(Dog-Dog Aggression tip #1) Most common types of Dog-Dog Aggression

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When you hear hoof-beats coming over the hill in Wyoming, think horses, not zebras. While it could absolutely be that there are zebras – or albino miniature ponies with pink ribbons in their manes – coming, the first and most obvious thing to rule out is horses.

When it comes to dogs who don’t do well with other dogs there are some common rule-outs that account for the bulk of cases. These are:

Dogs that come on too strong. They appear hyper-motivated and have coarse social skills. Then this type presents along with an impoverished play history, I’m going to refer to them as “Tarzan”.

  • Dogs that are sensitive to the proximity of other dogs. They may present with frank fearlessness or more subtly, as asocial animals that get snappy if a dog gets too close or makes social overtures.
  • Dog-dog resource guarding
  • Harassment, i.e. bullying or “hazing” of other dogs.
  • Play skills deficits – dogs that play but lack some of the features of normal play, causing frequent tipovers of their play into fighting.
  • Strong genetic predisposition to compulsively fighting

For more details on how to identify the specific aggressive behavior your dog may be exhibiting and ways to use behavior modification to retrain a dog, purchase Jean Donaldson’s FIGHT, A Practical Guide to Dog-Dog-Aggression.

 

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Nancy Kerns
Nancy Kerns was the founding editor of Whole Dog Journal in 1998. She now devotes her time to teaching dog-training classes and training dogs for The Canine Connection in Chico, CA, and as a volunteer for her local animal shelter, the Northwest SPCA in Oroville, CA.