! Share some pictures with us when you have the time! 😀
My rescued Bull Terrier is very docile around me but viciously attacks other dogs that live in the house if they come into the area where I normally feed him. Even if the feed is removed at the time. This behavior has occurred at least 3 times where the other dog is injured. He is now on Prozac but I do not feel that he is in control of his emotions as he is getting worse. What do you recommend?
Hello Susan,
Dogs usually fight over resources because they do not want other dogs or even people stealing their stuff. Some things that help keep the peace with my dogs-
1. I have a very strict “no stealing” rule at home. During feeding time, they each get their own interactive food toys, and they are not allowed to steal food from each other. I am there to supervise and prevent any kind of stealing. I make sure to “prevent” it before any kind of aggression occurs. In this way, they learn that I am the one that handles resource conflicts and that they do not have to do it themselves.
2. I also do group obedience training sessions where they all stay calm, and work together for me. This teaches them that they get the most resources when they stay calm and work together.
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
However, if a dog is already aggressive and causing bite wounds, it is best to get help from a professional trainer. In dog training, timing, reading body language, and execution are very important – especially with aggression cases. A good trainer will be able to help with all of those things and come up with a good plan for teaching the dog other ways to cope with his stress.
Stopping a dog in the throes of aggressive behavior can be dangerous for us because in his frenzy, he may inadvertently redirect his aggression onto us.
Hello! I am in desperate need of help with my severely aggressive Shiba Inu! I adopted him on March 7 so I have not had him very long. He is nine months old, and WONDERFUL with our daughter, and us. He gets along fine with our Chihuahua BUT he HATES other dogs & strangers. When he sees other dogs, his hackles go up, he snarls, bites and tried to lunge for them! We had a VERY scary experience at the vet where he not only tried attacking the Vet & Ast but other dogs at the vet. He ended up redirecting the bite at me, since I put my leg in the way to block him from biting the other dog. I dont know what to do! He is wonderful in our apt with us, I walk him 45 min a day as well as playing with the lazer light & he has tons of chew toys. I am home all day with him and give him so much love and attention. He is great with us but I am worried he will bite someone and then he would be put down. Please Please Please help!! He obviously needs socialization but I dont know how to do that when he is dangerous to other dogs and people. He does not lunge for people BUT he does bark and back up a lot. He is most dangeorus with other dogs. Please help! Thank you!!
Hello Emily,
My Shiba Sephy also hates going to the vet. I do not really blame him since he does not really trust them, and they always stick needles into him. What works best for the vet, with Sephy, is to put a muzzle on him before we go. I use a basket muzzle and desensitize him to it throughout the year, so that I can put it on before his yearly vet visit. Once he has the muzzle on, he goes into shut down mode, instead of doing fearful aggression.
Here is more on my experiences with dog-to-dog aggression-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression
Here is more on desensitizing a dog toward people-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-calm-a-fearful-reactive-dog#people
I love your site! Very informative! A month ago I adopted a 5 year old Husky/Shepherd/St. Bernard mix named Tigre. I was lucky enough to learn his history. He has only been with one other family. They got him as a puppy, they have two young children, and had to give him up due to financial issues. He’s adjusted to our home much faster and easier than I expected. He already knew basic commands (sit, down, no, wait, etc.) Really, up until now our only training issue was teaching him to walk on a leash. Last night is the first time I’ve seen him show any form of aggression. My 3 year old son came home last night from visiting his father. Tigre greeted my son with kisses and tail wagging but immediately started being aggressive towards me. He was running back and forth, charging/jumping on me, biting me (he did not break the skin but it was hard enough for me to bruise instantly). When I tried to firmly, verbally correct him he would bark, growl, and bite more. This went on for 3 hours. I tried verbal correction, spanking w/ a rolled up piece of paper, a squirt bottle, taking him out to walk, everything I could think of. The aggression didn’t stop until my son went to bed. Today, he’s back to acting like the dog I’m used to – layed back and well-mannered. I don’t understand what this was about. I’m wondering if he was trying to establish dominance since there was a much younger, smaller person in our home? Or maybe he was jealous of the attention I was giving my son? Anyway, do you have any suggestions of how I can get control of the situation if he acts like this again? I definitely failed to get control last night but I’m trying to prepare myself if it happens again.
Hello El Tigre,
Could it be over-excitement? When guests come to visit, my dogs get really excited.
