home Audience 4 Learning based on positive reinforcement. The dog growls at the owner: reasons and rules of behavior Why does it growl when you approach the dog

Learning based on positive reinforcement. The dog growls at the owner: reasons and rules of behavior Why does it growl when you approach the dog

Experienced dog breeders know firsthand how important it is to raise a dog properly from an early age. But if you miss even the smallest details, slow down the aggression on the part of a four-legged pet, everything can end sadly. The dog will growl at the owner, start to disobey and not follow basic commands. If the situation has already reached this point, urgent action must be taken. We will understand the reasons for what happened and give practical recommendations for education.

Statistical data

Let's look at some facts and study statistics. Dogs have been living alongside humans for centuries. Such a long cooperation has led to the fact that the animal and man get along without conflict. Cynology - the science of dogs, has advanced.
Dogs are under the close supervision of scientists who reveal more and more features of four-legged friends. Thanks to the extensive experience of cynologists, their cooperation with trainers and amateur dog breeders, it was possible to draw a conclusion regarding the behavior of dogs.
According to statistics, about 78% of pets that growl at their owners or otherwise show aggression towards a person have bitten the owner or his family members at least once. This percentage does not refer to the fact that the animal bites intentionally. He could be driven to this by the actions of people. But a fact is a fact.
According to some reports, more than 60% of people injured by dogs are the owners of the animals themselves. Moreover, from the indicated percentage, most of the people are old people or small children. When a dog attacks a child, its bites are on facial tissues. This is dangerous, so you need to take action.
As for the upbringing and maintenance of aggressive animals, the attackers were mainly those who were kept at home or were thrown out into the street for unknown reasons. In any case, a human-trained dog is more aggressive. Than the one that was born on the street and was raised by a bitch.

Causes of aggression

There are 4 fundamental reasons why an animal can be aggressive and growl at the owner.

This list includes animal breeding that was poorly planned or not thought out at all.
Also, a dog can growl due to improper upbringing, aggression in its direction, violence from a person, constant bullying (deliberate provocation to anger).
Another reason is the obsession of children or guests (friends of the owner). The dog simply cannot calm down, because it is constantly disturbed. This results in aggressive signs and growling.
It is worth highlighting incorrectly conducted or late socialization, in which the pet cannot adequately respond to other animals or people.

It is important to understand that aggression, as well as affection, refers to the emotions of the animal. You can not proceed only from the facts, you need to know your dog, feel its mood, listen to your own intuition. Wisdom, experience and kindness are your best allies. Of course, the dog's temperament is not to be discounted.

Correcting the situation is quite possible. Dogs can be trained to growl at their owners. To do this, you need to show who is the boss in the house and the leader of the pack. Keep in mind that with such an upbringing, you will definitely meet with resistance and stubbornness. Therefore, be prepared to gain courage, patience, strength and endurance. This is the only way to achieve what you want. If this is not done, especially with a large pet, serious problems may arise. Especially if the dog belongs to the fighting breeds. Such an animal can become a potential threat not only to the owner, but to all family members.

Feeding

It is necessary to normalize the feeding time of the animal. Do not try to feed your pet before you yourself get up from the table. It is important to teach your dog to eat only on command. If the pet starts to defend his bowl, you should hold it with one hand. The dog should not defend its food from you.
It is important to teach the animal not to spin near the table and not beg for food. Train your dog to start and finish eating only on your command. If necessary, the pet should give the remaining food without aggression.
In no case do not give in and do not be afraid of the growl of the dog. If you ever give in and give in, the animal will develop a new reflex. The dog will think that growling at you is enough for you to step aside. Thus, you cease to be the leader of the pack.

weasel

No matter how much you love your pet, and no matter how cute it is, you can’t constantly caress and stroke it. The dog does not perceive this as human feelings and love for her.
On the contrary, the pet will confuse the attitude towards him. He may perceive such a manifestation of feelings as weakness. Weasels should be in moderation. Always reward your dog for correctly executed commands.

Punishment and encouragement

Any pet needs fair treatment from the owner. It is necessary to regularly reward the pet for the executed commands. If necessary, the dog must be fairly punished. However, in this case, you need to follow the sequence.
Otherwise, the pet may confuse the attitude towards itself. The dog may understand gestures such as weakness. She will take the lead. When punishing, you must communicate with the animal in a language it understands.
Do not resort to shouting and rudeness. Take advantage of the wolves. The leader of the pack should grab the guilty person by the neck and press him to the ground, while slightly strangling him. If the animal continues to resist, it must be lifted up until the moment the pet goes limp and gives up. In the language of animals, the dog admits defeat.

If you are faced with a similar situation, everything can be fixed. Don't be manipulated by the animal. Show that you are the leader of the pack, the head of the family, authority. You can not argue and the only way out is to obey. It is also important to properly educate the dog from an early age so that such situations do not arise at all.

