Fear aggression in dogs takes place when your dog is aggressive out of sheer fear or panic. If you have a fear aggressive dog, she is not necessarily of a violent nature, but rather is just scared of a certain situation. Her aggression is her way of telling you that she is not able to deal with the scenario.
Patience and perseverance are essential components when stopping fear aggression.
It can Occasionally be fairly difficult to stop fear aggression in dogs, as your dog is responding to a potent mix of instinct and fear. You ought to pay close attention to the reason for the fear, and work to desensitize her to it.
Do your best to raise her confidence
A great method to stop fear aggression is by positively rewarding your dog when she complies with her obedience training. With a very small dog, be careful not to give her too many treats, as this may perhaps disturb her system. As your dog becomes more used to your commands, progress to the next level. As your dog performs each of the commands to your approval, be sure to positively reward her. On the other hand, be sure not to baby her or reinforce her fearful behaviour with atypical attention and sympathy, as you do not want to be rewarding her for the very behaviour that you are attempting to train her to stop.
Desensitize her to the trigger of her fear
Desensitizing your dog is all about methodically and gradually getting her accustomed to what is eliciting her fear response, and can be a really efficient way to stop fear aggression in dogs. Your dog needs to learn through direct experience that the cause of her fear is not something that she should be afraid of, so undertake to keep your dog as cheerful and relaxed as you can.
For illustration, if she has a fear of the vacuum cleaner, as most dogs do, start slowly integrating it into her day-to-day life. begin by merely leaving it out in a prominent position, where she will have some incidental contact with it. Grant her plenty of opportunity to sniff it and walk around it, and play with her and feed her close to it. Methodically progress to turning the vacuum on, with your dog a fair distance away. Leave it on for a while, to get your dog used to the sound. Gradually see that she goes a little closer to the vacuum as it is running.
Be certain not to crowd your dog in any way. In the event that your dog is frightened in any way, it is vital that she has her own space.
Pay close attention to your dog’s body language. If at any point she shows signs of panic, fear, or skittishness, turn the vacuum off for a while, and then start again.
Counter-conditioning
Once you are of the belief that your dog no longer fears the primary trigger, you can begin the course of action of counter-conditioning as a further means to stop fear aggression. This means associating good things with the object of her fear. The best way to stop fear aggression in dogs in this regard is through the good old use of treats and lavish praise when there are improvements in her fear levels. Positive reinforcement, one of the tenets of operant conditioning, must be applied regularly and consistently to see positive results.
Socialize your dog regularly
Although the first phases of a dog’s life are the most important with respect to socialization, you should still consider it throughout your dog’s life, should fear aggression develop. The more she is exposed to other people, other dogs, and a variety of situations, the more she will see that the aforesaid are not to be feared. The less you will have to worry about learning how to stop dog aggression as well.
Seek professional help
If nothing you do seems to work, you should think about seeking the assistance of a professional dog trainer. It could possibly be the case that they can find something subtle that you could not, which could make a significant difference.