Aggressive Dog Training: Sterling Advice on How to Face This Dog Behavior in 6 Articles (& 4 videos!)

Aggressive Dog Training

Last Updated on January 19, 2023 by Kunthida

Aggressive Dog Training: Show Your Dog That *You* Are The Pack Leader!

How to train an aggressive dogBefore you begin aggressive dog training, let me start by asking you two rhetorical questions!

Firstly do you start the aggression with your dog simply joining in?

Secondly, does your dog listen to you just before it behaves the way it does when you try to show it another way to behave?

The answer will of course be the following:

At the point, your dog starts to become aggressive he is taking no notice at all of you.

He is making his own decisions and will not listen to you if you try to show him a different way to behave.

What he is doing is simply too important to him and is the right thing to do.

Dog aggression is nearly always done in order to protect their pack and their own lives.

Firstly there is of course a whole range of different types of aggression from dominant to fearful and everything in between.

Then there is aggression that occurs the whole time and other aggression, which is very erratic, and random depending on a number of differing factors.

We could also look at what your dog is aggressive towards; it could be people, animals, other dogs, or objects.

Aggressive Dog Training – The Method

The way to stop dog aggression however is very much the same, or at least the cause of the problem is the same.

Your dog thinks that it is the pack leader, so becomes fearful, and attacks to protect you and himself.

Dominant dogs will be more proactive, often attacking when they still have the option of running away, fearful dogs will only attack if they have no place to run.

All the other factors pale insignificance compared to this.

This post on on aggressive dog training is courtesy of

Doggy Dan – The Online Dog Trainer.

Convince Your Dog That *YOU* Are the Pack Leader!

The most important concept to grasp if you want to practice correct dog aggression training is that your dog must first look to you as the pack leader in the home.

(This is the easiest place to convince him you are the decision-maker.)

Only then can you convince him that you are the pack leader on the walk. There are some fantastic video sites now that show you exactly how to become the pack leader.

Once you have convinced your dog that you are the pack leader outside then upon reaching the point where he usually is aggressive you will find that he will actually start to take notice of how you are behaving!

If you aren’t then your dog will probably continue to ignore what you are doing at this point forever.

Just remember, dogs are pack animals and they follow the pack leader.

One of the best examples of a professional dog trainer putting this all into practice is The Online Dog Trainer. The site has live videos of this method being demonstrated and explains exactly how to stop dog aggression by simply convincing your dog that you are the pack leader. Click here to learn this outstanding dog training method…

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Video —– Aggressive Dog Training: How to Stop Dog Aggression


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Video —– Aggressive Dog Training: True Dog Aggression Rehabilitation

Aggressive Dog Training – Preventing Dog Aggression Toward Its Owners

A dog that growls at and/or bites its owner does so for some reason, even if the behavior appears to be “unreasonable” to the owner.

If your dog displays aggressive behavior towards you, for the safety and welfare of you, your family, and your dog, it’s important to find out why as quickly as possible.

Call your vet right away and schedule an appointment for a complete medical examination. Talk with your vet about testing your dog’s hormonal balance, neurophysiologic functions, and allergies.

The test results may reveal the underlying cause. This has been especially helpful in dogs that have mood swings.

When growling or biting has erupted as a consequence of scolding or punishment for behavior such as chewing, jumping, general unruliness, or overprotection of food, these problems must be dealt with swiftly and firmly to correct the aggression it is initiating.

As the dog’s owner, you must understand that your dog growls or bites at you as a result of defensive feelings.

Even the dog that growls when ordered off the couch is reacting defensively, as it feels its dominance status has been threatened.

If scolding and punishment provoke aggression, your dog is reacting to a perceived threat to its physical safety. In either of these situations, your own threatening behavior may be producing negative results.

If the results of a medical examination showed no signs of a medical condition that would be causing this behavior, you will have to examine your own behavior closely to determine what you are doing to make your dog feel threatened.

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Video —– Aggressive Dog Training: How to handle Dog to Dog Aggression!

Aggressive Dog Training – How to Prevent Dog Aggression Behavior

In some ways training a puppy is easier than training an adult or adolescent dog.

One reason is that the puppy is essentially a “blank slate”, untroubled by past training techniques and other issues.

In other ways, however, the puppy can be more difficult to train than an older dog…

Puppy training is very important, whether you are training your first puppy or your 20th. Properly training and socializing a puppy is vital to making it a valued member of your family and your community.

