COLUMN: Fear aggression in dogs is not ill discipline
Local dog trainer Nadine Whittal has found that fear aggression is one of the more prominent forms of aggression in dogs.
• Nadine Whittal, dog trainer writes:
Fear aggression is one of the more prominent forms of aggression in dogs. It develops as a defence mechanism of all natural creatures’ fight, flight or freeze response.
Also read: COLUMN: Dogs and aggression
So where does it come from and how does it look?
When you are faced with a situation that seems threatening to you, there are several responses available to you that can help to alleviate the situation. The first is flight. In other words, you run away from the situation, thus removing the need to deal with it at all. The second is freeze. If you freeze, the hope is that whatever is threatening you will just move on. The third is fight. If you make yourself more threatening than whatever is presenting as a danger to you, then that dangerous thing might move on.
Fear aggression is an expression of this fight response. However, dogs prone to fear aggression perceive most of their environment as a threat so they are stuck, almost permanently, in that fight mode.
Dogs displaying aggression as a result of fear are generally trembling, their bodies pulled in and small. They lift their lips to display their teeth and release an almost constant growl/ whine. They tend to lunge in, nip or bite, and then retreat immediately.
When dealing with dogs like this, you need to remember that they are not being naughty and are not lacking in discipline. They are terrified of their environment. If you discipline them, you are only confirming that they are correct in their fear and you propagate the behaviour.
The best thing to do in a situation like this is to back off. Let the dog choose to come to you if he wishes. You crowding him is threatening, but him choosing to come to you is not. Also, allow the dog the opportunity to retreat if he chooses. Knowing that he can back out of the situation does a lot to relieve the tension.
However, this is not something you should be dealing with by yourself. You should employ the service of a respectable animal behaviourist and follow their directions to the letter. Remember to consider both your safety and the safety of the dog itself.
