A dog can be a wonderful addition to a home, bringing happiness and fun to everyone who encounters the pet. However, if a dog is aggressive the exact opposite can happen and it can turn a happy home into a living nightmare.
People can’t and don’t want to visit your house and you’re in constant fear that your dog may harm someone. In such cases you could be needing the services of a dog bite lawyer. Thankfully aggression in dogs can be overcome with humane training techniques, in this article we will discuss 6 tips to control an aggressive dog and bring your home back under control.
1. Understand the Cause of the Aggression
There are a number of reasons why your dog may be showing aggressive behavior. Is it because of fear of you, the family or another animal? Does your dog feel threatened? Does it have a need to protect something? Take time to understand why the dog is aggressive and then you can work toward changing those behaviors.
2. Avoid Violence
If you do use a physical form or punishment you may only end up making things worse. For example, many people will show dominance to a dog by yelling and screaming at it. This will make an already aggressive dog more so and it will make training more difficult
Furthermore, definitely do not use any sort of punitive training device such as a shock collar. Not only are they cruel and inhumane, they are largely ineffective at actually addressing the cause of the behavior.
3. Know How To Calm An Angry Dog
There are a number of ways to calm a dog down. You can either use a command such as sit or lay down or you can do something more drastic, like put a leash on the dog. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you know how to calm the dog down and stay in control.
4. Train Your Dog
One of the best ways to get control over an aggressive dog is to train it. Whether you want to train it to respond to a verbal command, to respond to a whistle, or to walk calmly on a leash, you need to commit to training your dog. It will take time and you will need to be patient, but it will be worth it.
5. Use a Gentle Leader
A gentle leader is a training collar that goes around your dog’s face. It is attached to a leash and is easy to use. The gentle leader will give you more control over your dog and will help you to break its aggressive behaviors. The gentle leader will also help you to train your dog by rewarding good behavior and by correcting bad behavior.
6. Take the Necessary Steps
It is important that you take the necessary steps to control an aggressive dog. You need to be firm, but not too firm. You need to be confident, but not aggressive. You need to love your dog, but not let it get away with bad behavior. It takes time and patience, but it will all be worth it in the end.