Video: what to do if the dog growls at the owner

Don't provoke your dog to aggression.

Dominant dog aggression - causes and signs

More than half of the cases of aggressive behavior of animals directed against humans are related to aggression towards family members, i.e. aggression within a social group. At the same time, in 72% of cases it was about the aggression of rivalry or the so-called aggression of the struggle for leadership. In 56 dogs (approximately 38%), the degree of aggression ranged from moderate to severe.

Aggression in the struggle for leadership directed against family members always occurs in one of the two situations described below. A dog and a family member compete for possession of something:

When one of the family members tries to take away food or any objects (for example, bones, toys, napkins) from the dog or approaches it while it holds any of these objects near it.
When one family member approaches or touches another family member who is the dog's "favorite" or another dog (such as a female in estrus).
When a family member approaches a dog that is lying in its place, or prevents it from resting or sleeping (as a rule, it is considered that this is a competition for a place to rest or sleep).
When a family member enters a room occupied by a dog or in a narrow hallway wants to walk past the dog in the opposite direction.

The owner demonstrates his superiority over the dog by his behavior. These behaviors include:

scratching, brushing, bathing the dog, performing various medical procedures, wiping;
touching the paws or muzzle of the animal;
situations when the owner lifts, pushes or pulls the dog;
puts a collar on her, pulls or pulls on the leash;
looks at her intently or threatens her, swears or shouts at her, constantly commands, beats;
grabs her or leans over her.

Many of these actions are not perceived by the people themselves as a demonstration of superiority. However, it is this kind of behavior that often triggers dominance or assertiveness aggression on the part of the dog because it is very similar to dog dominance.

Other typical signs of dominance struggle aggression

Often the owners claim that the attack of the dogs was not provoked by anything, while the dogs themselves, who suddenly showed aggression in situations that they had perceived normally the day before, are called “capricious” or unpredictable.

Attacks are often more vicious than other forms of aggressive behavior and may result in skin lesions. Dog bites can be very deep and leave scars. Often the owners have to go to the doctor or even go to the hospital.

During the attack, the dog does not look like itself, grins, growls, throws itself. Almost all owners note a strange gleam in the eyes of dogs.. In addition, other aggressive gestures may be observed, such as raised ears and tail, ruffled hair on the neck and back, and a gaze directed at the object of attack.

Immediately after the attack, the dog may again fawn on the owner, which he happily perceives as an "apology".

Often the dog exhibits species-typical behavior close to fighting for dominance, such as gazing at family members until they look away, or "putting itself up" by resting its front paws or muzzle on the person's knees or shoulders. Such dogs are most often friendly and harmless to strangers, so veterinarians have the opinion that the problem is not in the dog at all, but in people. However, this problem only manifests itself in the relationship between the dog and family members and becomes apparent to outsiders only if their stay in the house lasts more than one day.

People who have extensive experience with dogs, such as trainers or veterinarians, almost never have problems with these dogs. However, among the dogs there are real "hard nuts", aggressively behaving in the quest for leadership (they end up in dog shelters), who are not impressed by the demonstration of superiority from experienced specialists. Such dogs may become aggressive for the smallest of things, such as trying to lead them in a direction they don't want to go.

Dogs are not necessarily aggressive towards all family members. It is much more common for them to be more aggressive and/or more aggressive towards certain people living in the home.

With the exception of the competitive and confrontational situations described above, which are a typical cause of aggression in the struggle for leadership, dogs, in general, behave friendly towards family members. They tend to be obedient, and like all other dogs, they ask for food and a bit of attention. However, almost without exception, the owners of such dogs call them stubborn, headstrong and not obedient enough. When a dog really wants to do something else, like play with another dog or fight with him, he will most likely completely ignore commands from family members. The owners understand that the dog lacks respect for them.

Many owners are able to recognize the first symptoms of emerging aggression, for example, when the animal tenses up and begins to look at the owner sideways and with a strange look. In this case, the owner knows that he must immediately stop his actions in order to avoid the manifestation of aggression from the dog. In general, family members are aware of the need to be careful with the dog in certain situations. It often turns out that the problem of the dog's aggressiveness existed long before the meeting with the specialist, it's just that the owners still avoided the dog's attacks, fulfilling its desires.

Such dogs should not be physically punished or severely scolded for their aggressive behavior, as this inevitably causes an even stronger manifestation of aggression. Most often, quite a long time after the problem occurs, the owners try to fight back with force to restrain the dog's aggression, but the animal's vicious reaction stuns them. In fact, owners are not prepared to go through with the fight with their dog, as an instructor who trains service dogs for police work might do. They don't know how to fight a dog without it biting you. After one or two bites, such people give up and stop fighting, which further strengthens the dog's confidence in its superiority over the owner.

