Aggression in dogs is very rarely unpredictable. To prevent it, it is essential to know how it works.

What is dog aggression?

It should always be kept in mind that aggression is part of the dog's mode of communication. All dogs can bite at some point. A dog that has never bitten could do so one day and another that has already bitten could never bite again, just as he could start again.

The reason why some dogs are very aggressive, while others seem absolutely unable to be, is explained, in part, by what is called the tolerance threshold. This is what the dog can tolerate, in absolute terms, but also from the point of view of questioning its hierarchical rank. For example, a dog with a weak temperament will become aggressive after being jostled 50 times, while a dog with a strong temperament will use aggression at the first jostle.

Aggression is not the opposite of sociability. Very sociable dogs can be very aggressive. Sociability is defined as the ability to communicate, and since aggression is an integral part of communication in this species, an aggressive dog is not an asocial dog.

Aggression is not an end in itself, but a means. A means to maintain or acquire social status. As such, aggression has a social function, that of maintaining cohesion within the pack. It is used to defend oneself in case of fear or when a dog is injured or feels diminished. It is used to catch prey, what is called the predatory instinct. This instinct is present in all dogs, but more or less strongly. Aggression is also used to defend one's territory.

Aggression is therefore used to resolve a hierarchical conflict, to defend oneself, to defend one's territory and to control or kill prey.

Who is attacked by a dog, and why?

A large part of the aggressions are directed towards the family and close entourage, these are aggressions linked to the hierarchical status that has been granted to the dog or to the place to which it wants to access. A dog will use aggression to control what gives it power, and power remains its main quest, especially since it no longer needs to worry about its meals, which in the wild took a lot of energy, and it had to conserve some to hunt. A dog will therefore bite to defend its status or to take a new one.

After their first heat, females suddenly enter an adult hierarchy. They will therefore begin to defend the hierarchical status that they think they have acquired or to attack in order to access a new status. There is a maximum level of aggression in females after the first heat. In males, attempts at assertion are much more gradual. They occur at several times that correspond to increases in testosterone. And at social maturity between one and two years, the dog will defend the status that it has acquired more fiercely. This status is defined by the places it occupies in the territory, by the place and order it occupies to eat, by the initiative it takes or not in physical contact and by sexuality.

At home, visitors who enter or passers-by can be victims of your dog's aggression, because it is defending its territory. People that your pet will meet while walking, especially joggers, cyclists because of their fast movements, tend to awaken the predatory instinct in the dog. Yours could run after them and even bite them to catch what it considers to be prey.

Children are often the victims of dog bites at two sensitive periods. The first, when the child is moving around on their own, and the second during puberty. A study conducted by the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program clearly demonstrates this. All ages combined, bites directed at children under one year of age represent 6.5% of bites, and this percentage climbs to 22.1% for the 2-4 age group. For 10-14 year olds, this percentage is roughly similar, at 23.6%, but drops to 5.3% for 15-19 year olds.

Children who acquire motor skills explore the universe that they have been able to observe for many months, and the dog is part of it. They grasp objects and will want to grab the dog and even climb on top of it in a burst of discovery. The dog could then be aggressive to repel unpleasant contact or to subdue a child. The animal with a strong temperament will not always accept, for hierarchical reasons, contact initiated by a puppy or that the puppy puts a part of its body above one of its own (which is perceived as domination) and will use aggression to impose limits. The attitude of a dog is the same whether it is a puppy or a child.

Fights are common in the canine species. Two dogs seeking dominance will fight until one of them submits, which can sometimes lead to quite a few things. However, as soon as a dog submits, the fight must stop immediately. A dominant will attack a subordinate to call him to order. A dominated will attack a dominant to take his place. Puberty in dogs is a critical age in terms of aggression. It is an age when the puppy, now an adult, will have to position himself in relation to his peers, and aggression is the main means of doing so.

Aggression in dogs as a pathology

This chapter is intended to be purely informative and will not be explored in depth, since dogs that are pathologically aggressive often have unpredictable and difficult to control reactions. But rest assured, I have met very few dogs of this type, apart from fearful dogs.

Aggression takes on disproportionate and unpredictable proportions when the puppy has been poorly socialized, socialized and poorly imprinted. When dogs are in a group, there is a pack effect that does not stop the aggression of an individual even if submissive.

