Dog Training Tips for Aggressive Behavior

For this Omaha dog training session we shared dog training tips for aggressive behavior. We were called in to help 2 year old Lab / Boxer mix Carl. Carl’s family wanted him to stop acting aggressive towards people who visit his home.

I called ahead to see how Carl’s guardians handle visitors to the home. I have to admit I laughed a little when he said they ask people to hold their hands up. This is to stop Carl from hitting and biting them. They should wait for him to finish jumping on them.

Dog Training Tips for Aggressive Behavior Towards Guests

Instead I used a very structured approach, waiting outside the door after knocking for him to settle down. He was so worked up that his back leg was shaking a lot. This was more than I had ever seen before. It showed me he was not ready for me to come inside.

Many people dont recognize these things when they happen, but they are key if your goal is stopping dog aggression. In many cases, people confuse fear with human aggressive dog behavior. It seems like the dog acts aggressively towards people when its more likely they are fearful and just trying to get the person to not get too close.

I adopted some soft body language; kept my body sideways to the dog, yawned quite a bit (a calming signal) and turned away when he got the most intense. This helped him calm down somewhat, but he was still very aroused and I saw signs of some fear and anxiety.

I waited about 10 minutes before Carl settled down enough to walk away from the door. As soon as he did, I tossed in some high-value training treats behind him to create a positive association. This is one of the early dog training tips for aggressive behavior as it helps the dog feel better as they move away (increasing distance). Creating extra space is a wonderful way of stopping dog aggression or in this case, a fear response.

I repeated this approach 4-6 times until he was much calmer. However, calmer was all I could achieve in 20 minutes with this technique at the door. Finally I had the guardian call Carl away, put him on the leash and leave the area so I could enter without his presence.

I coached the guardian on bringing Carl back into the room in a slower, structured way while on the leash. I didn’t want Carl to lunge or pull so as soon as he started to show signs of arousal or anxiety, the guardian stopped. They key is to read the dog and stop and arrange for more space between what its fearful of before it gets so intense the dog cant control its emotions.

Stopping dog aggression is rewarding for me as a dog behaviorist, but it can also be dangerous at first. The first step is establishing a relationship built on trust. I wanted Carl to practice being in the room with me, but with me at a distance so he could relax. Adding in enough space for the dog to feel comfortable is one of the more underated dog training tips for aggressive behavior.

It took a while, but eventually Carl started sitting down on his own and eventually laying down. I kept my voice quiet and avoided big movements or direct eye contact. These actions can upset a dog. My goal was to help Carl practice staying calm in the room with me.

We discussed some creative ways to exercise Carl inside like feeding out of a snuffle mat or using puzzle toys. This will help him considerably by providing some stimulation and reduce the stress his guardians have as these activities can all be done inside.

I think the treat toss on the stairs will be a lifesaver. If they can give him more exercise regularly, especially before guests arrive, it should help a lot. Increasing his exercise won’t stop the dog’s aggression, but it will help reduce aggressive behavior. They just need to make sure to arrange 10-15 minuets of rest after the exercise before they have the person come to the door.

I also discussed how to create a healthy leader-follower relationship. This includes establishing marker words, Celebrating desired behaviors recognizing and responding to cut off signals and redirecting when dogs ask for attention in less than ideal ways. We also discussed the importance of introducing and enforcing rules.

These will all help flip the leader follower dynamic and help Carl start to see his humans acting like leaders. This will be important in order for Carl to start trusting in their ability to lead and control the situation. Many dogs that act aggressively toward people are often stressed. They feel like they are in charge of humans who don’t listen to them or the human puts them in situations they arent prepared for.

When you have a human aggressive dog, having guests over can be nerve-racking and stressful. I gave my camera to them so they could film me. In the video below I talk about ways to create a positive experience for guests and additional dog training tips for aggressive behavior.

Now I don’t want the guardians to start practicing this approach for at least another month. They can do some prep work from the free dog training video.

Stopping Dog Aggression

For now, they should focus on influencing Carl’s behavior. This can be done by providing more structure and exercise, not punishment. We are talking about creating order here.

I asked Carl’s guardians to reach out to me in a month. We can then schedule a 1 hour follow-up session. This will help us build on the progress they make with the dog behavior tips I shared during the in-home training.

To help them remember all the things we went over, we shot a roadmap to success video that you can view below.