Family members admit that they are afraid of the dog. However, according to them, this was not always the case, the dog became aggressive towards the owner and other family members.

Some of these dogs set quite arbitrary and rather unusual rules of behavior for their owners:

For example, the host is not allowed to open a certain drawer in the kitchen cabinet, or the hostess is not allowed to go to bed before the host. The examples given are taken by the author from his practice. In the case of the woman who was only allowed to go to bed after her husband, she ended up having to sleep on the sofa every time her husband worked the night shift.
In another case, a German Shepherd dog "ordering" the owner's daughter to let her out through the back door into the garden, each time emitting a deep guttural growl. Two deep bite wounds for "disobedience convinced the girl of the seriousness of the dog's intentions, and she did not try to contradict her.

Shocked by the dog's vicious behavior and completely unaware of their pet, otherwise such a sweet and playful animal, the owners of the frequencies begin to assume that he has a serious brain disease. In many of the most severe cases, the correction of deviant behavior can bring only partial success. Many dogs with pronounced aggressive behavior in the struggle for leadership, despite the pedantic implementation of all the recommendations of an ethologist by the owner, continue to threaten or attack family members, and eventually it becomes too dangerous to leave such a dog in the house.

Defensive aggression - the dog attacks defensively

Group defensive aggression can also take on more personal forms. This can be caused by frequent encounters with some neighbors who regularly pass by the house or children who live on the same street, dog owners who constantly meet on walks, or people who regularly come to the house (postman). Adversarial relations between a dog and certain people can become so serious that the dog will react to them more viciously than to strangers. This problem can develop in different ways. Victims of aggression can lose their temper when they hear barking, and in response to it, wave their arms, make threatening gestures, scream, throw various objects. This will only increase the aggressive behavior of the dog.

Puppies often bite people while playing - this habit must be weaned

Children teasing a dog provoke a similar reaction. The barking of a dog arouses the attention of the children, and gradually the provocation of the bark becomes a kind of sport for the children, which they do on their way home. The fear of a person who is used to being afraid of dogs can, at each new meeting, cause an aggressive reaction of the dog, and in a stronger form. It is not clear why shy people are very often the subject of group defense aggression by dogs. As already mentioned, such people especially look at dogs or behave strangely from the point of view of the animal. The last example refers to owners of dogs living nearby, with whom this dog has had problems in the past. It is possible that in an effort to stop or prevent the fight, these people scolded the dog. It is possible that the behavior of the owner of another dog, who tried to separate the fighting animals, was perceived by the dog as a threat.

To understand and solve problems of this kind, it is necessary to act in the same way as in the manifestation of aggression in relation to strangers. However, in this case, there is another potentially important element of therapy - it is possible to modify the behavior of the victim of aggression. You can talk to the parents of children who tease the dog. You can also turn to people who regularly walk by the house and react to the dog in fear or aggression, and ask them to simply ignore his behavior. Ignoring the dog's behavior may lead to the elimination of initiating or rewarding stimuli that were the cause of the animal's deviant behavior.

Protection of offspring

Offspring defense is commonly referred to as maternal aggression. This defensive reaction is also observed in males when a person or other animal living in the family approaches the puppies or the place where the dog family lives. This is one of the most understandable and simple problems that the veterinarian, as a rule, solves on his own, without involving an ethologist consultant.

Aggression during play

Aggressive play by young dogs can be a problem for some owners. Dogs playing aggressive games can be dangerous, especially to small children and the elderly or weak. Sometimes dog owners and veterinarians assume in such cases more serious forms of aggression and seek the advice of ethologists.

Aggression outside the group

The biological function of aggression outside the group is self-defense, protection of other members of the group and protection of food supplies that guarantee the survival of the group in conditions of competition with other groups of congeners. At the same time, for dogs that had contacts with relatives in the past and live in a human family from the age of a few weeks, both dogs and people can act as groups of relatives.

Behavior correction - how to wean a dog from biting its owner

In simple cases, when the dog growls, but does not pose a potential danger:

Show the dog "who's in charge." Every time she growls at you, scold her or punish her hard enough in other ways that she immediately stops growling.
Regular obedience exercises and generally stricter handling of the dog are recommended. Never reward your dog for being pushy or demanding, and don't give him what he wants.

