Aggressive Dog Training by Maureen Keene of Keene Kanine

I work to modify dog behaviors and change the leadership status in the home so that the dog realizes in a friendly way that they do not need to resort to aggression to get what they want and lead a happy, full life with us. 

-Maureen Keene, Aggressive Dog Trainer

Aggressive Dog Trainer Serving Long Beach and Nassau County, NY

There are many reasons why dogs can become aggressive. Some of the most common causes include lack of proper socialization and training, pain or illness, fear, establishing dominance, and protecting territory or possessions. If a dog that has never shown any sign of aggression suddenly begins growling, snapping, or biting, it may be caused by a disease or illness. 

Pain is an especially common cause of aggression in dogs. However, many underlying factors can cause aggression in your dog, ranging from genetics to pain. Every dog trainer deals with dog aggression, which is often why we get a call. Unfortunately, canine aggression tends to escalate quickly, so once it starts, the behavior usually does not wind down without professional assistance from a behavior modification specialist like myself.

When I visit the home, I will find out why it is happening, where it is happening, with whom it is happening, and what the triggers are. There are many ways of handling aggression. Going head to head and treating your dog aggressively is not my way. With planned sessions, I use counter-conditioning techniques and strive to change and modify the underlying feelings associated with the triggers to ultimately change the aggressive behaviors.

As always, I start with clear communication and reward-based training, which helps to refine that skill so that we can clearly communicate with the dog who most often is looking for a job, and the aggression feels right as it guards or protects its territory, it's possessions or a person.

If dog aggression is your concern, you should not hesitate to contact a dog behavior specialist for an evaluation and ascertain what needs to be done to modify and change the behaviors before they escalate. Some dogs I visit have had a shock collar experience with someone utilizing that to try to stop a behavior that only worsens matters. Not surprisingly, I find a lot of aggression in doorways. It's a very sensitive area of the home.

Aggression is more prevalent with dogs that spend time on elevated surfaces such as couches and beds, and I coach families through changes, if necessary, in this area. A dog that may be confused about the home's leadership will assert aggression to ensure they are in control. Some dogs utilize aggression to keep their status and get what they want. They are busy training us.

I work to modify dog behaviors and change the leadership status in the home so that the dog realizes in a friendly way that they do not need to resort to aggression to get what they want and lead a happy, full life with us. Depending on your dog and what kind of aggression we are dealing with, we may need to give it a job of sorts, which will keep them mentally busy. In contrast, we continue to strive to achieve the behaviors we want so that we can enjoy our dog and not worry about tendencies that could endanger others, such as dog aggression.

Again discussing dog aggression, clarity is necessary as to whether we are talking about a dog's aggression toward people or a dog's aggression toward other dogs. Both serious matters must be discouraged and minimized as fully as possible. Some dogs can exhibit dog reactivity but are friendly, and some dogs bark, carry on & are dog aggressive upon seeing another dog. They are unfriendly, which is hard to handle when walking down a busy street, particularly with a large dog.

That is a special behavior modification training focused particularly outdoors to allow the dogs as much freedom as possible while allowing enough safety for the owner to handle the dog in public. So, of course, I handle dog-on-dog aggression and dogs being aggressive toward people. Whenever I train a dog not to do something, I teach them to do something else, and I like to call it a behavior transplant.