|
Dogs are not naturally friendly with their own kind nor with other breeds. They need to be taught to make friends during puppy training for socialization. Some dogs are aggressive because they want to be the leader and be dominant. Other dogs are aggressive out of fear. You can try to correct your dog's aggressive behavior, failing which, it is advisable to enroll it in an obedience school.
A dog is aggressive when it meets another dog head-on with ears cocked forward and tail erect. You can use a second dog to train the other to control its aggressive behavior. Leash the 2 dogs and walk them parallel to each other. Keep them at a safe distance out-of-contact with each other. This forces the dogs to grow accustomed to each other as being equals and you're the leader of the pack. It is easier to do this exercise holding each dog leash in a separate hand. When the dogs are on friendly terms with each other, you can walk them at a closer proximity. Remember to praise both dogs equally so that neither should be jealous of the other.
If your dog is aggressive out of fear, then you need to do another type of obedience training. Don't try to comfort a cowering dog. In its dog language, your act of soothing it spells fear. You need to act brave to help your dog. You are its leader and when you show the initiative, it will follow your lead. Continue to put on a brave front until your pet starts to take your cue. Ignore its whines of fear until it follows your good example.
Dogs are not children and you can't treat them like a kid. Don't think that you should protect it from its fear. This makes the fear worse for it. Teach it to face up to its fear, confront it and thus overcome the fear.
There are other methods of overcoming the fear-aggression behavior in dogs. You can leash your dog and walk it around calmly. After a while, it will calm down. Praise and reward it.
You can also expose your dog to fearful noise. Make a recording of some fearful noises which your dog is frightened of. Replay this tape at low volume when you interact with your dog. Its ears will prick up but it won't have a chance to react to its fear because you're keeping it busy. Gradually increase the volume of this background noise until your dog gets accustomed to it and does not show fear-aggression.
If you have a sensitive and nervous dog, you need to spend more time with it to help it overcome its behavior problems. Alternatively, you can request for pet tranquilizers from your vet.
| 
