Sometimes even the most placid and calm of dogs can suddenly become aggressive when confronted with other dogs. This isn’t because your dog is unfriendly or bad natured but simply because they are scared, and their equivalent of the human fight or flight response has been triggered and they feel the need to make themselves seem as scary as possible. Of course, this doesn’t help you when it suddenly happens when you are out for your evening walk in the park.
There are some things that are more likely to trigger your dog, and these can include:
- A group of dogs running near them that are off their lead
- A dog barking from behind a fence that your dog can not see
- A dog on a lead walking towards your dog
- An unknown dog that is approaching you as the owner may trigger your dog into protective mode.
- Another dog that is taking away the attention from your dog such as a friend’s dog that has joined you on your walk
There are some easy methods that you can use to help your dog when they are feel uneasy and anxious and perhaps displaying aggressive behaviour as a result of this.
- One of the easiest things for you to do is to make sure that you have the right Dog Collars and Leads and that you walk your dog on a short lead that is slightly slack and keep your dog as close to your side as possible. If you need to get yourself a more suitable collar or lead it is worth taking a look athttps://iwoof.com/ This helps you dog to feel more secure and safe by your side and also enables you to have control of your dog and to be able to manoeuvre them away from any passing dogs that may be making them anxious.
- Making sure that you dog is aware and happy to use basic commands such as “down” and “sit” can also help you to deal with any potential issues that may arise, and you can even use these as a distraction method if you notice a dog heading in your direction.
- Always reward your dog, perhaps with their favourite treat, if they don’t react to something that previously would have upset them and had them barking aggressively. This way you are showing your dog that you are rewarding their good behaviour whilst also keeping them feeling safe and secure.
- You can you an avoidance technique that means that when you are faced with a situation that would make your dog nervous you simple remove your dog and walk them in the other direction away from the issue.