If the dog bites family members or poses a potential danger:

Temporarily avoid any situations of aggressive confrontation, do not do anything that regularly provokes aggression of the animal, and / or immediately stop all activities as soon as the dog becomes aggressive.
Completely ignore the dog when it comes up without command and demands attention, contact from the owner, begging to be petted, given food, etc.
Never give your dog what he wants if he begs or demands it.
"Nothing in life comes for free." Before receiving anything (for example, food, petting, walking), the dog must perform commands such as "sit", "stand", "come" or "place".
For the execution of commands, the dog can only be petted a little as a reward. No caresses.
Do not allow your dog to climb chairs and sofas or enter the bedroom.
Make the dog stand up and let the owner pass if he is in his way.
The dog should not have toys, rubber bones, etc. in the house.
The owner should not enthusiastically meet the dog when it returns home. He should behave with restraint and indifference, as if "accepting" the dog's greeting.
Competitive, aggressive and power plays should be avoided. It's best not to play with your dog at all, but instead take him to the park every day where he can play with other dogs.
More severity in all situations where the dog tolerates it.
Walk your dog on a leash for at least half an hour every day, change direction and speed often, do this without warning and until the animal begins to obey you without the slightest sign of aggression.
Teach your dog to run up to his owner faster and more confidently when he is outside without a leash. To do this, regularly use rewards with treats or change direction without looking back at the dog and without waiting for it.
Never let your dog walk through the door first. Teach her to be the first to let her through the owner's door.
Family members who do not have any relationship problems with the dog should completely ignore it for some time, do not feed, pet, talk or play with it.

Many owners find the pack theory quite convincing, and they immediately accept it. And although you can see from the expression on the faces of the owners that they have doubts about whether they can (or want) to comply with the strict recommendations of specialists, they are, by and large, convinced that the problem is such as the specialist doctor presents it, and the treatment methods are reasonable and logical. However, often the problem is to endure such a situation of competition with your dog during the time required for treatment. In essence, the owners feel in relation to their dogs in the role of parents and do not consider themselves their rivals. Therefore, they do not feel very good when forced to ignore the friendly treatment of the dog, move it out of the way and generally treat it, from their point of view, callously, cruelly and selfishly.

Rarely do dogs show unmotivated aggression.

How can one increase the willingness of owners to cooperate in such cases? Sometimes it is enough to slightly change the logic of the recommendations of specialists. We'll look at this modified "concept package" below. This does not mean that your explanations of the truth should be more than those of other consultants, or that you should come up with something else. Rather, it is an alternative approach to the problem that may increase the willingness of some pet owners to cooperate.

An example of one method of behavior modification to train a dog to respond calmly to brushing

Use your dog's favorite treats to teach him the "come", "sit", "sit" and "stand" commands when he is to be brushed. Don't give your dog any treats in other situations.
Determine how you can touch the dog with your hands or brush so as not to provoke aggression. Find out exactly what kind of brushing the dog will accept without growling (for example, 3-4 light touches with the brush are not dangerous, but prolonged and intense brushing can already be dangerous).
Reward your dog throughout the day while doing these exercises for sitting or standing quietly while brushing and not growling when you brush or touch him.
Once the dog gets used to this “game”, start very gently expanding the limits of what is allowed (for example, try to brush longer and more vigorously).
Once the dog gets used to it, change the rules again so that he gets used to the brushing even longer if he wants to get a reward.
If the dog begins to growl at any point in this procedure, do not reward him with a treat; wait a few minutes and start again from the previous exercise (for example, with lighter touches with a brush). Stay at this level for a while before you start to gradually increase the intensity/duration of neck touches again - this time go more slowly than on the last attempt.

The classic approach to the problem is to explain to the client that he should behave like an alpha animal, or leader of the pack. An alternative approach, on the contrary, suggests that the owner should change his attitude towards the dog and treat it in the same way as an adult animal treats a puppy. In such a relationship, the question of leadership never really arises. Dog owners should be made aware that behavioral interventions are effective because they generally reduce the dog's tendency to view family members as "equals" while encouraging the dog to treat them as a young puppy treats older pack members.

This alternative approach opens up new possibilities for persuading clients to apply recommended behavioral interventions that they find unnatural and not particularly pleasant. Below are some suggestions on how to educate dog owners about the purpose of expert advice.

Most dogs behave like puppies or young animals towards family members throughout their lives. They would never threaten them in situations in which they might threaten other dogs to show them their superior position or to claim certain objects or bones.
However, dogs that exhibit leadership aggression do not seem to fully understand how to behave towards family members. In some situations, they react to them not as adults of a higher rank, but rather as equals to other dogs with whom they play together in the park on walks. As a result, they threaten or bite family members in situations in which this type of aggression is regularly shown between dogs.
To successfully solve the problem, it is necessary that the owner change the nature of his attitude towards the animal and begin to treat him more like an adult dog treats young members of the pack, while avoiding certain actions that encourage the dog to look at him as an equal.

