Possessive Dog Aggression: How to Deal with It

dog training in Vancouver

Responsible dog ownership means teaching your dog how to get along with other people and animals. If you want to prevent possessive dog aggression, it’s important to understand what causes it, so you can focus on the right things in training. Aggression prevention dog training teaches your dog appropriate responses to his environment in order to help his aggressive behaviour toward anything or anyone around him. Dog behaviour and training in Burnaby focuses on common problems like possessive dog aggression, including what factors may contribute to it and how you may modify the aggression behaviour.

What is Possessive Dog Aggression?

Possessive aggression in dog is when your dog guards over things that they consider precious. The best way to understand possessive aggression is to identify where it’s coming from. Some of the common causes of possessive aggression may be:

  • The natural response of dogs to protect their food and resources
  • Learned behaviour
  • Past trauma
  • Limited access to food, toys, and other resources which triggers them to protect it at all costs
  • It may be dependant on the dog’s environmental influences

How to Deal with Possessive Aggression?

If your dog shows signs of possessive aggression such as growling, snapping, or biting, it’s crucial to get assistance from a professional dog trainer as soon as possible. Here are a few tips that can be helpful in modifying possessive aggression in dogs.

  • Have your dog eat in a comfortable and secure area where he is not being bothered. Do not challenge your dog when he is possessive over his favorite item.
  • Getting advice to train him to “leave it” or “drop it” the item that they are possessive about. However, these tips alone may not work if the dog does not understand what’s acceptable or unacceptable behaviour. Therefore, it’s essential to have your dog enrolled in a training program.
  • Don’t threaten your dog by yelling at him to leave the item. Consult your dog behaviourist for guidance and assistance.

Contact us and enroll your dog in our dog training in Vancouver to know more about possessive aggression in dogs.