Managing An Aggressive, Fearful, or Reactive Dog

< A version of this article was published in Barks from the Guild, a publication of the Pet Professional Guild on Nov. 2020, pp.29-31 >

< Updated 2024-11-13 >

< The link for this page – https://forcefreepets.com/managing-an-aggressive-fearful-or-reactive-dog/ >

This article contains links that will provide additional, related information.

When you have a dog exhibiting aggressive behavior, you are responsible for keeping yourself, your family, your pets, and your community safe. A dog behaving aggressively is experiencing some form of emotional stress, so it is your responsibility to identify and keep him away from the stressors that trigger the behavior while working with a professional who can help you.

#1. Seek Professional Help As Soon As Possible

Helping change aggressive behavior is not a Do-It-Yourself (DYI) project, nor is your dog likely to “grow out of it.” Reactivity or aggression are emotional responses. That response could be due to fear, anger, or frustration and may be intensified by chemical imbalances in the brain.

Training your dog to SIT and other obedience behaviors is unlikely to change how they feel. Making a dog sit in a situation where they feel threatened may exacerbate their fear or anger, affecting their trust in you. Remember, reactivity is driven by emotion, so training alone seldom makes your dog feel safe. Training using shock, prong, or choke collars will likely make your dog feel unsafe and thus more reactive.

Since many medical conditions can affect behavior, a veterinarian must first rule out any such possibility. Pain and any physical discomfort can cause behavioral changes in pets. In addition, disorders of the nervous, endocrine, reproductive, and gastrointestinal systems can affect your pet’s behavior. Also, have your vet test for tick-borne diseases such as Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Borrelia miyamotoi, Ehrlichiosis, Powassan Encephalitis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. These diseases can cause changes in behavior, including anorexia, anxiety, confusion, depression, fatigue, malaise, and other subtle mental disorders. If your veterinarian is not trained in behavior, many are not; look for a veterinary behaviorist.

If your veterinarian finds no medical reasons for your behavior, I encourage you to seek help from a Veterinary Behaviorist, Applied Animal Behaviorist, or credentialed behavior consultant (PCBC-A). The earlier you get professional help for your dog, the sooner you can relieve his suffering and the greater your probability of changing his undesirable behavior.

Resolving this behavior will very likely require behavior modification and, potentially, medication. A Veterinary Behaviorist can provide you with both, while the other professionals suggested can only help with behavior modification. < FMI – Do I Need a Dog Trainer or a “Behaviorist”?, Where Can I Find A Humane and Ethical Pet Care Professional? and Pet Professional Guild (PPG) Trainer Search.

#2. Ensure Safety for ALL Concerned, Including Your Dog

Your priority must be preventing your dog from hurting you, another person, another animal, or themselves while ensuring your dog feels safe. Please keep your dog physically isolated from people or animals that could become the target of their aggression. This may mean keeping him crated, preferably in another room, or closed/locked in another room when you have guests in your home.

When the dog is outside your home, ensure you can safely handle him. Any time you are outside your home and in a non-fenced area, your dog must be on a regular 6-foot leash. Please do not use a Flexi or retractable leash, as they do not provide adequate control. The leash should be securely attached to a front-connect harness. This is for the protection of the public, you, your dog, and your legal liability for your dog’s actions.

Consider using a muzzle if you can do so safely. It is essential to gently condition your dog to wear a muzzle before using it. Seek the advice of a trained professional to help you accomplish this task. Muzzles can be a helpful management tool; however, be aware of the following:

Some determined dogs can get out of any muzzle.
Putting on the muzzle can cause the dog stress.
Muzzling your dog and having them around others is tantamount to advertising that you are concerned about your dog’s biting, which may change people’s behavior and cause the dog to react. However, also understand that you may be legally negligent if you are worried about your dog’s biting and they are not muzzled.
A muzzle may make the dog more fearful.
A muzzle can limit your dog’s ability to breathe correctly, causing additional distress.

A muzzle is, at best, a temporary solution and does nothing to address the source of the dog’s behavior or his emotional state.

Do NOT leave your dog outside unattended. Being tied out can be stressful for a dog and frequently causes fear and aggression. When a dog is tied up, it is aware that it cannot flee or fight, a typical reaction a dog would pursue if afraid. Being tied often increases the dog’s fear and reactivity. Even if you have a fenced yard, I recommend you remain with your dog anytime he is in the yard, as no fence can be guaranteed 100% secure.

If your dog does not need to go with you, leave him at home. A dog that is reactive while in the car can be a threat to your safety and that of others. If he becomes reactive wherever you take them, you may make yourself unwelcome and probably make him more likely to react in the future.

