Dog Tips

Managing an angry dog

admin • 31 Aug 2023

Anyone who has a more aggressive pet is continually searching for techniques that will curb their pet's aggressive behavior since an angry dog can cause a lot of confusion and significant injury to people and other animals. However, this work becomes rather challenging when the cause of such a high level of aggression is not understood, and the first step in solving the issue is precisely the examination of the factors that contribute to this kind of behavior.

Although an angry dog ​​can be very useful to protect a home and serve as a guard dog  – alerting its owners to possible threats and dangers – having a more aggressive dog at home can trigger a series of accidents, which include biting people and strange animals to violent behavior towards their own owners.

Although all dogs have the ability to learn and can be trained to avoid attacks and violent attitudes, there are many breeds considered more dangerous in the animal world - and not because they are aggressive in general, but because they have the ability to cause enormous damage when attacked.

Within this group of dogs considered brave, there are a variety of well-known breeds that stand out, such as Pitbull, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Siberian Husky, Great Dane, Doberman, Chow-Chow, Alaskan Malamute, Canary Persian, and even Saint Bernard – which, although it is seen as a docile dog (like the protagonist of the Beethoven films), can weigh up to 90 kilos and cause serious injuries when it attacks someone.

However, as previously mentioned, none of these breeds are, in fact, completely aggressive; and with proper breeding and application of training techniques, all dogs can be made more peaceful. Check out, below, what are the main reasons for a dog to get angry, and learn how to get around the situation.

The motives of an angry dog

A dog's love and loyalty to its owner are considered to be traits adored by pet owners; however, a very protective dog can become extremely aggressive with people and other animals and, even if its intention is to protect, it can end up attacking what does not represent any threat.

In addition to the feeling of threat and fear, the desire to protect a specific territory can also motivate dogs to attack – seeking to guarantee their leadership in space. Pregnant dogs or dogs that have just given birth are also animals that can act violently when something or someone approaches their puppies; attacking to protect their brood.

Another factor that triggers dog attacks with some frequency - and which is not always taken into account by owners - is pain; since dogs that are suffering from some kind of discomfort in specific regions can attack when something approaches that weakened area, trying to avoid prolonging and worsening their pain.

How to calm your angry dog

Bearing in mind the causes that can trigger violent behavior on the part of your pet, the first step to reduce the problem is to correctly identify what the dog's motivations are - and taking him to a consultation with a veterinarian is a great option. option in these cases, eliminating any possibility of aggression due to pain or illness that the animal may have.

If the medical issue is eliminated from the occurrence, the ideal is to seek techniques and professional help from trainers; who can develop tactics to change the dog's aggressive behavior and commands so that he can differentiate what actually represents a threat - avoiding attacks due to exaggerated protection of the owner or his territory.

Castration is another method often used to calm an angry dog, because with the procedure, the vast majority of dogs become more docile and stop attacking due to territorial issues, for example.

In cases where these main measures do not work, the administration of antidepressant drugs and serotonin inhibitors may be indicated – however, this type of solution can only be prescribed by a veterinarian, and give medicine to your dog without consulting a veterinarian. a professional can cause quite serious complications for the pet's health (in addition to not solving and being able to make the issue of canine aggressiveness even worse ).

It is important to remember that an animal's aggression should never be treated more aggressively. Therefore, if the difficulty of calming your dog is a big problem, consulting a specialist is the best procedure.