How to Stop Dog Aggression With Other Dogs

By Dr. Jan Bellows

Whether you got your pet from the pound of from a breeder, some dogs naturally show aggression to other dogs. This can occur for a variety of reasons:

-          Your dog has a bad experience with another dog in the past.

-          Your dog was not properly socialized and did not learn to be used to other dogs.

-          Your dog may be a breed that is wary of other dogs.

-          Your dog may have been trained to treat other dogs poorly, or rewarded for poor behavior.

Whatever the cause of your dog’s poor behavior towards other dogs that aggression is something that needs to be stopped. The more aggression your dog shows to other dogs, the more situations may occur where your dog injures another dog, or gets into a fight with a dog and ends up injuring itself. Dogs that show this type of aggression are dangerous to other pets and difficult for their owners, and it is important to work hard to reduce dog aggression behaviors.

Tips for Reducing Dog Aggression

Reducing dog aggression towards other dogs is a step by step process. Your dog is used to the idea of showing aggression. It may never be able to be “friends” with other dogs because it does not feel a connection between them. But, at the very least, it can stop being a danger and ignore the canines around it.

It should also be noted that dog aggression can come from both fear and from issues with dominance. Though both need to be treated the same way, it should be noted that a dog that is aggressive towards other dogs may simply be fearing for its own safety.

• The first step is to carry a great deal of treats with you that your dog loves. As soon as you notice a strange dog coming toward you, have your dog sit or lay down and continue feeding them treats until the other dog has completely passed from view. This first step is designed to train your dog to ignore other dogs when they pass by.
• The next step is to teach your dog to happy at the sight of other dogs. Once your dog has become used to other dogs passing with treats, you should start rewarding your dog for the appearance of these strange dogs. When your dog looks at the strange dog, that is when you immediately give your dog a treat. Every time your dog looks over at the other dog, you provide your dog with a treat. The first step was to get your dog to ignore other dogs, while this step is designed to get your dog to be glad another dog is in view.
• The final step involves finding a friend with a sturdy and friendly dog to walk towards your dog in an enclosed area. While you are feeding your dog treats, you should have your friend slowly bring their dog towards you, all the while giving your dog enough treats to keep them occupied. Once the other dog has been brought to you, you should feed both of them treats in front of each other until both dogs are right next to each other, eating treats from the ground.

Each of these steps is not immediate. You should do each step multiple times before you move on, ensuring that your dog understands the purpose of the step before you have taken on the next one. Once you are seeing positive behaviors from your dog, especially any time of friendliness to other dogs, you should reward your pet for its good behavior by showering it with praise and affection. Over time your dog will learn to enjoy the presence of other dogs, and while not all dogs will play with other dogs, at the very least the behavioral issues will become a thing of the past.