Aggression in dogs
Several years ago, when I first began my journey in the world of shelter animals, I took several instructional classes on animal behavior and training. Working with shelter dogs can be a little tougher than household dogs, but because of the euthanasia rates at shelters who house these animals, I believed the more educated humans became, the more animals we could save. I still believe this. It is the uneducated, untrained, and god-complex people who always think they know animals, which cause a lot of the euthanasia in shelters today.
Many thanks to my friend, who is a behavorist for the following. I will post up my notes and her handouts from the classes in the next few days dealing with the subject of animal aggression.
Because fear aggression is one of the most common reasons dogs and cats are put to death in shelters, I will begin with that.
Fear aggression including pain induced aggression
Fear aggression is defensive and is primarily a learned behavior. Because it is learned, it is treatable.
If a pup does not experience sights, smells and noises during his formative socialization period, then he can develop a fear of the unusual. Fear is the natural self preservation response of all animals to new or unusual situations and is the most common response of all captive animals to humans. It is also the most common type of aggression that pet dogs exhibit. One out of every 4 cases of aggression that is brought to the veterinarian is for fear aggression or its' equivalent of pain induced aggression.
The dog's response to fear or pain is a mixture of physical, physiological and emotional things and although many types of fear induced aggression have their origins during the socialization period, from seven to twelve weeks of age, a dog can develop fear aggression at any age.
The body posture of fear can be a mixture of subservient gestures and aggressive ones. The ears are plastered back on the head. The tail is held very low and will usually wag in short, quick movements. There may be a sumissive grin, but at the same time a degree of of open-mouthed threat with a retraction of the lips and a show of teeth. The dog's back may be arched and his head held low. He might even show licking movements together with the retracted lips, which shows he is uncertain about his situation.
Fear aggression is the most common cause of dog bites of children. Boys over 5 years old are bitten twice as often as girls and 5 through 14 year olds are bitten the most. Bites occur most often in seasonal climates in the spring and summer. To the dog's mind, the children are quite different than adults. Children than have not gone through puberty smell different and are much smaller. They move in a jerkier fashion.
Prevention is through socialization, or in the case of an already fearful dog, behavior modification. Expose the animal to children, postmen, cats and other dogs, traffic noise, crowds, and elevators. If a dog's mind is barraged with sensory stimulation at an early age, he is less likely to be fearful later in life.
Then, should your pet ever end up in a shelter situation, he may make it to the adoption floor and be able to find a new family instead of being classified as unadoptable.
Many thanks to my friend, who is a behavorist for the following. I will post up my notes and her handouts from the classes in the next few days dealing with the subject of animal aggression.
Because fear aggression is one of the most common reasons dogs and cats are put to death in shelters, I will begin with that.
Fear aggression including pain induced aggression
Fear aggression is defensive and is primarily a learned behavior. Because it is learned, it is treatable.
If a pup does not experience sights, smells and noises during his formative socialization period, then he can develop a fear of the unusual. Fear is the natural self preservation response of all animals to new or unusual situations and is the most common response of all captive animals to humans. It is also the most common type of aggression that pet dogs exhibit. One out of every 4 cases of aggression that is brought to the veterinarian is for fear aggression or its' equivalent of pain induced aggression.
The dog's response to fear or pain is a mixture of physical, physiological and emotional things and although many types of fear induced aggression have their origins during the socialization period, from seven to twelve weeks of age, a dog can develop fear aggression at any age.
The body posture of fear can be a mixture of subservient gestures and aggressive ones. The ears are plastered back on the head. The tail is held very low and will usually wag in short, quick movements. There may be a sumissive grin, but at the same time a degree of of open-mouthed threat with a retraction of the lips and a show of teeth. The dog's back may be arched and his head held low. He might even show licking movements together with the retracted lips, which shows he is uncertain about his situation.
Fear aggression is the most common cause of dog bites of children. Boys over 5 years old are bitten twice as often as girls and 5 through 14 year olds are bitten the most. Bites occur most often in seasonal climates in the spring and summer. To the dog's mind, the children are quite different than adults. Children than have not gone through puberty smell different and are much smaller. They move in a jerkier fashion.
Prevention is through socialization, or in the case of an already fearful dog, behavior modification. Expose the animal to children, postmen, cats and other dogs, traffic noise, crowds, and elevators. If a dog's mind is barraged with sensory stimulation at an early age, he is less likely to be fearful later in life.
Then, should your pet ever end up in a shelter situation, he may make it to the adoption floor and be able to find a new family instead of being classified as unadoptable.
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