The owners are not to blame for the problem. Most of them treat their dogs normally. But it is these normal relationships that are the cause of behavioral problems in some dogs. It is better if such dogs treat their owners as young animals treat adults, and do not have companionship with them. In principle, this means that for some time the owners need to give up the easy treatment of their pets, which seems natural to them. In response to such a normal treatment of the owner, the dog often begins to perceive him as an equal in position, and behaves with him accordingly, that is, he tries to compete, and in some situations even demonstrate his superiority.

Some of these recommendations may seem rude and obnoxious to dog owners. In this case, they should be reminded that ignoring the dog's attempts to communicate or forcing it to give way is an imitation of the normal behavior of an adult animal towards a young one. This will teach the dog to treat his owners differently.

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If the dog growls...

There is such a proverb - if a dog growls on Monday, then by Friday it will bite you. This really means that if the dog growls, then he can grab you and then bite you. A growling dog warns that he does not like what you are doing, and if you continue to do this, then he intends to bite you.

If the dog is growling, you need to stop him before he bites. To put an end to this, you need to apply a hard correction to the dog, i.e. pull on the leash, then let go every time she growls, and start working with her. You should never allow your dog to growl, but always make a hard correction with him. Growling dogs should never be beaten.

Your dog may growl at other dogs, at other animals, at strangers, at your family members, or at you. Growling is the way a dog warns you or expresses concern, fear, or aggression. Dogs that never growl may exhibit this behavior if you touch and hurt them. For example, a dog's ear may have ulcers, pus, or a tick bite, so if you touch the painful area of the dog's body, he will growl in self-defense. In such situations, the growling will stop when you eliminate the cause - cure the dog. It may be that the dog, whose nails were trimmed at the barbershop, suddenly growls when you stroke his paw. Maybe the hairdresser rushed and hurt the dog, injured the skin, cut or burned the paw? Maybe he behaved in some unusual way, which caused such a reaction? Determine what is causing the dog to growl and work with him slowly and purposefully to regain his trust. Such cases should not be repeated, otherwise the dog will be very wary and try to protect the place where it hurts, and the consequences can be terrible, both for her and for unsuspecting people who do not understand the reasons for this unexpected and inexplicable behavior.

Stroking an old dog's face can also make him growl because his teeth or eyes may hurt. Her gums may ache, there may be flux or food stuck between her teeth that may be causing her anxiety. The eyes may suffer from cataracts, glaucoma, allergic irritation, or other ailments.

It is not always necessary to apply correction when growling. Each time, you should find out what is causing the dog's behavior and eliminate the source of concern or take disciplinary action, but unfair and cruel treatment of the dog should be avoided.

A growling dog may feel that it is in some kind of danger, and it believes that it needs to master the situation. We need to earn the dog's trust and respect. This problem is best approached not in the abstract, but as part of the overall picture of a normal relationship with your pet. If your dog continues to growl despite trying various methods, be sure to contact a professional.

An ineffective technique or the wrong approach can only exacerbate the problem. When applying too weak a correction, or vice versa, too hard, the effect can be just the opposite. A dog will always be able to tell us with body language how to caress it. But we must understand this language correctly. If we understand this, then there will be no problems.

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If your dog growls at you while feeding.

Guarding food or toys from other animals is a normal behavior in dogs. This instinct occurs when a dog feels threatened by other pets for its food or toys. In a wild pack, dogs guard their food in order to eat it later and survive. Dogs higher in the hierarchy have the right to take food from those members of the pack who are lower than them. Life with a dog is safer if he does not guard his food.

Most trainers argue that the owner should train his dog to freely give food, and punish him if he does not. Very often, this only leads to the fact that the dog begins to guard food even more fiercely. There is now a great alternative that works great - just make it clear to the dog that the owner is always giving food, not taking it away.

When you adopt a dog (of any age), you hope it doesn't have a strong food guarding streak. If this tendency has suddenly manifested itself in your dog, you should use the following tips:

1. Whenever you feed your dog, isolate him from other animals (including cats) so that the dog does not have to worry about the safety of his food. Give your dog confidence that no one will disturb her peace during the meal, and you will provide her with reliable protection from any encroachment. The above applies to both adult animals and very young ones. Feed your dog regularly at the same time and do not leave a bowl of uneaten food.

2. Walk past the dog during his meal several times to see his reaction. Any tension in the dog's body is cause for concern. If you notice this, make sure you do what is necessary to ensure that your animal eats safely. Do not allow children to approach the dog while eating. You must convince the dog that food is guaranteed and there is no need to protect him!

3. Walk past the dog during his lunch and drop something tastier and smellier than his usual food into his bowl. Do this many times. The idea is for the dog to understand that every time a person approaches her bowl, something good is happening.

4. After that, gently touch the dog while he is eating. At the same time, add a treat to the bowl. If the dog takes it well, wait a second between touching and giving the treat, then two, three, four, and finally five seconds.

