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Charlie Traffas
Charlie Traffas has been involved in marketing, media, publishing and insurance for more than 40 years. In addition to being a fully-licensed life, health, property and casualty agent, he is also President and Owner of Chart Marketing, Inc. (CMI). CMI operates and markets several different products and services that help B2B and B2C businesses throughout the country create customers...profitably. You may contact Charlie by phone at (316) 721-9200, by e-mail at ctraffas@chartmarketing.com, or you may visit at www.chartmarketing.com.
Pets
2006-12-01 15:48:00
Why do dogs charge?
ANSWER: Several factors come into play with dominant or aggressive behavior in dogs. These behaviors often can be traced to poor breeding practices and the lack of early socialization. Temperament is a combination of genetics and environment. If puppies' parents tended to be aggressive, those genetics will be passed on to the offspring and consequently the pups may also have aggressive tendencies. Early socialization and positive training can overcome many genetic predispositions. Obviously dogs that learn in infancy how to get along with pack members are easier to train than dogs that have poor social skills. The first thing that must be determined is if your dog has merely a dominant personality or if he is truly aggressive. Dominant dogs are the playground bullies. They greet other dogs head on with ears and tail erect. If the other dog acts submissively the situation is diffused and the dogs will ignore each other or even initiate play. If the oncoming dog is also dominant then a fight may ensue. Aggressive dogs are the sociopaths of the canine world. They are looking for a fight and will attack another dog regardless of how that dog responds. These dogs are a real danger and should be kept as pets only with rigid confinement or intense retraining by a professional. A behavioral consultation would be needed to actually determine in which personality type your dog fits. However since you indicate you have been able to separate your dog from the one he is charging he probably falls into the dominant dog category. The fist step in retraining your dog to act appropriately is a firm foundation in basic commands such as sit, heel, and down. You should have a relationship of trust with your dog so he knows he will be instantly rewarded for obeying you and as leader of his pack you will protect him from any threat. Many dogs lunge because they believe they must dominate the other dog or they will be attacked. This is called fight or flight. A dog on a leash or chained outside knows he cannot run away and sees fighting as his only option. Your dog does not trust you to protect him. When he learns to obey you and look to you to reward him for ignoring approaching dogs, much of the lunging should stop. In addition to learning his commands he needs to be taught how to appropriately approach another dog. Canine manners are essential since our dogs are allowed to go many places with us. Dogs that don't know each other should never be introduced face to face and eye to eye. In canine society these actions are considered rude and aggressive. Your dog should be allowed to approach other dog nose to tail. Identifying the other dogs scent is how they learn to identify each other. After a generous amount of rear end sniffing the dogs will start to circle and size each other up. Body posture will dictate the next step in their relationship. If any growling or mounting starts you should calmly but firmly distract your dog with a leash correction and a command to heel. You then just walk away. This conveys to your dog that he can interact with another dog as long as he is polite but must move on if he can't behave. If you are out walking there may be times you must simply go a different direction if your dog cannot stay focused on you. The key element is having a good trusting relationship with your dog. He should know without a doubt that his good behavior will be instantly rewarded and inappropriate behavior will be redirected and deterred.
 
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