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Fear aggression in dogs is a tricky topic. This is because it’s difficult to identify with 100% certainty. Why? Because aggression is very commonly confused with reactivity.
Some of the behaviors of reactivity and aggression may look the same: a dog displaying aggression may bark, growl, lunge, or snap, and a reactive dog may do these things as well.
According to the American Kennel Club, “aggression can be due to guarding territory or protecting a family member, resource guarding, fear, frustration, prey drive, and/or pain.” (Fear aggression is what we will specifically cover in this article, but as you can see, there are many other reasons or situations that may cause a dog to act “aggressive.”)
Reactive dogs, on the other hand, are reactive (meaning they overreact) to certain things or situations. To be considered reactive, a dog must have a trigger, such as people wearing hats, men with beards, feeling trapped while leashed, and so forth.
To complicate matters further, your dog may be showing one of the above behaviors, but that does not mean the dog is necessarily aggressive or reactive. The situation that elicits the behavior determines this. A dog may bark or growl in a certain situation, but that does not mean the dog is aggressive or reactive.
For example: If your dog barks excessively in reaction to a trigger (or triggers), like seeing a person with a hat, that is reactive behavior. If they bark in a loud and constant way because they feel cornered by a person, that is fear aggressive behavior. If they bark because they see a squirrel in a tree, that’s just barking because they see a squirrel in a tree–probably normal behavior based on their prey drive. (If the barking becomes excessive or compulsive, or if seeing the squirrel causes the dog to behave in ways that could be dangerous to the dog, it could veer into “reactive” territory.)
As you can see, identifying the behavior can be tough, and might take some practice. But don’t worry, you’re not alone and we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll cover how to identify fear aggression and how to manage and modify fear aggression.
A dog with fear aggression will display body postures that signal fear. These may include:
Much of fear aggression occurs when the dog feels cornered. According to the ASPCA, dogs, like most animals, would prefer to get away from the perceived threat. They become aggressive when they feel it is their only recourse. A dog exhibiting fear aggression is trying to protect themselves from the thing that is scaring them.
What this means is that we can (in some cases) prevent fear from turning into fear aggression by becoming more familiar with body language cues from our dogs.
Here are some body language cues that indicate your dog is stressed or worried:
Being able to recognize these signs of stress can help you remove your dog from the situation (when possible) and prevent fear aggression altogether. If, for example, your friend is approaching your dog and you notice the dog licking their lips or freezing, intervene and direct your friend away from the dog, and give the dog a safe space to retreat to. This cuts the situation off before it reaches the point where the dog feels they have no choice but to act aggressive.
If displaying fear aggression is a last resort, we can take steps to keep the dog from feeling the need to resort to it.
Management
Modification:
As the ASPCA states, it’s very important to work with both your veterinarian and a professional dog behavior expert when dealing with any issue of aggression. The veterinarian can help you make sure your dog isn’t acting aggressive out of pain or illness. (It’s important to eliminate this possibility first.) The behavior expert should be experienced in working with dogs with fear aggression. They can help you figure out a plan for behavior modification based on your dog’s history and risk factors. The plan will most likely involve counterconditioning and desensitization.
It’s important to bring in a professional behavior expert because any dog that acts aggressive comes with certain risks (which are outlined in the ASPCA article in the above paragraph). For instance, a dog with a history of biting people is an insurance liability and can be at risk for euthanization (in some places). You do not want your dog to hurt you, other people, or other animals. Our article When And How To Think About Medication For Anxious Dogs contains a breakdown of the difference between vets, veterinary behaviorists, and certified applied animal behaviorists. The American Kennel Club also has a handy guide to choosing a dog trainer.
Dealing with fear aggression in dogs can be scary, but with some professional help, the ability to read your dog’s body language, and a lot of patience, you can help your dog be less afraid, and improve the quality of life for both of you.
There is so much misinformation out there, we want to make sure we only provide the highest quality information to our community. We have all of our articles reviewed by qualified, positive-only trainers. The trainers that review our content are reviewed by other trainers to ensure that we have the best quality filters on our content.
This is the trainer that reviewed this article:
Lindy Langum
Founder - K9 Fun Club
Staff Trainer - Summit Assistance Dogs
Certified in Canine Studies (CSS), NW School of Canine Studies
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