Motivations Behind Aggression in Dogs

There are many varied circumstances and different motivations that lead to the development of aggression in dogs. Two of the most common motivations for aggressive behaviour are fear and frustration.
 
Frustration
When a dog is highly motivated to do something but is stopped from doing it, this can cause aggression through frustration. Similarly to young children, dogs need to build up a tolerance to frustration. This includes learning to control their impulses. For example learning ‘I can’t always have what I want the second I want it’. This takes time to establish and is often something many dogs have never been taught before.
 

A common example of frustration is the normally calm dog that enjoys interacting with other dogs in the park when off lead. Yet when the dog is walked on lead they strain at the end of the lead and bark continuously at other dogs. The dog wants to meet up with other dogs rather than attack them but can not control their frustration at not being able to reach the other dog. Too often frustrated dogs are labelled as ‘aggressive’ or ‘disobedient’ and subsequently punished for their behaviour. In this case this could cause a conflict of emotion between the excitementof seeing other dogs and the fear of being punished. This type of emotional conflict can result in aggressive, unusual and undesirable behaviours. The use of punishment around other dogs may also cause the dog to become fearful of other dogs. This is because the sight of other dogs begins to predict punishment from the owner.

It is also not recommeded that a dog in a highly fustrated state on lead is allowed to approach other dogs as this can upset other dogs and lead to fighting. Instead working on impulse control and calm behaviours around other dogs is required. For this type of training see your local trainer or behaviourist. 
 
Fear
Aggression initiated by fear is caused by the dog feeling the need to defend itself. Although dogs have adapted to live with humans some human-dog interactions remain unwelcome. This includes the way in which many of us initiate contact with dogs such as hugging dogs around the neck and patting them on the head (particularly around the eyes, nose and mouth). Think about how you would feel if upon meeting you someone began putting their fingers near your eyes or grabbed you around the neck, it would probably make you feel rather uneasy!    

Although you may be thinking ‘I do that with my dog and it’s never been a problem’ very often the subtle signs of discomfort are there. Watch out for lip licking, blinking, yawning and turning their head away. As a rule dogs may also feel threatened if they are chased after, cornered or physically restrained particularly when trying to avoid something they are unsure of. It may be that your dog can tolerate many of these interactions however there is also an effect known as trigger stacking. This is when several triggers occur and eventually it all becomes too much for the dog to cope with. A human example of this would be 'reaching the end of your tether'. For example your dog may cope with the children chasing him, poking him and pulling his tail but when one of the children then goes to hug the dog it is all suddenly too much to cope with and a bite occurs. Think of it as the final straw during a stressful day! This build up of stressors is likely the cause of many bites within the home that to owners often appear out of the blue (the dog previously coped with the triggers when they occurred one at a time) and without warning (they didn’t know the warning signs). Ultimately the majority of bites are predictable and can be avoided through sesnsible managment and training.
 
Punishment can be a significant cause of fear and anxiety in a dog’s environment. the use of punishment is counterproductive doesn't actuall teach a dog what they need to do. The use of a stern ‘no’ is generally confusing for dogs because the word has no real meaning i.e. does it mean stand still? Sit? Move away? Or something else? and is used in such a wide variety of situations. Therefore the use of punishment often leads to confusion, increasing anxiety and makes an aggressive response all the more likely. For example, in a dog that is punished when they do not give up a toy the dog learns to avoid punishment by avoiding the owner when they have a toy. The dog then runs away from the owner with the toy. This avoidance leads to further punishment increasing the dog’s anxiety and eventually contributing to aggressive guarding behaviours around toys. This scenario can easily be avoided by teaching the dog to give up the toy to get a reward and by returning the toy afterwards. The dog learns that giving something up is beneficial and does not always mean they won’t get it back.  

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There are many potential causes of aggression only a few examples of which have been covered in this article. If you are struggling with dog aggression it is always best to consult a professional for the safety of yourself, your dog and others.