Aggression is part of normal dog behaviour. It is observed between rivals fighting over territory or mates, in self protection when the dog is threatened and when defending food or other prized resources. Aggression can, however, be excessive and inappropriate. As with all behaviour, some dogs are genetically more predisposed to aggression than others. Some breeds have been selectively bred to be aggressive towards other dogs so that they can be used for dog fighting, some are bred to act aggressively towards people, while others have been selected for extreme territorial aggression and are used as guard dogs. In very aggressive breeds, the majority of dogs may not react normally to signals of submission, may not signal their intent and may attack suddenly with no apparent provocation. Given that there are exceptions to the rule, any breed can be selected for traits of either aggression or timidity.

Breeders sometimes select for physical traits only and do not consider temperament. This increases their chances of producing animals that tend towards dominance or fear aggression. An example would be where breeders select dogs with high-set tails, a feature that goes hand-in-hand with a bold, aggressive temperament. Nevertheless, despite this tendency, the behaviour of the genetically aggressive dog can also be influenced positively or negatively by its environment and experience.

Dominance Aggression

Dominance aggression in dogs is an extreme inappropriate form of aggression that is often directed towards members of a household and occurs because the dogs intend to control the family members.

This was the case with Adam, a three-year-old male Schnauzer whose aggression was directed towards Noel, the 4 year old son of the family, whose life was made particularly difficult as a result.

Adam had reached the point where he would attack the boy an sight. He would wait at the door to Noel’s room ready to confront with him should he come out. Noel had to call out to his family to remove me dog if he wanted to go to another roam in the house. Adam would bark continuously while the boy was out of his room.

Noel had three scars on his legs where Adam had bitten him severely enough to require stitches. Understandably, Noel was quite uncomfortable with the dog. Adam also resented having his collar put on and would snap at anyone who did this when he was not in the mood for it. He growled if asked to move when lying on the sofa and when approached while eating.

Adam is one of the worst cases of dominance aggression that I have seen. Obviously he represented a definite danger to the family, especially to Noel, so he was put straight onto medication and castration was strongly recommended, although the family elected not to castrate the dog. He was put onto a strict modification programme and was taught to walk in a head collar.

Noel was put in charge of feeding the dog and was to take over exercising him as well. At first. he had to do all of this while the dog was on a head collar and lead, held by another family member. He was also directed to undergo doily training sessions with the dog and a protocol was devised to desensitize Adam to Noel’s movements in and au t of his room.

Progress was slow as the boy was not particularly enamoured with the dog and gave up easily. However, with a lot of family support, progress was made and after six months the situation was more controlled.