Dog Aggression: There Is A Lot You Can Do to Handle It

By: Rosana Hart

No matter where you live, you may run into dog aggression, and it may be caused by your dog. Sometimes it is between two dogs, whether neighbors or dogs in the same household. Sometimes it involves a dog attacking or biting a human, all too often a child. This article will give you three things you can do if you are dealing with an aggressive dog in your family. It will also provide you with a link to a resource that has much more information on this stressful situation.

The first thing to do if you have an aggressive dog is to manage his living arrangements. You need to create a situation where everyone is protected from further harm: you, your family, the dog, and any other people or dogs who come in contact with your dog.

You can do this partly by crating the dog at times. If he is not used to being put into a crate, you will have to coax him in with treats and monitor his being in the crate to be sure he doesn't hurt himself (or the crate) trying to get out. Never leave a dog in a crate for an extremely long time.

If you don't have a crate or as an adjunct to it, you may be able to confine the dog to a room in your home, such as a laundry room, a spare room, or something of the sort. If you are dealing with dog-dog aggression, be sure that at least one door, and preferably two, is between the two dogs all the time.

Second, get your dog to your veterinarian for a thorough check-up. Many times, the cause of aggression in a dog is pain. Veterinarians can find many possible causes that you might never think of, such as dental pain. If this is the case, once the pain is gone, the dog will be a much happier camper and the aggression may go away completely.

Third, keep a log of what incidents and near-misses occur. It is very easy for details to get jumbled in our memories, particularly around stressful matters like this. A small notebook, or just a paper and pencil kept handy, will come in very useful as you move into longer-term management and training routines.

And that is what you will want to do next. Research shows that when the owner of a dog who shows aggression takes an active role in managing the situation, the outlook is far, far better for the dog and those who love him.

Article Source: http://www.retirementlivingarticledirectory.com

Visit Rosana Hart's lengthy page on aggressive dogs, Nine Tips If Your Dog Becomes Aggressive. Also visit the section on her site on dog aggression for more.

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