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The first thing to do if you have an aggressive dog is to manage his living arrangements. You need to create a situation where everyone is protected from further harm: you, your family, the dog, and any other people or dogs who come in contact with your dog. If your dog is already used to a crate, you can use it as part of your plan to manage where he is. If he is not accustomed to a crate, you can try teaching him to use it, by enticing him in with food or dog toys, but be sure that he is okay in it before you leave him alone. Even then, devise a way to check on how he is doing, such as looking in a window. Don't just dump him in the thing for hours on end, or he may injure himself or do damage to the crate. You can't leave him in it for many hours. If you are not using a crate, consider enclosing the dog in some part of your home, whether a dog kennel in your yard or a less-used room in your house. This is a good plan in addition to a crate, as well. If your problem is between two dogs you own, at least at first you will want to have them well separated. One door between them may be okay, but two doors makes it much easier for you to get around. Second, get your dog to your veterinarian for a thorough check-up. Many times, the cause of aggression in a dog is pain. Veterinarians can find many possible causes that you might never think of, such as dental pain. If this is the case, once the pain is gone, the dog will be a much happier camper and the aggression may go away completely. Third, begin writing down short notes about the aggressive incident and what has happened since. Use a little notepad or some paper that you can keep in a convenient place, so it's easy to make these notes. If you try to go back after a few days to reconstruct what happened, you may find that your memory is a bit unreliable about the timing and other details. This is normal, and all the more so when a situation is stressful. But these scribbles will have a place as you begin to create some new habits for training the dog and managing the situation. Longer-term planning is the next step, or actually several steps. It may not be easy, but there have been studies done which show that when people who have an aggressive dog are diligent about care and training, the future is much rosier for the dog and all around him. Article Source: http://www.articlewheel.com
Visit Rosana Hart's lengthy page on aggressive dogs, Nine Tips If Your Dog Becomes Aggressive. You can also visit the category in her blog on dog aggression for more.
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