In terms of jumping and biting, I do the following with my dog –
1. I no-mark him (Ack-ack) to let them know that it is not desirable behavior.
2. Then I give him an alternative command, e.g. Sit. If he does this, he gets rewarded with calm affection and good treats.
3. If he is too excited and ignores this, then I fold up my arms, turn away from him, and just ignore him.
4. If he calms down, I make sure to reward him well.
5. If he escalates his behavior and starts to bite at me or my clothes, I calmly say timeout and remove him to a timeout area.
The key, I found, to deal with over-excited behavior is to stay very calm myself. I also put a drag lead on in-training dogs, especially when guests come over. I only use it with a flat collar and not an aversive collar. The drag lead helps me get better control, and quickly put a dog in timeout if necessary.
Thanks for the information. I have a beagle and we like reading your blog. Lot of fun things!
Thanks,
Matt
Thanks Matt. 🙂
Hello!
I adopted two girl dogs a year ago, a Pomeranian (Bella, 6 years) and a Pug X fox terrier (Tricky, 3 years) and I had them spayed about 2 months ago. They have begun fighting since then. They used to be best friends and now fight at least once every day over attention or food.
Do you know what may be causing this or do you have any advice on how to handle it?
Thankyou!
Hello Amy,
After neutering or any kind of surgery, my Shiba Inu just wants to be left alone. I make sure to keep my other dogs away from him until he feels better.
My Siberians (2 girls, both spayed) seem to handle surgeries better and are in a better mood.
I have not experienced what you describe before so I am not sure of the cause. My best guess is that one or both were in pain or in some discomfort after the surgery, and that may have triggered something.
In cases of aggression, it is usually best to get help from a professional trainer. A professional trainer will be able to observe the dogs in real-time and identify exactly what is triggering the aggression. This helps us focus in on the right trigger and the right treatment. Since no two dogs are the same, visits with some professional trainers really helped me out a lot when I was having aggression issues with my Shiba Inu.
Here are some of my experiences with managing multiple dogs in the same household –
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Here are some of my experiences with food guarding and resource guarding –
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
My dog had a problem with chasing a raccoon last night she went into the street to get the raccoon.She is very good of leash and fallows me everywhere. She has not got her rabies shot yet. Should i keep her on the leash for now?
It would be safer to keep her on leash.
There are also raccoons in our area and my Siberian Husky has chased after a few in our backyard. They are pretty large and quite fierce. I don’t let her tangle with them. Siberian Shania is a very sweet and very brave girl but she often does not know her own limits. 😀
Hello! I love your website. I see a lot of books and videos advertised by Google and such, but I wonder if you could recommend a name or book that will be benificial for training my 2 yr. old Shiba Inu. I don’t know if I’m doing the wrong things or the right things. For instance, since he came to us we have walked him with a sturdy halter and a retractable leash, so he can roam and run around. I see here someplace that I read, only use retractables after the dog is leash trained. What does that mean? Should I mostly be walking him on a short leash? We don’t have a fenced in yard, so he needs to stretch his legs. I have so many questions.
Thanks for any help you can give me!
Roxanne Rogers
It was the same way with me when I got Shiba Sephy. I learned a lot from other Shiba owners by reading through several Shiba message boards. Now there is the Shiba Inu Forum which seems like a nice community.
Getting a personal trainer also helped me a lot because then, I could get my questions answered in real-time.
In terms of specific dog books my favorite one is Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs by Suzanne Clothier. This is not really a training book though, but more of a dog relationship book.
Training books are a lot more dry and not as interesting to read 🙂 Two that are pretty good are –
I also like Don’t Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor which is more focused on positive reinforcement techniques in general and how they can be used on both dogs and people. It is a fun read.
My preference is to use a 6 foot regular leash. This gives me good control so that I can teach Shiba not to pull while walking, not to go where he is not supposed to, and not to eat this and that from the ground. I let Sephy walk on a loose leash (i.e. he can go wherever he wants in the 6 foot radius as long as he does not pull). In the beginning, I was a bit more strict and got Sephy to walk closer to me but now he is very good about not pulling so I give him more freedom.
Yeah I know what you mean. I didn’t have a yard at all when I first got Sephy and it was tough. Shiba really likes off-leash time where they can do the Shiba zoomies. There are several possibilities –
Hope this helps. This article on puppy obedience training also contains many of the things I learned together with Sephy in the beginning.
Please let me know if you have more questions and hugs to Django.