One of the most common mistakes people make when their dog becomes aggressive is yell at them. This is truly adding fuel to the fire. If a dog barks at another dog, it must first be understood if it is an aggressive bark, posturing or playful. Most of this can be observed if you know your dog or by observing body posture. In general, a dog puts the front part of their body lower than their hind side when they are playful. Tail position up and wagging is playful, down and straight is not. Hair on back standing up can usually be interpreted as posturing behavior. Obviously I can not teach how to evaluate a dog here in words, as it is a learned skill, however if you know your dog well enough, you will be able to tell some basics.
That being said I’d like to address the point of this blog and that is “adding fuel to the fire.” The title should pretty much explain what it is that happens when you yell at your dog. Aggression begets aggression. There is a huge difference between dominance and aggression. When you are the alpha of your dog / when you protect them, you control them and keep them from getting you and themselves into trouble. Dominance or alpha does not involve yelling, hitting or any human definition. For the purpose of this blog I’ll address a dog that barks or becomes unruly around another dog. Lets first address the cause, before we address the solution. Puppies who are poorly socialized are prime targets for dog to dog aggression, as are dogs that are constantly scolded for barking.
Distraction is the key to keeping your dog in line. It is a tool I use constantly. If a dog starts to move toward another dog, turn and walk in the other direction. If your dog follows you, reward him — preferably with love and/ or a treat. More on that another day. If he continues to pull toward the other dog, do NOT drag him. Leash control should be done with tugs, not by dragging your dog. Change direction as many times as necessary to get your dog to follow you. Each and every time he follows you, reward and praise him. Each and every time he does not follow you change direction and ignore him. Do NOT yell at him, or correct him or explain to him what he is doing wrong. Its better that you read War and Peace to him than explain what he is doing wrong. HE CAN NOT UNDERSTAND YOU… I promise.
Show him what you want him to do, get him to do it, and reward him for doing it. THAT is the basics of Dog Training. Dog training is simple, so simple in fact that it might be too simple for people to apply it.