An aggressive dog is a dog that gets punished

It’s hard to love a dog that just bit you, your the child or guest. According to statistics, dog aggression is one of the main reasons for abandoning a pet. As a result, such dogs end up in a shelter or in a euthanasia room. 

In the photo: the aggressive behavior of the dog. Photo: pexels

Some owners and trainers try to correct the dog’s aggressive behavior using rather harsh methods based on violence. However, these attempts are doomed to failure. If you use physical punishment on a dog, you have every chance of making it more aggressive, says Stanley Coren, Ph.D., FRSC., professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, author of numerous books on dog behavior.  

Why does a dog become aggressive?

Various hypotheses have been put forward as to why the dog becomes aggressive. For example, aggression is sometimes associated with a dog’s breed or gender (it is believed that males are more prone to manifestations of aggression than females). However, studies in recent years are increasingly pointing to such a reason for the dog’s aggressive behavior as the conditions in which it lives. And also to the fact that owners often make an “aggressor” out of a dog with their own hands. For example, it has been found that certain methods of obedience training based on punishment and the use of force can cause a dog to react aggressively.

The journal Applied Animal Behavior Science published an article (Yuying Hsu and Liching Sun (2010). Factors associated with aggressive responses in pet dogs. Applied Animal Behavior Science 123, 108–123), which provides very interesting data on the causes of aggression. The study involved 852 dog owners.

The results showed that dog aggression can be divided into three types:

• Aggression towards strangers.
• Aggression against the owner or members of his family.
• Aggression towards other dogs.

The same dog may have different rates for these types of aggression. For example, if a dog shows aggression towards the owner, it is not at all necessary that it will be aggressive towards strangers.

Photo: defense.gov

In some respects, this study repeats the results of other similar studies. However, there is also something new. This is a vector of analysis related to punishments.

What happens when a dog is physically punished for “bad” behavior? The results of the study are impressive. It turned out that The more often a dog is punished, the more likely it is to show aggression.. Moreover, the likelihood of “expanding the repertoire” of aggressive behavior increases dramatically. That is, the dog becomes aggressive towards strangers, towards owners, and towards other dogs.

However, if you are a little familiar with psychology, these results will not surprise you. Exactly the same results were obtained for children (American Psychological Associations Task Force on Physical Punishment of Children, 2008). The more you punish the child, the more aggressive he becomes.

Considering that a significant number of researchers believe that the dog’s brain functions more or less like the brain of a 2-3 year old child, it is not surprising that the results of studies on children and dogs are similar.

Photo: pxhere

What can you do to keep your dog from being aggressive?

Based on the results of the research, the conclusion is clear: in order to reduce the likelihood of a dog’s aggressive behavior, it is first necessary, at a minimum, to abandon methods based on physical violence. Because it has been proven that they are not only ineffective in correcting aggression, but also harmful, as they only exacerbate the problem.

Moreover, methods for correcting aggressive behavior based on more humane and effective methods have been developed. 

First of all, it is necessary to determine the cause of aggressive behavior and work with it, not forgetting that aggression is always a symptom of the dog’s trouble.