April 12, 2011

My dogs only act aggressive to people who seem afraid of them. What do you think the problem is?

Full Question:
I have two dogs and both seem to show signs of aggression to people who are afraid of them. I do my best to question people to whether or not they are afraid before they approach. For some reason they always tell me no yet I can see it in their eyes. I know if I can see it my dogs can see it. It is at this point they begin to growl as the person approaches. I correct it at the time but is there anything I can do long term. Is this a sign of weak nerves or dominance? Can it be permanently removed from the dog and how? It is something that bothers me because whether adult or children it doesn't matter. They are fine, actually friendly with all other people, it is just those who are afraid.



Thank you in advance,
Chris
Ed
Ed Ed's Answer:
This only has something to do with genetics (bad breeding) nothing else. Your dogs are not tough they are sharp. They are not strong dogs in temperament they are weak dogs and what you see is a lesser degree of dogs that are fear biters. You can not change what the dogs are, (because it is a genetic issue) all you can hope to do is control it through serious obedience training.



If you would like to learn something about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes.



You also have not read all of the Q&A sections on my web site because I address this in more than one way.

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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