Dog Aggression
Dogs
Dog Aggression
In the hobbies of
dog fancy and
dog
breeding, the term dog aggression describes canine-to-canine
antipathy.
Aggression
itself is usually defined by canine
behaviorists as
"the intent to do harm". Many dogs will show "displays of aggression" such as
barking, growling, or snapping in the air without actually having any aggressive
intent.
Dog aggression is a common dog
behavior, and can be seen in all breeds of dogs, although some
dog breeds have a
predisposition
to display such aggression. The
breed standard
usually spells out whether dog aggression is common in the breed and to what
degree it is allowed. Most of the
terrier breeds and the
bull breeds have a higher
likelihood of developing dog aggression. Individual dogs may or may not display
the level of aggression that their breed standard suggests.
Factors contributing to aggression
Factors contributing to the likelihood of the development of dog aggression
include:
- Breed predisposition
- Living as part of a multidog household
- Lack of proper exposure to other dogs during the critical
socialization
period
- Early
imprinting by an aggressive or nervous
dam
- Being raised as part of a large
litter (more than 5 puppies)
- A traumatic experience associated with other dogs, such as being
attacked or having seen a fight
- Lack of abundant resources (food, water, sex, etc.) in the environment
- Thyroid
malfunction or other medical conditions
Dog aggression does not usually become a serious behavior in most dogs until
they reach the age of 1.5 years. Prior to that age, most dogs show only the
seeds of developing aggression, such as fear and/or nervousness around other
dogs, displays of aggression only under certain circumstances (while on leash,
in the presence of food, in the presence of the owner, etc.), or most commonly,
over-the-top play behavior. Play behavior such as tackling, chasing, mouthing,
nipping, pawing, and wrestling are all normal
canine behaviors that
serve the evolutionary function of preparing the young dog for later combat and
hunting. Young dogs that engage in excessive amounts of these behaviors are much
more likely to develop dog aggression as they age.
Dog aggression should not be confused with human aggression, which is allowed
in some breed standards as well, as long as the aggression springs from a desire
to defend the dog's owner or territory.
United States
The United
States has the highest reported incidence of dog aggression problems of any
country in the world. One of the major contributing factors to the development
of dog aggression is living as part of a multidog (more than one) household.
More than a third of dogs in the United States—a higher percentage than any
other country in the world—live as part of multidog households.
External links
Home | Up | Alpha Roll | Dog Attack | Bark | Clicker | Clicker Training | Dog Collar | Animal Communication | Dog Communication | Coprophagia | Crate Training | Dog Aggression | Dog Trainer | Housebreaking | Dog Intelligence | The Intelligence of Dogs | Obedience School | Obedience Training | Operant Conditioning | Prey Drive | Socialization | Dog Society | Trophallaxis | Wardog | Dog Whistle
Dogs, made by MultiMedia | Free content and software
This guide is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
|