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Aggression is a serious issues that typically requires
immediate intervention. Visit a good veterinarian to
determine if there are any underlying physical causes of
aggression in a dog. Then meet with a good canine behavior
specialist to learn how to stop, limit and
manage aggressive behaviors.
Following tips and articles look at the subject of canine
aggression.
Also, there's an update re: preparedness/thunder fears
section in the last Dog Tip.
1.Quick insights about aggressive behavior:
Aggression can be provoked and understandable in some
situations. Consider the dog's perspective. Whether an
aggressive response is inappropriate and/or abnormal depends
on context.
Underlying causes of aggression include: hormones, situation
trigger, medical, genetic factors, fear-induced (i.e. the
dog attacks defensively as preemptive strike), dominance,
territoriality, resource-guarding.
Solutions to reduce the potential for aggression (per Dr.
Houpt):
* Management: Loose leash, you be positive, confident,
relaxed leader.
* Manipulate emotional state
* Desensitization
* Gradual exposure to other dogs. A behaviorist can guide
you
* Don't miss cues and warning signals that precede an
incident
Never reward or coddle a growling dog.
Early warning signs of attacks by one dog on another,
particularly an older or weaker dog: stiffening body and
tail, staring, showing teeth, growling. Look for signs and
intervene. When you cannot supervise them, separate them.
Body language for fear aggression: pulled-back ears,
horizontal retracted lips, averted gaze, lip licking.
2. The following insight about increasingly aggressive
behavior is based on an excellent, detailed article from the
August 2006 issue of YOUR DOG. This monthly newsletter is
published by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at
Tufts University. Details at
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/publications/yourdog/index.html
Causes of Sudden Onset of Aggressive Behavior
Have you noticed a dog displaying more aggressive behavior
lately? Such as growling, snapping, attempted or actual
biting, intimidating stares, cornering people, wagging the
tail high and stiffly, and/or food- or object-guarding?
The following factors can affect a dog's personality,
leading to or exacerbating aggressive behavior:
* Pain from injury or illness
* Trauma or blow to the head
* Infections, including Lyme disease
* Nutritional imbalance, such as feeding a food with
too-high a protein content. Says Dr. Nicholas Dodman, "High
protein content may block tryptophan's access into the brain
and thus the production of serotonin."
* Toxins. For example, lead-based paints, linoleum, putty
and contaminated soil can lead to lead poisoning. A blood
test can diagnosis the condition, which is treatable.
* Food allergies. Note that protein is responsible for
some 40 % of food allergies. See a vet knowledgeable about
allergies.
* Hormones. This is a reason why a nursing mother displays
more aggression. Hypothyroidism may also lead to canine
aggression.
* Partial seizures. These have often been the root of
so-called "Springer rage." Be aware that other breeds are
predisposed to partial seizures as well.
For any aggressive behavior, get expert help. The solution
may involve medication and always involves behavioral
intervention.
3. From the August 2006 issue of the Animal Behavior
Associates newsletter, written by behavior experts Dr.
Suzanne Hetts and Dr. Dan Estep. Check out their resources
at
www.animalbehaviorassociates.com
Recognizing Dangerous Behavior
Recently, we've been asked to evaluate the dangerousness of
particular dogs. There are few things more important to the
safety of people and the humane care of dogs than knowing
how likely a dog is to bite and how severely he may bite.
But how do we evaluate
whether a dog is dangerous? Clearly, the best predictor of
future behavior is past behavior. Beyond that, there is
little agreement about how best to evaluate dogs.
Evaluations vary from the simple to the complex to the
ridiculous. Dangerousness based on appearance is ridiculous
- if it looks like a pit bull, it's dangerous. Other
evaluations are based on simple behavioral rules - if a dog
growls or shows other threatening behavior, regardless of
the circumstances - it is dangerous. Complex behavioral
"tests" that
include various scenarios also have been constructed. Most
animal behaviorists who evaluate dogs don't use simple rules
or complex tests but rather obtain information on many
interacting factors that should be considered in forming an
opinion about the relative
dangerousness of a dog's behavior. Following are some
of these.
How severe is the aggression? We consider a continuum from
mild threats at a distance to the production of severe
injuries during attacks.
How predictable is the aggression? All other things being
equal, a dog that is very predictable is less dangerous than
one that is unpredictable.
How long have the threats or aggression been going on?
Behavior of long-standing duration is usually more difficult
to change than newly acquired patterns.
How much warning does the dog give prior to the attack?
Warning signs give people time to avoid a bite, as long as
they know what signs to look for and how to defuse the
situation.
How generalized is the aggression or threat? If the behavior
occurs in response to a few very stimuli, the dog may be
less dangerous than if he is threatening or aggressive in a
wide variety of situations.
How big is the dog and how small and/or helpless are the
potential targets of the aggression? A very large dog and a
small child or debilitated adult create potentially more
dangerous situations. Other dog factors to consider include
the age and health of the dog.
How well does the dog respond to attempts to inhibit or
interrupt the threats or aggression? Dogs that are difficult
to inhibit or interrupt are more dangerous.
Are owners willing and able to manage the dog or its
environment to minimize potentially dangerous encounters?
Dogs that live in busy, chaotic families or with owners who
don't take the problem seriously
present a greater danger.
These are just a sampling of factors that could be
considered. It's important to realize that making
predictions can be complicated, and good predictions aren't
based on simplified information or interpretations. This
shouldn't be surprising, given that aggression is a complex
behavior influenced by a wide variety of sometimes poorly
understood factors.
NOTE: In the last Dog Tip, the Ready.Gov pet disaster
preparedness URL listed has changed. The new URL and a
website for the Storm Defender Cape (for
thunderphobic/scared dogs) appear in the update below:
Hurricane season's around the corner. For an updated
brochure about preparedness for pet owners, visit
http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/pets.html or call
800-BE-READY. Also see the Robin's Dog Tipsheet on the
subject.
Linked phobias: 40% of dogs with thunderstorm phobia also
have separation anxiety. One interesting technique
mentioned in the article: the Storm Defender Cape
http://www.stormdefender.com
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training, management and other issues -- plus some tipsheets
relevant for folks with cats and other species -- go the
Robin's Dog Tips index at
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/dog_tips.php
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Robin
Editor, Robin's Dog Tips FOR NONPROFIT USE ONLY. These
articles may NOT be reproduced or circulated without author
permission. |
