One of my favorite past times is to observe the play and social interactions between dogs. There is so much to learn from dogs by just watching how they interact with each other. Often, owners are distressed by simple body language that dogs display and can be seen chastising their dog with a pointed finger and a reminder to "be nice".

Since when did growling and snapping become such an evil thing? Suzanne Clothier wrote an interesting article that touches on this, which is called "He Just Wants to Say Hi." This article brings to light an important point about dog aggression that is often overlooked: did the supposed "aggressive dog" actually inflict damage? When I am told by owners how aggressive their pooch is towards people or other animals, my first line of questions aim at figuring out WHY the aggression is happening and how severe it is.

Lets look at this in terms of dog aggression. I classify aggression according to its severity and over time, have come up with labels that make sense to me and often makes sense to their owners.

Some dogs truly would like nothing more than to kill any other dog it comes in contact with. The label I first heard applied to this was that the dog was "hot" - a term I believe originated from pit bull fighters to describe dogs that were good at fighting. This type of dog is actually highly unique and in all my aggression cases I've dealt with, very few actually would qualify in this category. I could probably count on one hand the number of dogs that I've met that have actually inflicted serious damage or killed a dog through fighting. Its not common, probably because evolutionarily speaking - its not a good trait to be an animal that is looking to fight to the death every time it encounters another animal. That animal would not be likely to reproduce.

Another category I see aggressive dogs fall in are the dogs that are what I tell owners "act stupid" with other dogs. I see it all the time and it certainly is the most common type of aggression I see. These dogs WANT to be social, and you see the dog interacting well and then out of no where, there is a fight. Well, actually, if you observe the body language ... this is the dog that wants to be social but is sending off all the wrong body language. So the dog enters a social situation, completely inept in how to act, and is most likely too forward and pushy. The other dog doesn't understand this dog and corrects it for acting inappropriately. The pushy dog takes this the wrong way and a fight ensues, often with little or no damage done to either dog.

The final type of dog that is common is the dog described so well in Suzanne Clothier's opening example. This is the dog that is harassed by another dog, often one that would fit in the "stupid dog" category. The dog snaps or growls at the pushy dog and is snatched up by its owner and corrected for being "aggressive". Sometimes these dogs are acting entirely fairly, as Clothier identified. Sometimes, they are correcting unfairly because they are afraid. This is the dog who hides in the social group and snaps at any dog who enters their "personal space."


Its quite interesting that the aggression is labeled the same when it comes in such varying degrees and from different causes of fear. While most trainers are quick to believe "a bite is a bite" - and thats not something I entirely disagree with - the way each type of dog is handled in curing their aggressive behavior is entirely different. Too many trainers adopt a one-size-fits-all counter-aggression protocol. But successfully tackling aggression takes an understanding of what kind of aggression you are dealing with and why it is happening. Be sure you have a full understanding of what methods are being used your dog and what the plan of action is. Some trainers go straight for the choke or electric collar and can do physical damage to your dog (collapsed trachea or fear issuees). Others drag out the "purely positive" aspect of counter-conditioning the aggression - a method that can take months or years before yielding results. While there are no guarantees on how long it will take to yield results in an aggression case - be skeptical of a trainer who doesn't have a plan of action. And yes- there are trainers out there who are more than willing to keep signing you up for more lessons and will stretch out the counter-aggression training so they can keep pocketing more money!

In the second part of this article series, I will delve more into the different types of dog aggression and give examples. If you have questions or comments on this article series, please contact me and I'd be happy to speak with you based on my own experiences!