In some ways training a puppy is easier than training an adult or adolescent dog. One reason is that the puppy is essentially a “blank slate”, untroubled by past training techniques and other issues. In other ways, however, the puppy can be more difficult to train than an older dog.

One challenge to training a new puppy is that puppies are more easily distractible than adolescent and adult dogs. Everything is new to a puppy, and every new experience provides a new chance for distraction.

For this reason, it is best to keep training sessions short when working with a puppy and to end each training session on a positive note.

It is also important to allow the puppy plenty of time to play and to interact with other puppies and dogs. Socialization training is vital to making your new puppy a good canine citizen, as dog aggression is a growing problem in many areas.

A properly socialized dog learns how to play properly with other dogs, and overly aggressive play is punished by the other dogs in the playgroup.

This type of play learning is something that happens among siblings in litters of puppies. As the puppies play with each other, they learn what is appropriate and what is not.

Inappropriate behavior, such as hard biting or scratching, is punished by the other puppies, by the mother dog, or both.

Unfortunately, many puppies are removed from their mothers and sold or adopted before this socialization has fully occurred.

Therefore, puppy play sessions are a very important part of any puppy training session. Most good puppy preschool training programs provide time in each session for this type of dog interaction.

Introducing your puppy to new experiences and new locations is also an important part of puppy training. Teaching your dog to be obedient and responsive, even in the face of many distractions, is very important when training dogs and puppies.

It is important for puppy owners to structure their pet’s environment so that the puppy is rewarded for good behaviors and not rewarded for others. One good example of this is jumping on people.

Many people inadvertently reward this behavior because it can be cute. While it is true that jumping can be cute for a 10-pound puppy, it will not be so cute when that puppy has grown into a 100-pound dog.

Instead of rewarding the puppy for jumping, try rewarding it for sitting instead. This type of positive reinforcement will result in a well-behaved adult dog that is a valued member of both the family and the community at large.

This type of reinforcement can also be used in potty training the new puppy. For instance, teaching a puppy to use a unique surface such as gravel or asphalt is a good technique.

The theory is that the puppy will associate this surface with going potty, and therefore be reluctant to use other surfaces (like your kitchen carpet for instance) as a potty.

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Video —– Aggressive Dog Training: Aggressive German Shepherd Training- What NOT to do!

Aggressive Dog Training Children and Their Pets

It’s terrifying how common tales are of dogs savaging young children. You might think that it’s just Pit Bulls or certain breeds that do this kind of thing but it’s common across all breeds.

Children have the uncanny ability to make dogs angry without intending.

Most families will luckily never have to deal with anything remotely as traumatic but if you own a dog and have children; or have children visiting often – then you too must take some responsibility for their actions and behavior.

You want to prepare your children by teaching them a few simple rules about playing with the dog.

The first step to understanding the aggression. So, what causes dogs to become aggressive? There are a few different kinds of aggression that dogs experience.

If they are scared they become aggressive, if something threatens their territory or family and as an act of dominance assertion.

An aggressive dog’s ears will pin back; their tail might stand up and they will growl. The growl is a warning.

Aggressive Dog Training –  Advice

What’s the best way to deal with an aggressive dog?

If you have the luxury of realizing before something happens that the dog is upset and about to hurt your child or you there are some things you can do:

  •  It’s most important to try to keep as calm as possible; the dog will sense your fear
  • Speak in a soft voice – remove the disturbance if possible.

What can you do to prevent an aggressive dog?

  • Teach your children that the dogs have feelings too and are to be treated with care. This means no rough playing with the dog. Some breeds of dogs become agitated and roughhousing can greatly upset them. Enough to bite your child!
  • If your children are very small you will need to take care to supervise them at all times. You cannot leave a toddler with a dog without risking something going wrong. Very young children do not understand how to treat animals yet.
  • The importance of having a well-trained dog cannot be stated enough. When you get a puppy take them to obedience classes straight away. Even if you don’t have children it’s important to have a well-trained dog. You don’t want your beloved pooch to harm someone else’s children.

Aggressive Dog Training – Choosing a Less Aggressive Dog Breed

If you have children and are considering buying a dog; there are some considerations that can make it far less likely for an aggressive dog.

Choose carefully – some breeds are known to have a low tolerance and others are known to be child friendly.

Dogs have a long-standing relationship with humans – dogs love people and vice versa.

By following these rules you should be assured of a happy calm dog that won’t harm anyone.

A carefully trained dog will give you peace of mind and most importantly – become an important part of your family life.

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 Puppy Training Videos  – German Shepherd Training – Beagle Training – Bulldog Training