How to Help Aggression in Dogs and Puppies

In this Omaha dog training session, we share tips to address aggression in dogs, specifically helping 1-year-old French Bulldog Penelope stop acting aggressively towards other dogs when they have items she wants.

Penelope is as fun to hang out with as it looks like in her photo. She was happy, playful and had some nice wiggly energy when we met for this session. You’d never know i was called in to help with her dog aggression.

Penelope was a sweet and playful pup with me. However, her guardians requested my help due to her habit of acting aggressive towards other dogs, especially dogs with toys she wanted. I knew we needed some positive dog training tips to stop her dog aggression.

What to Know About Aggression in French Bulldogs

French Bulldogs are known for being friendly and playful. However, like any breed, they can show aggression in some situations. One common reason for aggression is fear or anxiety. Aggression in French Bulldogs is not normal. Actually dog aggression is not normal for any breed of dog.

French Bulldogs can act aggressively if they feel threatened or scared. This is especially true in new or overwhelming situations. All dog aggression comes from stress, so if you want to stop aggression in dogs, reducing stress needs to be a top priority.

Resource guarding isn’t normal, but it does happen with many dogs. A French Bulldog may act aggressively to protect its toys, food, or favorite resting place. This behavior can happen around other dogs or people. While it mat seem like they are displaying signs of dog aggression, the behavior is actully more of a warning. “Stay away form my stuff!”

Pain or discomfort can also trigger aggressive behavior, particularly if the dog is injured or sensitive to touch in certain areas. Signs that a French Bulldog may be displaying aggression include growling or snapping, baring their teeth, and stiff body language.

To address aggressive behavior, it’s important to use positive reinforcement and gradual desensitization techniques. One method is counterconditioning. Start by keeping your dog away from the trigger. Aggression in French Bulldogs and other breeds happens when things get too close. So managing the distance for your dog is key when stopping jealous dog aggression.

Its also important to reward your pup for staying calm. As your dog gets more comfortable, you can slowly move closer to the trigger. Going slow is an important thing to do when your goal is stopping jealous dog aggression or aggression in French Bulldogs.

You want to make sure the dog stays relaxed but is also aware of the other thing. Another important strategy is to reward calm behavior with treats and praise. This helps your dog link relaxed interactions to good results. Using a marker word is a great way to help your dog make the connection.

For dogs that are particularly reactive to other animals, arranging controlled playdates with a familiar dog can help them practice socializing in a low-stress environment. It’s important to watch how dogs interact during playtime. We want it to stay fun and friendly, not get so worked up they are practicing dog aggression.

Make sure to step in if things get too rough. Use treat-outs as we do in our puppy classes, to help your dog calm down. With patience and consistent training, these techniques can help reduce aggression in French Bulldogs and foster better social behavior.

Tips to Combat Aggression in Dogs

There are many ways to stop a dog from acting aggressive to other dogs. The first part is to identify why the dog is acting out. Penelope’s aggressive behavior only showed towards submissive dogs or dogs with something valuable nearby.

This told me this was more of a case of dog jealousy than dog aggression. Some dogs only act this way to dogs who have an emotional slant one way or the other.

We covered a number of other dog behavior tips that will help with her energy and perception of leadership in the home. Until a dog sees and respects you as a leader, listening to you and your corrections is optional. My goal was to show her guardians how to create a healthy leader follower dynamic first. A super easy way to do that is celebrate desired dog behaviors.

If you need help in stopping jealous dog aggression, showing the dog what it can do to get your attention is both free and easy. Dog aggression and dog jealousy are both indications a dog has lower self esteem. Building a dog’s confidence by showing them how to get your attention by sitting and coming to you is one of the easiest ways you can   stop aggression in French Bulldogs.

After we finished discussing the foundation of a good leader-follower dynamic, we went inside. I had arranged for a relative to bring over a puppy. I wanted to see how Penelope acted when we intorduced a puppy as they are usually on the submissive or less confident side of the street.

I wanted to share tips on stopping jealous dog aggression. You can learn to teach your dog to stop being aggressive to other dogs or puppies. Watch the free positive dog training video below.

Exercising Penelope before practicing this tip to stopping dog aggression will really set her up for success. Adding leashes or a LTCA will help ensure things stay safe which will have a positive effect on the humans. This is one of those tricks of the trade we use, but you don’t have to be a professional French Bulldog dog trainer to use this approach.

Stopping Jealous Dog Aggression

One thing I forgot to say in the video is to drill a hole in the end of a bully stick. Then, use a zip tie to attach it to the far side of the LTCA. This will help by creating distance between the dogs when Penelope has a high value item. Any time a dog is reactive, adding in distance is a good place to start.

I would like the guardians to practice this trick for stopping jealous dog aggression at least once a week. Practicing more often will help speed up the process. They can do this by arranging a playdate with a friendly dog.

We want to build up as many interactions between the dogs that doesn’t end up in a fight as we can. This way the dog gets to practice hanging out without conflict. So shorter visits or taking a break in the middle of the visit are one of the keys to success.

I’d also like to see the guardians monitoring play between Penelope and any visiting dogs. This will allow them to consistently interrupt and give them a time out any time the energy gets past level 5. This is good practice at setting down and also helps the dogs understand what the limits are.

As a young dog, Penelope is still learning. The humans need to be there to help her. They should provide support and assist with breaks until she understands her limits.

To help you remember the positive dog training tips from our Omaha session, we made a video. You can watch the roadmap to success video below.