Reactive VS. Aggressive Dogs

 Dear Readers,

We always hear the term "aggressive dog" when a pet does not follow conventional methods. Maybe the dog growls when another person approaches them. Maybe their ears lie flat on their head and are standoffish. But- does this justify deeming the dog as "aggressive"?

As a dog trainer, I have had my fair share of aggressive dogs. From ones that have attacked another pet to the ones that bit children. HOWEVER, there is a clear difference between aggressive and reactive, but what is it?

Reactive Dogs are ones that have not harmed another, but still show signs of anger. From growling to getting ready to pounce but never actually harming the other person or animal.

Aggressive dogs are dogs that have actually harmed another person or animal (without being trained to do so like K9 Units in the military and police). This is an animalistic instinct to protect themselves at all cost.

As an owner, how do we help these two forms of dogs? The answer- sadly- is not a clear cut path. But in general these groups of dogs come down to one thing:

Trust and Bonding

Many reactive dogs are the middle ground in between being calm and well adjusted, and the actual aggressive dog. These dogs usually are doing something called "resource guarding". In humans we can see this in people who have been in traumatic situations. From children and adults who have no access to food and therefore starved for weeks to months on end to those that have been in abusive situations. For those who have a lack of food, when there is access to any form, they might hoard it and act aggressively in an attempt to not get it taken away. People in abusive situations will react guarded with many walls because self protection is more important than any potential relationship. They tend to resource guard things like money, food, or even bags of items such as clothes in case they need to run away again.

How is knowing what humans do important? 

The clearer image we have on why things work the way they do,  the better understanding we will have on how to fix the issue. For humans, going to therapy, having proper structure and boundaries, and a routine can help a person that resource guards to adjust and rewire their brain. In social work, the field I was trained in, we say the vagus nerve is active when a person is in flight or fight mode. Rewiring the brain and helping that nerve to calm down is the most important aspect of preventing or stoping the need of resource guarding.

In therapy humans are taught that breathing, journaling, or talking about the problems that lead up to this moment will help. However, we do not speak dog yet, and this step cannot be done in the same way when it comes to dog training. Therefore we need to create structure, proper boundaries, and a safe environment in a way the dog will understand.

Whether you are a person for positive or negative reinforcement, these steps can be done using either. Boundaries for dogs consist of setting up the "yes places" and "no places." For my clients, I say that a "no place" is the kitchen and dining room. The reason for this is the kitchen can lead to a dog getting underneath our feet or even in the way of what we are doing, which can lead to harming the dog if we are not careful. Another common boundary I teach my clients is that we do not allow the dog to jump on the furniture unless WE allow it. With this rule, we are teaching the dog to respect what we own. Just like with a child when they are not allowed to jump on the furniture as a preventative to breaking a bone and respecting our furniture, we must do the same with our pets.

Up to this point I have been talking mainly of reactive dogs. While setting boundaries can help an aggressive dog, the next two points are some of the most important when it comes to this type of dog. Including a fourth point that will be discussed at the end.

The second point, structure. While this might sound like boundaries, it actually is referring to playtime. Many people would say there dog is bonded with them because of how often they play together. But, that doesn't mean you are doing it in a way the dog appreciates. A dogs language is through sound and visible body language. This will be talked about in another post in more depth. When a dog plays and forms a bond, it is through certain moments.

For us humans, we bond through things like quality time. So watching a movie or cuddling on the couch can help us trust one another. For dogs, that is not a thing. Cuddling to them is not building a bond or forming trust. If we look at packs of wolves, the time they show trust and bonding is during a hunt. From little puppies, the pack teaches how to protect one another and supply food. A way we translate this into our lives is training.

Teaching a dog to play fetch is fine, but they love- no- crave learning. In packs they must adapt to their surroundings all the time. From protecting themselves because of a predator to keeping safe and warm during the winter, their brains are always trusting those around them and staying mentally stimulated. So if we teach our dogs to walk in a heel, or retrieve items, even open doors, we can mentally stimulate them and add the structure of a "pack" that they so desperately crave.

Third, is keeping a safe environment. For some this comes easy. The dog has a "den" AKA a kennel just like those in the wild do. The kennel is a safe place that a dog chooses to sleep in and feels safe doing so. Then in the house the dog isn't scared to eat or drink water. Building a safe environment means that little children are taught not to pull on the dog or harm them. This can mean when the dog is given food, it isn't eaten by another pet in the house. 

Finally, for aggressive dogs: Knowing the triggers and trying to minimize them until the dog feels safer. In packs, dogs trust one another. This is such an important part of a dogs culture and structure. If a dog is exhibiting signs of aggression, it means that it feels the need to resource guard and protect itself. This will go down the more you show the dog YOU can protect it. That you are apart of the pack and because of it, the dog can lean on you for support. So knowing the triggers and limiting interactions between them in important. If a dog is scared of men, especially strangers, then you recognize this and choose to not go to a park where your dog will feel afraid and lash out. Instead, you choose to train tricks inside your house or backyard until trust has formed.

Summarizing what was discussed, a reactive dog has a REACTION to its environment but never harms a person, while an aggressive dog has injured or harmed at least one person. With structure, boundaries, and a safe environment you can help your dog adjust and build a bond that will be unbreakable.