Despite the intimidating name, this type of aggression is actually much more common than most people realize. In simple terms, a dog learns to use aggression as a tool to influence the behavior of the people around him. He discovers that growling, snapping, or biting can be effective ways to get what he wants. Sometimes…
Progress is messy. Dogs improve, regress, improve again, plateau, then suddenly surprise you months later with major long-term improvement. The road is jagged. But over time, if the work is done properly and consistently, many dogs can improve dramatically. 4. Consistency: The Quiet Difference-Maker Dog behavior professionals can usually tell very quickly whether owners are…
“Reactivity” is a broad term; it’s a term that has become almost meaningless in the world of dog behavior. It simply means the dog is overreacting to something in the environment (e.g., strangers, other dogs, certain sounds, motion, etc.). That reaction may include barking, lunging, whining, hiding, freezing, pulling away, or trying to escape. Aggression…
Owners tend to label behavior problems in simple terms: “He’s stubborn,” “She’s not listening,” or “He knows better but ignores me.” But dogs don’t operate from a place of defiance in the way we tend to think. What you’re seeing is usually the surface expression of something deeper: anxiety, conflict, fear, or reinforced behavioral loops…
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to address. But it does mean you need to understand what’s actually driving the behavior in order to properly treat it, not just react to what you see on the surface. The root cause of many behavior issues, minor and serious, is frequently not what the dog’s owner thinks it…
Is It Right for Your Dog? If your neutered male dog has persistent anxiety, fear-based reactivity, or physical slowing that hasn’t responded to traditional behavior modification from a qualified dog behaviorist and hasn’t responded to behavioral medication, a hormonal panel might be the missing link. Cautionary Note While it would be nice to think that…
The intention is to calm the dog. But dogs don’t process language the way we do. They aren’t evaluating the logical meaning of the sentence. Instead, they are reading the owner’s tone, body language, timing, and patterns. If the owner suddenly changes their voice, tightens the leash, or focuses intensely on the dog, the dog…
Misunderstood Forms of Dog Aggression Prefer listening? This blog post is also available as a podcast episode on the USA Dog Behavior Podcast. Aggression in dogs is one of the most misunderstood behavior problems I encounter. Most people think aggression always looks like growling, snapping, or biting over food or toys. But there are forms…
When I lost my own heart dog, a woman who ran a large and successful dog-sitting service in Dallas sent me a children’s book titled Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant. At that point in my life, I found it extremely comforting. Since then, I’ve sent this book to many people who have lost their dogs….
Prefer listening? This blog post is also available as a podcast episode on the USA Dog Behavior Podcast. When a family dog dies, the question almost always comes up: Do the other dogs in the house know what happened? This is part 1 of a 2-part series. In my next blog post I’ll talk about…