#3. Prevent the Behavior from Getting Worse

Dogs are often reactive because they are afraid. They may express their fear in several ways:

Lunging, barking, and growling (Fight)
Running Away (Flight)
Quietly looking away from the threat, remaining motionless (Freeze)

The dog who freezes in fear may be just as terrified as the dog choosing Fight or Flight as a strategy. Often, people do not understand that a dog avoiding eye contact and not moving a muscle may be terrified. They frequently surmise they are fine because the dog is not barking, growling, or lunging. Nothing could be further from the truth.

NEVER use any training and management tools that have the potential to cause your dog distress, discomfort, or pain. This includes alpha rollovers, shock collars, choke collars, prong collars, citronella collars, anti-bark collars, spray bottles, or anything else that has the potential to cause your dog distress, discomfort, or pain. < FMI – Dog Training – Reward Based Training versus Aversives >

Avoid putting your dog in situations where he may display the behavior of concern. Preventing him from acting aggressively is essential to ending this behavior. Each time the dog has the chance to engage in the behavior, it can make it more likely to occur again and increase in intensity. Events like this can affect the chemistry and anatomy of the brain, making future reactions more likely.

Limit movement when your dog reacts. An activity can increase arousal, increasing the probability of aggression and reactivity. If your dog is barking and running back and forth from window to window, either in your home or car, try to restrict movement with a crate, a leash, or, if in the car, a seat belt.

If your dog chases people or other animals along your fence line, keep him on a 6ft leash.

Carefully consider safety issues and the possibility of making your dog’s behavior worse if you walk him away from home. If you cannot walk your dog safely or continue exposing him to his triggers, you are better off staying home. If you take him for walks, choose locations and times when you are least likely to encounter his triggers. An accredited canine behavior professional can help you find other ways of meeting your dog’s physical and mental needs.

When walking a dog with reactivity/aggression issues, you must be constantly aware of your environment. It is not a time to daydream, think about tomorrow’s schedule, chat on your cell phone, converse with a friend walking with you, or listen to music.

Alternatively, you can find other ways to provide your dog with physical and mental stimulation, such as playing in the yard and feeding him with a Kong.

If your dog is aggressive towards people or dogs, you must keep him away from places where people and dogs congregate. Dogs with aggression issues will not improve if you take them to pet stores, dog parks, dog events, charitable walks, or any site where people and dogs gather.

Prepare people before allowing them to interact with your dog, and do not force your dog to interact. Remember, the result of a dog/human interaction will depend on your dog’s behavior and the person’s actions.

Do your best to teach people who come to your home how to interact with your dog. An excellent first step is to provide them with a copy of Dr. Sophia Yin’s How to Greet A Dog (And What to Avoid) handout.

It would also be helpful to have them watch the one-minute video “How Would You Like It” from the San Diego Humane Society.

Allow the dog to decide if he wants to interact with people; if he declines, allow him to do so. You must be especially prepared if you have a breed that some people readily prejudge. If someone is anxious around your dog, it will likely make you and your dog nervous. < FMI – The Art and Science of Consent Testing >

Be especially cautious in these situations:

Whenever your dog is around large gatherings of people. Large groups are likely to increase his excitement, anxiety, fear, and frustration, which increases the probability of an inappropriate response.
Anytime your dog is around children. Most children do not understand how to behave around dogs. Children and dogs ALWAYS need adult supervision. Sophia Yin’s posters on How Kids SHOULD and SHOULD NOT interact with dogs are also very useful.

NEVER punish your dog or get mad at them for growling. While a dog’s growl can be upsetting and disheartening, it also alerts us whether he feels threatened or uncomfortable. It is the dog’s way of saying, “If something in this situation does not change, I may feel threatened enough to bite.” If your dog growls, calmly remove them from the situation with as little fanfare and emotion as possible. < FMI – Help! My Dog Growls! >

Consider how your emotions and those of others may be affecting your dog. Dogs are adept at reading people’s emotions through a person’s body language and scent, which may change how the dog reacts to them and you. Since our emotions are always part of the dog’s environment, any anxiety and frustration we, or others, feel may cause our dog to become more anxious.

If your dog detects someone being angry, it may cause them to become angry or afraid. The dog does not inherently know why a person is angry or scared but may react out of self-preservation. If you are having difficulties with your emotional response, it may be beneficial to seek assistance. Your dog may also benefit from seeing a veterinary behaviorist who can help him temper his emotions.

#4. Reducing Your Dog’s Stress

Learn how stress affects your dog’s behavior. Stress, either the detrimental kind, distress, or the beneficial type, eustress, frequently contributes to undesirable behavior in people and animals. Our bodies react very similarly when experiencing distress or eustress, producing hormones and other neurochemicals that make us more likely to be reactive and irritable. People often think of adverse events or memories of adverse events as being the cause of stress.

Even a particular scent may cause your dog distress and trigger an emotional response such as fear or anger. Scents can affect our dogs and us because they are more directly linked to memory and emotion than other senses. Knowing about the dog’s powerful sense of smell and the role of smell in emotional memories, we must consider scent when looking for a potential trigger for a reactive dog. I have worked with clients where cigarette smoke, deodorant, and cologne have triggered reactive behavior.

