FIGHT OR FLIGHT (Leash Aggression)
Part 2

The last article left you standing on the street with your dog turning into Cujo because he saw another dog. How do you regain control of your walks with your dog? As with any behavior, you need to break it into small parts before you can begin to correct any of it. Leash aggression is just a snapshot in time: it is a symptom of bigger problems, usually under socialization, improper leadership, and lack of understanding by the guardian. Let’s look at each of these causes individually.

Under socialized can mean your dog doesn’t know how to act with other dogs on leash, but is fine off leash.

Leadership is a term that is getting a lot of attention these days, but can be misinterpreted. Leadership may conger up visions of rolling your dog over until they submit, scruff shaking or punching them in the neck when they are incorrect in their actions: All of these things have potential of being dangerous to the guardian and very confusing to the dog. My preference is the softer term “guidance” which still infers a sense of responsibility on the guardian’s part.

Lack of understanding by the guardian can mean the behavior that led up to this behavior wasn’t taken seriously or corrected in a timely fashion. The use of an electronic collar has become common lately and if improperly used can increase aggression toward other dogs and even cause your dog to turn and bite you. This is caused by a very high level of frustration. Electronic collars have a place is some training situations but only in the hands of a qualified person.

The disappointing news is leash aggression is not something that can be corrected in a 300 word article, but the good news is that with a good behavior-based training program it can become very manageable is a relatively short time. It will take time and patience, but IT CAN BE DONE!

Link to Part 1 of this article.

Please visit our Dog Behavior & Training page for a list of behavior and training resources. Visit our Upcoming Events page for info about Barb DeGroodt’s dog behavior question and answer sessions held monthly in Pacific Grove or Salinas.

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