5. Involve your children in the dog's upbringing: let them walk around and add treats to the bowl (but only after you are sure that the dog will not show aggression). It is extremely important that the dog be tolerant of children, so this should not be rushed.
For the safety of children, teach them not to disturb the dog while eating, except when children are involved in raising the animal under your direction. Children can't appreciate potential threat and certainly don't understand that a dog is mostly driven by instinct. The dog will instinctively respond to what seems to be harmless fun to the child by teasing the animal near his food bowl. There are situations when the dog cannot understand that this is just a game, reacting aggressively to it.

6. Feed your dog in various places in the house, outside the house and at picnics. The idea is that the dog doesn't think of one place as some kind of food sanctuary, because sometimes the dog starts to guard the exact place where his bowl is located.

7. Do all of the above for dog toys. Have the adult take the toy from the dog, look at it, give the dog a treat, and then return the toy. Eventually connect children, but only under the strict supervision of adults. Teach children not to pick up toys at other times. If the dog shows a strong tendency to guard any particular toy, that toy should be removed. It is better to let the dog lose the pleasure of this toy than to lose the dog itself if it becomes too dangerous.

8. Never chase a dog that has stolen an item. This triggers the same instinct as guarding food and teaches the dog to run away from you! Teach your dog better to bring you things to get a reward for it.

9. You should pay attention to how your family members behave towards the dog while sitting at the dinner table. If they feed the dog regularly, they not only teach it to beg, but also help develop the food guard instinct. Some dogs even develop the belief that all food should be theirs! Keep an eye on the guests, do not let them feed the animal.

10. Teach your dog the "sit" and "down" commands and give him these commands from time to time, especially "down" when you put a bowl of food in front of him.

If your dog already has a food guarding problem, you should continue with the exercises above. At first, it will be quite dangerous for you to approach her bowl of food. Therefore, you will need the help of an experienced trainer who would be present at the classes and correct both your actions and the actions of your dog.

If your dog guards food, remove his bowl between meals, as leaving the bowl gives the dog a reason to guard him, and if it is removed, the instinct weakens or disappears altogether.

If the problem is moderate, place an empty bowl on the floor during meals. Walk past her several times at a distance of a meter or two, keeping dog food with you. Feed your dog in small portions. If the dog reacts to the hand moving towards the bowl, enlist the support of the handler. It's best to use something fairly long to pour the food into the bowl so you don't risk your own hand.

When the dog realizes that his bowl is empty, go to the bowl, pour some food into it and immediately step aside. When the dog has eaten this part of the food, come back, pour the next portion and move back a meter or two from the bowl.

Your task is to teach the dog to adequately perceive a person approaching the bowl and stretching out his hand to it. It is necessary to create a positive image of a person in order for the dog to start trusting him. A good way to end a meal is to give your dog a particularly tasty last treat. This will allow the dog to understand that when his bowl is picked up from the floor, he will be given something very tasty, and also that the meal is finished.

If your dog feels irritated when a person approaches the bowl, or if an exercise fails, you should take a step or even a few steps back. In this case, use the following tips:

1. If the dog tends to guard his bowl directly, you can exclude this bowl from the exercises and try to feed him just from your hand. After your dog gets used to eating from your hands, place the bowl nearby and gradually move your hand with the food closer to the bowl.
First, hold the bowl in your other hand, gradually moving it to the floor. Finally, place the bowl on the floor and do bowl-feeding exercises a few steps away from the bowl.
Perform the exercise slowly, it will take you quite a long time to re-educate the dog, you should not rush, otherwise you can ruin everything.

2. You can hold the bowl in your hand instead of placing it on the floor and encourage the dog to come to you for food. Gradually you move the bowl closer to the floor and then place it on the floor. In this case, you should teach the dog to stay in place on command while you approach with a bowl of food. Try to avoid situations where the dog becomes too agitated when released from the command.
Always release the dog from this command very calmly. You must also be calm when you release a dog from a crate or other place of isolation. Overexciting a dog can be dangerous.

3. To increase safety at an early stage of training, you can place the bowl on an elevated surface so as not to lean towards the floor and expose your face to the dog's teeth. If a child is involved in raising a dog, then the raised bowl becomes closer to his face, and this is not too safe. The child should not be connected to classes until the dog becomes adequately related to adults.

4. In the early stages of training, you can tie your dog up before you give him a bowl of food so he can't reach you with his claws or teeth. If necessary, ask the trainer for help.

5. For added safety, you can use a muzzle that would allow the dog to eat, but would not give him the opportunity to bite you. If you want to try using a muzzle, enlist the help of a trainer to securely fasten the muzzle on the dog's face so that he does not remove it at the most inopportune moment.
Remember that a muzzled dog quickly develops a conditioned reflex to behave calmly, but when the muzzle is removed, it is also quickly lost. Don't try to rush things. If the dog has serious problems with food protection, the re-education process will take a long time. Only in this case the dog will become safe for people.