Even things our dog enjoys, such as playing fetch, can also cause stress. When something our dog likes is allowed to the extreme, reactive behavior can become more likely.

Minimize Unpredictability and Be Consistent. Unpredictability in our behavior can be a significant stressor for our dogs. As a family, you must commit to working together and using the same training approach with your dog. Getting a different response from each of you only stresses the dog more. You all need consistent expectations, but they need to be reasonable.

Work with an accredited professional to consider options for helping reduce your dog’s stress. A veterinary behaviorist may recommend prescription and non-prescription products to help alleviate your dog’s anxiety. Holistic veterinarians who practice Chinese medicine and homeopathy may also be able to help.

#5. Document Your Dog’s Behavior

Keep a Daily Journal. Behavioral issues are seldom straightforward. However, if you keep a detailed journal of what happens and when your chosen professional will be better equipped to help you help your dog. A journal has the added benefit of allowing you to see improvements in your dog, which is positive reinforcement for continuing to follow the program you are using. < FMI – Keeping A Daily Journal to Better Understand Your Dogs Behavior >.

#6. Train Your Dog

Training your dog to offer specific behaviors when cued will not necessarily change his emotional state. However, teaching certain behaviors may make managing him easier, especially if you can intervene well before he starts reacting. Training your dog is also a great way to build and maintain trust, provided you use only rewards and do not use any aversives. The Look or Attention behavior we teach in our classes can be very useful in getting your dog to focus on you instead of what is causing them to react. However, getting the dog to respond reliably under stress requires many training repetitions.

#7. Invest in Learning What You Need to Know

Working with a canine professional accredited in behavior consulting and training is highly recommended. They will be able to teach you a great deal. Still, they will also expect you, and everyone living with the dog, to patiently take the time to read the materials they recommend as well as watch any videos that will help you better understand your dog. You can find many valuable resources in this post on my blog < FMI – Resources on Canine Body Language & Communication. I ask all clients who work with me to read Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog by Dr. Zazie Todd. This book will be a great supplement to the information I provide. < FMI – Book Review – Bark! By Dr. Zazie Todd >

Recommended Resources

Online

Find A Veterinary Behaviorist – https://www.dacvb.org/search/custom.asp?id=5985
Do I Need a Dog Trainer or a “Behaviorist”? – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2019/11/13/do-i-need-a-dog-trainer-or-a-behaviorist/
Where Can I Find A Humane and Ethical Pet Care Professional? – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2020/09/20/where-can-i-find-a-humane-and-ethical-pet-care-professional/
Pet Professional Guild (PPG) Pet Behavior & Care Professionals Directory – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/find-a-ppg-professional/page/34/
Dog Training – Reward-Based Training versus Aversives – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/04/25/dog-training-reward-based-training-versus-aversives/
Sophia Yin’s How to Greet A Dog (And What to Avoid) handout – https://cattledogpublishing.com/poster-download/
How Would You Like It – A Video from the San Diego Humane Society – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G775ppK3VEM
The Art and Science of Consent Testing by Angelica Steinker – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/barks/barks-magazine-blog/the-art-and-science-of-consent-testing/
Sophia Yin’s How Kids SHOULD and SHOULD NOT Act with Dogs – https://cattledogpublishing.com/poster-download/
Help! My Dog Growls! – https://forcefreepets.com/help-my-dog-growls/
Keeping A Daily Journal to Better Understand Your Dogs Behavior – https://forcefreepets.com/keeping-a-daily-journal-to-better-understand-your-dogs-behavior/
Resources on Canine Body Language & Communication – https://forcefreepets.com/resources-on-canine-body-language-communication/
Book Review – Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog by Zazie Todd – https://forcefreepets.com/book-review-bark-zazie-todd/

Books

A Kid’s Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! By Nikki Tudge
On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas
Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog by Dr. Zazie Todd – You can read my review of this book at – https://forcefreepets.com/book-review-bark-zazie-todd/

Don Hanson lives in Bangor, Maine, where he is the co-owner of the Green Acres Kennel Shop (greenacreskennel.com) and the founder of ForceFreePets.com, an online educational resource for people with dogs and cats. He is a Professional Canine Behavior Consultant (PCBC-A) accredited by the Pet Professional Accreditation Board (PPAB) and a Bach Foundation Registered Animal Practitioner (BFRAP). Don is a member of the Pet Professional Guild (PPG), serving on the Board of Directors and Steering Committee and chairing the Advocacy Division. He is also a founding director of Pet Advocacy International (PIAI). In addition, Don produces and co-hosts The Woof Meow Show podcast, available at http://bit.ly/WfMwPodcasts/, the Apple Podcast app, and this blog. The opinions in this article are those of Don Hanson.