When a dog has been poorly imprinted, that is to say that its living environment at the breeding facility has deprived it of solicitations and stimulations, it will exhibit fearful behaviors in multiple situations. This is called sensory deprivation syndrome. The fearful dog has a strong tendency to bite to defend itself. It will feel attacked in multiple situations. Although this attitude is natural, the bite is no longer part of a ritual, because the animal no longer controls the pressure exerted by its jaw. In other words, there are no more inhibited bites, only bites that can often cause very serious injuries.

When dogs are in a group, there is a pack effect that does not stop the aggression of an individual even if submissive. What is pathological is not group aggression, but that this type of aggression flouts a golden rule in dogs: submission stops aggression.

When a dog has not learned the canine codes, because it has been deprived of contact with its peers from a young age, its propensity to be aggressive increases very largely. However, studies have shown that for a dog deprived of contact with its species that would develop in a sociable group, but of another species, this dog could later socialize with its peers. I met only one dog that was not sociable. It was a male who attacked females for no reason and who did not stop biting them when they submitted. This dog also wanted to attack humans for no reason.

There are dogs that attack because of biological dysfunction, which makes bites completely unpredictable. If there is no therapeutic cure, euthanasia seems inevitable.

Dominate your dog

To control and channel your dog, it is essential to dominate him. Letting him dominate you would give him the heavy responsibility of the survival of the group. He would find himself responsible for managing everything that is vital in your home and one of the means he has to do this, and which he will use, is aggression. Dominating your dog relieves him of the management of the group. This therefore considerably reduces the risks of aggression, which then become almost zero for the family, unless the dominated dog tries to assert himself. As a general rule, attempts to take power by a dominated dog, if taken correctly, do not pose problems. These rather manifest themselves when you want to assert yourself against a dog that dominates in adulthood. This becomes very difficult if the animal has a lot of temperament, and almost impossible if it threatens you and has more physical strength than you.

One of my clients was trying to get her dog, a two-year-old golden retriever, back on the straight and narrow. She learned too late about the hierarchical rules to impose on him, because he was already aware of his physical superiority. This dog had already bitten her twice when she tried to stop him from doing something. With an animal of this type, when he uses aggression to try to subdue you, you should, at that precise moment, physically dominate him by pinning him to the ground, otherwise he will always have the upper hand over you and you will never control him properly. If the entire family dominates the dog, the risks of bites become extremely limited for the members who make up the family.

On the other hand, this does not remove in any way his instinct of guarding, of predation, his aggressive reactions in case of fear and his will to want to assert himself outside the family circle, although for some dogs, this tendency to want to dominate can decrease if each one does not consider himself as the dominant one at home. But to control his dog in his aggressions directed towards the outside, excellent obedience is essential. This obedience cannot be acquired without domination of his dog. If he dominates you, it is perfectly inconsistent for him to have to obey. If he has a strong temperament, you will only have brutality to make you obey, and you will never obtain the same degree of obedience as if you dominate your dog.

So how can you dominate your dog?

Dominating your dog does not mean being stronger than him. In fact, in packs of wild dogs, it happens that a very small dog dominates mastiffs. It is more a matter of strength of character, intelligence and your ability to be more stubborn than him. To dominate a dog, you have to control what is vital to him. You must therefore show him that you manage food, territory, contacts, sexuality, movement and to a certain extent, play.

Dominating your dog does not necessarily involve physical force, however, in certain situations, this physical force is used to signify and confirm our dominant status. If you give in during a physical duel that begins, this will encourage your dog to use aggression in a later conflict.

Make him obey

Making your dog obey will be necessary to prevent aggression directed towards outsiders. You will never remove a dog's predatory instinct. On the other hand, you can prevent him from going after prey or call him back if he is already running after it. To prevent him from defending the territory, represented by the house, you will force him to stay in a specific place, for example on his basket. This will relieve him of having to decide who can enter or leave your home. If a dog has a very strong temperament, he must stay in his place when strangers come and go in different parts of the house. Obedience will also help you call your dog back during tense interactions with his peers. It will also help you channel him when he is afraid. When you are physically roughhousing with other people, you must move your dog away, because he could defend or attack one of them. It is also important to keep away a dog that places itself in the middle of a group, of people or dogs, because this central position will give it the power to manage interactions between individuals.