6. Never punish a dog for its aggression. No matter how seriously your dog guards his food, your aggression towards him will only make the problem worse!
If a dog has already developed guarding instincts towards its food, they cannot be completely removed, but it is possible to make their manifestation safer.
Once your dog begins to show a calm attitude towards people approaching his bowl, continue with the above exercises whenever something changes in your family: guests have arrived, you have adopted another pet, or a new family member has joined the family. Periodically go to the dog's bowl and throw something tasty there. Reinforce in the mind of the dog that every time a person approaches her bowl, there is a high probability of receiving a reward.

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WHO IS THE MAIN IN THE FAMILY?

This is a question that every dog owner must answer, no matter what breed it is. Why?
Remember the postulate about the hierarchical structure of the pack. The thing is that if we allow a dog to occupy a high hierarchical status-position in the family, it will not only cease to obey the requirements of the household (after all, only the leader or dominant member of the pack can control behavior), but it will also begin to correct the behavior of family members (control the behavior others - one of the main signs, rights and obligations of the leader and dominant).
Let's simulate the situation. Let's accept as a condition that your dog occupies the second place in the hierarchical structure of your family after you. While you are at home, you control the behavior of the family-flock, and the dog lies on the sidelines and sleeps peacefully. You leave, and he is obliged (as his genes tell him and his status requires) to take control of the pack. Now what? Let's say your mom decided to move him, lying on the couch, to sit down. The dog growled dully - from his point of view, the subdominant is behaving incorrectly. Of course, the mother will not take this seriously and will continue to push the dog, and the dog, without moving, will show fangs - if the subdominant does not understand a slight hint, you need to make it weighty. “Ah, so!”, the woman finally gets angry and lightly spanks the dog. And the dog strikes the presumptuous subdominant with its fangs. From a dog's point of view, everything is correct - if they do not understand the hints, you need to move on to action. This is how dominant dogs behave in a normal dog pack.
If a dog growls at family members or bites them, this does not mean that it has a disturbed psyche or a nasty character. No, she's just either the leader or the dominant member of the pack. In another, non-conflict, from her point of view, situation, she can be a sweet, affectionate and loving dog.
So, if you do not want to have conflicts with a dog in the family, you must determine its hierarchical status and teach the correct behavior with family members.
Your dog is dominant if he:
- sleeps in bed with the owner or in his bedroom;
- does not allow the husband (wife or other family members) to enter the bedroom upon returning from work or after a long absence;
- growls at you and the household when eating, chewing on a bone or a toy;
- does not allow you to take toys from her, while growling and trying to bite;
- the first to go out the door, leads you along for a walk;
- makes you caress her or play with her when you are busy;
- growls at the moment of playing or stroking;
- eats in the kitchen and begs from the table;
- does not obey or poorly obeys commands (provided that you have trained her);
- independent during walks;
- resists, growls, and even bites when you wash it, wipe its paws, comb it, trim it or carry out veterinary procedures;
- growls when she is driven off the sofa or chair;
- rudely (with bites) plays with your household and behaves unceremoniously with them;
- Aggressive towards certain relatives or friends;
- behaves aggressively towards other animals, such as cats or livestock.
Even one or more of the above signs that are characteristic of your dog should alert you. In order to avoid problems in the future, it is necessary to take timely measures to correct her undesirable behavior.
According to the American trainer Vicki Rodenberg, many dogs living in a family easily adapt to a subordinate role and do not resist it, do not protest. But there are those who cannot adapt to the role of a subdominant. There are natural leaders among them, and they always resist human influences. There are also "careerist" dogs. Such are always looking for ways and try to take a place as close as possible to the top of the hierarchical ladder. Naturally born leaders and careerists can become "problematic" dogs for people unaware of the need for dogs in a hierarchical structure. Often people themselves unconsciously encourage dogs to take the place of the leader in the family. They treat dogs as social equals rather than subdominant partners, granting them privileges reserved only for leaders, such as sleeping in a bed or on a couch, and allowing them to disobey commands.
The propensity for leadership is not related to the size of the dog. Even a tiny chihuahua can turn into a tyrant. More often it is from small dogs that leaders are obtained, since people, considering them to be puppies (a small dog is always a puppy!) please them in everything.
According to zoopsychologists, leading dogs are not only more self-confident, but also more intelligent than dogs occupying the middle and lower rungs of the hierarchical ladder. They can get along well with children and strangers. Everything will be fine as long as someone does not force them to do what they do not want. That's when this wonderful dog begins to growl and bite. By the way, from the outside it may seem that she does this for no apparent reason. But there is a reason, and it is simple - no one dares to control the leader's behavior.
