Judging by the emails I received following the last article, I realized that I may have conveyed that all dogs are aggressive by nature and should be feared. This was not my intent.
If dogs are treated with the love and respect they deserve, they become loving, trusting, and loyal companions.
If treated with abuse, neglect, or improper training, they may become aggressive. But not all of them do. Some remain submissive and loyal even when abused.
All barking is not aggressive. It can be protective, a request, an invitation to play, an enthusiastic expression, or a message.
When a dog barks at a stranger it is alerting the pack leader that an intruder has entered their territory. It is also an alert to the intruder that it has entered the territory of another pack. Don’t threaten the dog. Follow the recommended behavior in the first article and you should be safe.
If you like to walk and often encounter barking dogs, please don’t yell, wave your arms, or threaten them with that stick you carry to protect yourself. It just teaches them that you really are a threat.
Do as in the first article and perhaps toss them a dog biscuit. Soon you may have friends who run up and greet you every time you walk by.
When people think of aggressive behavior or an aggressive dog, they are usually in fear of being bitten. Biting behaviors exist along a continuum to harmless to severe. What makes a dog actually bite someone? Improper treatment and training are the primary reasons that dogs bite.
The psychological damage that occurs when a dog is fenced, chained, and denied access to human love, care, and companionship can cause a dog to be unpredictable and perhaps a “biter”.
Being unable to approach and determine what is threatening and what is not, these unhappy dogs may internalize so much fear that they become aggressive. They are often unpredictable and it is difficult to ascertain what will elicit an attack.
This is what makes them dangerous. Some of these dogs can be rehabilitated; unfortunately some can not.
Dogs living in caring homes can become “biters” if not properly trained. Dogs bite out of fear, they bite in order to guard a resource (food, toys, and even their owners), and they bite to a particular behavior they have found abusive in certain situations. How do you avoid these behaviors?
Establish yourself as a loving and protective alpha leader. This does not mean establishing dominance over the dog. You are not trying to control your dog, you are trying to communicate with it and teach it proper behavior.
If your dog recognizes that their human alpha leader is always in control of the situation, is always going to care for it, and is going to provide it with love and attention, then it has no reason to exhibit aggressive behavior unless called upon by the leader.
If as a culture we concentrated on the welfare of animals rather than the control of them, there would be less need for this discussion about aggressive behaviors.
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| Alpine demonstrates a submissive posture with a devoted gaze. Dogs communicate more than people realize. |
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