It is not easy to make your dog obey in all these situations. To obtain this level of obedience, it must be submitted to you, and this is achieved through the rules of life at home. You will also need the help of a competent professional.

Mastering a dog's interactions with those around him

Generally speaking, you should never initiate physical contact with a dog without calling it and never go to see a dog that is lying down, because you will inevitably approach it from above it. This can be perceived as a posture of dominance, especially since you will be petting the dog's upper parts. When you pet a dog, you should always do it under the mouth or on the sides. Once again, placing your hand on the head, neck or back is a sign of dominance.

What significantly reduces the risk of bites, even if they remain very real, when you pet a dog's upper parts, is that he often associates contact with caresses, and these are pleasant to him. There are dangers with dogs with a strong temperament. Never let someone initiate contact with your companion in a brutal manner. Once again, it is preferable for people to call a dog when they want to pet it. A dog is not a stuffed animal and should not be forced into contact that he does not want. After being called, if he wants to, he will come to contact, and if not, this will prevent him from using aggression to refuse. Even if a large majority of dogs accept spontaneous human interactions without difficulty, let's not forget the hundreds of thousands of bites each year in Quebec. It is therefore better to be too careful than not careful enough.

Your dog should never be left unattended if he is with someone he doesn't know. And if he is among your entourage, it is good, even if you think you have the sweetest of dogs, to remind them of certain basic rules. Do not remove a bone or toy from his mouth, do not disturb him when he is resting, always have physical contact with him after calling him, do not go to see an injured or weakened dog, do not step over him or grab him. Do not let a dog get involved in a game that mimics chases and fights.

A very important rule to follow is that a fearful dog should never be cornered. If he has no way to escape, he will attack to get out of this situation, and when a fearful dog bites, he no longer controls the pressure exerted by his jaw.

A dog should never be left alone with children. Let's not forget that according to this Canadian study, in 71.2% of cases of dog bites directed at a child, the aggressor dog is known to the child and lives in their immediate environment.

When faced with a dog that you come across and that you do not know, to avoid any risk of being bitten, it is best to adopt the most neutral attitude possible. Before perceiving whether it is rather in a "friendly" attitude, ignoring it is the best solution.

All these rules would make sense if we perceived the dog as a wolf. So, never forget that the dog is a domestic wolf.

The importance of breeding conditions

The breeder is almost entirely responsible for the sociability of the dogs and their balance, the future owners will only contribute to continuing the work done in the breeding. Some shortcomings within the breeding may be, or will be irrecoverable.

Two very important points to be respected by breeding

The first is that puppies should never be separated from their mother before leaving for their new owners. If for various reasons, the mother cannot take care of the puppies, they must be in contact with adults. Indeed, it is the mother who will teach them inhibited biting.

Around 5-6 weeks of age, the puppies' teeth erupt and during play, they will tend to hurt each other, but also during feeding. The pain felt by the mother and the cries caused by the puppies bitten too hard by a sibling will cause a reaction from the mother, who will growl at the puppy who is biting and bite him if he does not submit. When the bite is painful, the bitten puppy will also bite in turn, but harder.

These interactions will teach puppies to control the pressure of their jaws, but also that submission stops aggression. Without this learning, simple pinches from the dog would be serious bites. Unfortunately, many breeders separate puppies from their mothers. Either out of ignorance or to avoid damaging the breasts of mothers who are brought to participate in beauty contests.

The second very important point is what is called the imprinting period. This period extends from the age of 3 weeks to 3 months. It will serve as a frame of reference for the dog's entire life. During this period, puppies must be very stimulated, independently for each sense, and surprised a lot. The more they are during this period, the less they will be as adults.

It is considered that a puppy raised in the countryside for up to 5 months in a setting lacking in stimulation will not be able to adapt to city life and changes. This period of imprinting is essential because it conditions the dog's balance and its degree of fear in absolute terms. We know that a fearful dog is often led to bite to defend itself, by no longer moderating the pressure of its jaw. The more fearful a dog is, the more likely it is to bite, and the type of bite is then dramatic. It is therefore essential to choose the breeder carefully.