One of the most common behavior problems I see is called fear aggression. In a nutshell, it is aggression directed at unfamiliar people or most other dogs.
It stems from lack of socialization and/or adverse experiences and — to the dog — it makes perfect sense. If a dog feels threatened by a person or other dog, it makes sense to either: a) run away or b) do everything possible to cause them (and the whole situation) to go away.
The fearful personality may be partly inherited but the greatest cause of fearfulness in dogs is impaired nurture during a formative period of a pups’ life or some particularly heinous experience.
The sensitive period of learning in pups, including the socialization period, is generally cited as the first 3 months of a life, though a secondary period of fairly rapid learning seems to occur from 3 to 6 months of age — i.e. up until the end of the juvenile period. After that, a dog is what he is personality-wise – confident or anxious/fearful.
1. Exercise
2. Diet
3. Clear Communication
4. Head Halter for Control
5. Respect the dog’s needs
6. Counter-conditioning
7. Medication
Putting 1 through 7 into practice simultaneously (or even 1 – 6) can produce huge improvements in fear aggressive behavior and save unfortunate accidents and dogs lives. It is a useful truism to remember that insecure dogs need strong leaders.
Not mean ones, rather ones who say what they mean, mean what they say, and ensure that their instructions always result in their dog conforming to their wishes. To make that happen, I reiterate that a head halter, preferably a Gentle Leader head halter, is an excellent tool for controlling and retraining such fearful dogs.
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Dr. Dodman is a Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and Director of the school’s Animal Behavior Clinic. He is also Chief Scientific Officer for the CENTER FOR CANINE BEHAVIOR STUDIES. He has written over 100 scientific articles and several popular press books, including The Dog Who Loved Too Much and The Cat Who Cried for Help.