How to Stop Dog Aggression – Free Corgi Training Tips

For this Omaha dog training session we shared tips to stop dog aggression to help a pair of Corgis; Cora and Kaia (Left).

The family was confused as to why the dogs have started to fight as they lived together for almost 2 years as buddies. After discussing the situation and backstory with their humans, my best guess is the dogs developed this behavior when the family was watching another dog.

From what they described, the other dog was overly playful at times and did some things that sounded like dominance to me. The other dog was substantially bigger and played on the rougher side.

But it was when we were discussing dog body language that the guardians mentioned that the other dog liked to put its paw on the other dog’s back, head or stand with their chin over the other dog’s shoulders. These are all common ways for dogs to try to dominate another.

In some situations dogs will simply comply with another dogs nuisance behavior or attempts to dominate them. In other situations it can create some reactive behavior. But in this case it may have led to some aggressive Corgi behavior.

The combination of playtime mixed in with some domination overtime likely changed the dynamic between the dogs. When the larger dog left, Cora and Kaia had to reestablish their relationship. But the new behaviors that they had practiced and observed caused them to change their behavior. Unfortunately, aggressive Corgi behavior was the mosty noteworthy change.

The guardians have been keeping the dogs apart but due to the split level house, there were some staring and growling when the dogs could engage with each other.

Anytime you want to stop dog aggression you need to look for anything that could be causing stress. All dog aggression comes from stress, so identifying and removing those stimuli is always wise when you’re stopping dog aggression.

In our first session we went over a number of fundamentals like how to use a marker word to establish clear communication. I used a hand targeting exercise to help the guardians practice the timing of using their marker and also went over the proper way to introduce verbal cues.

I also went over the concept of celebrating desired behaviors. Many dogs start to think that their job is to protect or guard a human because the humans don’t communicate to the dog what they want them to do. The humans think they do, but their interactions with the dogs often reinforce unwanted behavior.

Some dogs develope the perception that they should guard or protect one of their humans based on how the humans interact with them. Recognizing this behavior is one of the first steps when stopping dog aggression.

By rewarding the dog consistently when they do the things that we want, we can help condition them to do those things more often. It also helps put the human in a wonderful leadership light to the dog. One of my goals for this session was for the dogs to identify their female human as more of a leader than a provider of pets. This can create some competition for attention.

Combine that with dogs who have herding genetics that are now trying to reestablish their group dynamic and you can have a situation where dogs act aggressively to other dogs.

We spent quite a bit of time talking about dog body language, consent and cut off signals as well. Being able to recognize when dogs are starting to feel uncomfortable, then fixing the problem, helps many dogs learn to relax as their humans have the situation in hand. The more a dog sees the human as a leader, the more responsive they will be to their guidance and direction.

In our second session, we took the dogs outside so that we could get them together in a safe way. I took Cora as she seems to be the dog who is initiating more of the aggressive behavior.

I went across the street and stood behind a car to block her from seeing Kaia come out of the house with her humans. Anytime you want to stop dog aggression, preventing them from practicing the behavior should be near the top of your list.

I showed the humans how to use an old peanut butter trick to help the dogs look at each other without barking while simultaneously releasing oxytocin and serotonin into Kaia’s system. These are known as the “feel good hormones” and my goal was to try to use them to start creating more positive associations between the former Corgi friends.

We were successful in stopping dog aggression with this set up. The licking, being outside and having enough space all contributed to the dogs feeling comfortable. And anytime Cora started to show signs of being uncomfortable, I walked her back behind the car to help put Kaia out of view.

I asked the guardians to practice this peanut butter trick to stop dog aggression once or more a day for next week.

In our last session I found out that this trick to stop dog aggression worked well for the guardians but they were practicing for longer than I would like. I prefer to use a 2 to 4 minute engagement period followed by a 3 to 5 minute break before engaging another 2 to 4 minute practice session, another 3 to 5 minute break and then a final 2 to 4 minute practice session.

If you’re doing it right, it should look like the dogs are relaxed. But below the surface, there’s a lot going on. When you want to stop dog aggression, it’s always best to end on a high note rather than push for too long.

How to Stop Dog Aggression

One of the primary ways that I help dogs stop acting aggressive is a combination of something called counter conditioning and desensitization.

The goal is to create positive associations between the dogs by controlling the environment and set up so that the dogs feel at ease.

Once the dogs are together, relaxed and not reacting towards each other, you can start using your marker word and some treats to help the dogs see the other dog as a positive versus something to react to.

I wanted to show the humans how to practice this trick to stop dog aggression but also make it easy for them to re-create it later.  I pulled out my camera and handed it to one of the humans so that they could record me demonstrating this version of the engage disengage game.

If your dog is reactive to humans, dogs or anything else, you can use this exercise to stop dog aggression.

Stopping dog aggression is all about making sure the dog feels comfortable, than adding something positive so the entire experience is affirming.

The most important thing to remember is the dogs cannot react. If the dogs start to move slowly, grumble, ears start going back, they leave their body in incomplete postures or show other signs of distress, you need to immediately move them away or block their view.

We want to basically create an experience that is 100% positive, then repeat the experience again and again until the dogs are looking away from whatever they are reactive to easily. Once that’s the case, then you can move a couple of feet closer and repeat.

It’s important to practice this trick to stop dog aggression in different situations, locations and scenarios. The more variety that you incorporate the better.

As we were winding down, we had a few visitors stop by to see what we were up to.

We finished up the session by discussing the next few steps for the family to take with the corgis. It’s gonna be a process that’s gonna take a little bit of time and effort. Fortunately for Cora and Kaia, their human is dedicated and motivated.

I recommended they practiced the engaged disengage game, do the peanut butter, continue celebrating desired behaviors and walk the dogs together as often as possible

I also suggested that they use good set ups to get the dogs together and other capacities. A good example would be to have the dogs hang out in the living room after a long walk. This is a nice time when the dogs are lower on energy and content to simply rest.

After they’ve gotten a little bit of rest in, maybe 10 minutes or so, the guardians can bring out lick mats to help create even more positive vibrations. The trick will be to remember to take one of the dogs out of the room before the relaxing time ends.

It’s going to be a journey of stacking positive experiences together until the dogs are relaxed and no longer reacting.

I’m looking forward to getting updates from the humans on their progress and will be here in case they need additional help.

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