How Can I Snap My Dog Out Of Being Aggressive

Do dogs get more protective or aggressive as they grow older? My dog (just over 1 year mutt) has begun snapping in certain instances, like lunging for the mailman and gardener. He hasn’t shown any aggression before this.

Dogs personalities tend to keep developing all the way through the age of 3 (that’s when they reach adulthood). Without personally observing your dog, I can only guess about what’s going on. This could be about your dog’s temperament - he may have some aggression - which means it’s imperative that you get him to a behaviorist immediately. It could be hormonal - is he neutered? He’s reaching sexual maturity & for some dogs, this can bring out some aggression. Neutering & behavioral mod training can be redirected into positivity (ie steer him towards activities, like playing fetch, learning tricks, etc). He may be a high energy dog but isn’t getting enough exercise. Typically underexcercised high energy dogs become destructive but some can become aggressive. Again, it’s something you want to correct now. Have you ruled out medical issues? Very often, a dog in pain, will show signs of aggression. They can’t say something hurts or they don’t feel well so they can get overly self-protective & lash out. A vet checkup is in order because an aggressive dog left unchecked is a ticking time bomb. It doesn’t have to be a permanent fixture of his temperament - way more often than not, it can be corrected - especially when dealt with right away. When we fail dogs, dogs fail - that’s usually the reason for it - you can get him back on the right track. As a less common consideration, are you sure no one is hurting him? One of my dogs went through a complete personality change at around 1 year old. I assumed it was his sexual maturity, testing boundaries, etc. It turned out that one of my room mates was abusing my dog every time I went to work. He admitted to terrifying him, kicking him, choking him, locking him outside (he was an indoor dog), removing his food & water bowls all day until just before I’d get home & so much more. I was gobsmacked - never ever ever suspected my “dog loving” friend of such malicious ugliness. My dog tried to tell me in his way, that he needed help - sadly, it took a while before I knew the exact help he needed. So, consider all possibilities. But please get him to a vet that can steer you in the right direction - this behavior can’t continue.

How can I stop my dog from being aggressive over sticks? He growls and snaps if you try and take it. He is friendly in all other ways, fine around food, toys, etc.

You gotta put him in his place by making he wait for everything he gets now. You gotta make him sit and wait till you say okay. Work on drop it and leave it. And as always build that positive and happy association with you taking away the stick. He needs to see you as a helper and provider- not a taker. That might require you to establish control and timed play sessions with something he does not care for as much and then move your way up to sticks. Once you get to sticks you will always provide the stick, make him sit and wait. Let him have the stick and a yummy treat. Then after a minute say drop it or leave it or a combo of the two (drop it, and as you go in for it -leave it). And if he allows your to take it without aggression he gets a treat and lots of love and attention and his stick back. Then you repeat and prolong the removal of the stick. Do not yell or hit your dog for showing signs of aggression. You want to maintain control, neutral but firm energy/leadership. It is possible. It takes time. A lots of videos on these basic commands that can help. And always consult with vet and trainer.

Sometimes I see a tiny dog being a bully or aggressive towards a huge dog. Does it not realize that the other dog is much bigger and could kill it if it wanted to?

This small dog probably has Small Dog Syndrome. Owners of smaller dogs can accidentally encourage aggressive behavior because the smaller dogs appear cute when asserting dominance and can get away with behaviors that larger dogs can't. For example, small dogs are usually allowed to jump on people because we perceive this as affection. We may perceive it as affection from larger dogs, but generally don't allow them to jump up without permission because they're too large. Jumping on people is a subtle form of dominance that the dog is exerting on its owner, which teaches the dog to believe he's dominant over his owner. Since we only allow small dogs to do things like this, we inadvertently encourage dominant behavior.Similarly, when a large dog pulls on a leash, we usually spend time training him not to do so, but with a smaller dog that behavior slides. Another more obvious example is when a Chihuahua growls, people might think it's cute and unintentionally reinforce this behavior with affection. The small dog you describe has probably been taught throughout its life to believe that it is dominant over people and other dogs. This gives him or her the confidence to snap at larger dogs, which have been trained not to display signs of aggression or dominance. Therefore, a cycle develops where smaller dogs attack and bully larger dogs, and the larger dog seems to submit. The smaller dog can see that the larger dog is bigger than it is, but the smaller dog has learned that he is safe to attack and assert dominance over the larger dog without risk. If the larger dog displayed stronger signs of dominance or aggression, the smaller dog would likely back away due to his size disadvantage, as a lone wolf would back away from a larger bear.