In a real pack, not every conflict situation ends in a fight. To put the subdominant in place, a specific posture, a sideways glance or a growl is enough. If there is a stupid dog who wants to gnaw on the leader's favorite bone or take his bed, the leader will quickly remind him who he is with a hard gaze or growl. If the dog is stupid enough to pay no attention to these signs of discontent, the leader proves him wrong by using his teeth. This behavior is natural for dogs and is instinctive. However, in a human flock-family, it is unacceptable.
Dogs have an innate need for a hierarchical structure. They need security and self-confidence, which provides them with the knowledge of their place in the pack. Most dogs do not aspire to be leaders of the pack, but it is important for them that there is a leader in the pack. The leader is the guarantor of order, clarity and simplicity. And if a person does not become a leader, a dog will take this post. So dictated to her by her genes. If you have allowed the dog to become the leader, then you can only hope for its mercy. And this is the leader's job - to be a good king or an evil despot!
If your dog does not lead you (the owner) but dominates one or more members of your family, this is also not very good. The dog's place is at the base of the hierarchical ladder of the human family. To return her to her proper place, to prove to her that she is only a dog, it is necessary to conduct special classes with her.
How to become a pack leader?
Your dog is constantly watching you, reading and understanding the language of your facial expressions, gestures and intonations. If you don't behave like a dog, she will quickly realize that you are not suitable for the role of leader and will stop obeying you. So learn to hold on and behave like a leader towards the dog.
Be friendly, but show her your intellectual superiority, exactingness and authority. The dog will feel the relationship change almost immediately.
Watch how professional trainers behave. To achieve obedience from the dog, they hold themselves straight, treat the dog gently, but persistently, lovingly, but harshly. Most dogs obey them immediately because they see them as leaders.
Try to act like a leader in front of a mirror. Stand straight with your shoulders back. Walk around the house maintaining this posture. Practice giving commands with a new intonation - confidently and slightly lowering your voice. Don't ask your dog to do something - order it. You have the right to set your own rules. And your dog instinctively understands this too.
For most dogs, such a simple change in your behavior and training in some kind of obedience course will be sufficient argument.
However, with a dog that has already become a leader - growling at you or biting - you will have to tinker. Born leaders and social careerists themselves will never give up their “throne”.
They will perceive sudden changes in your behavior with discontent, as a real threat to their position, and may behave more aggressively. The leader dog will instinctively fight against the coup.
The leader dog already knows that he can defeat you with sharp teeth, for example, so pushing from you will only increase his aggressiveness. Until you become a leader, attempts to change the dog's behavior by shaking, pushing, hitting, jerking will be ineffective and possibly even dangerous for you. The leader dog will respond to your violence with violence too!
A human is much smarter than an animal, so use your intellect! You are more persistent than your dog. Therefore, to begin with, try a fairly effective and painless way to change the hierarchical status of your dog. But at the same time, all members of your family should change their attitude towards the dog.
you have serious work to do. A dog that has already bitten or threatened people is dangerous no matter how much you love him.
Kindergarten for the leader of the pack.
So, you have decided to prove to your dog that he is a dog, and not a small person in a natural fur coat. The dog's mother taught him how to be a dog and how to obey a leader. But as a result of improper education, these lessons were forgotten. You must remind him of them.
The leader dog doesn't ask you when he needs something, he demands it. She tells you that she wants to eat, that she wants to go out for a walk or play and indulge, and that she wants it right now. And you must explain to her that from now on she must earn everything that she wants. Of course, this will be a blow to the dog's ego, but he will quickly understand what needs to be done. For example, if your dog doesn't know the "Sit!" command, teach it to do so. And only after she completes the command, praise her and give her a tidbit. But don't overdo it with praise.
Now, every time the dog wants something (eat, drive, walk, play, get your attention), give him the command "Sit!" in a commanding tone. If the dog obeys, praise him a little and after a short pause give him what he wants - this will be a positive reinforcement. It happens that the dog refuses to sit. In this case, move away from her and stop paying attention to her. Remember, disobedience should not lead to a positive effect on the dog - it satisfies desires only when it obeys. If you think your dog is not obeying because he doesn't understand commands, practice a little more. Feel the difference between when he does not know something or does not know how and when he simply ignores you, is stubborn or does not obey out of “pride”.
Make your dog sit before you put a bowl of food in front of him, or in front of the door before you go for a walk, or in front of you before you play with him and give him a toy. If you leave your dog food in the bowl when you leave home, stop doing it. Switch to two meals a day and decide for yourself when you feed her. Make her sit before dinner starts, and if she doesn't obey the command, no dinner. Just walk away and ignore her. Bring the bowl later and give the "Sit!" command again. in a low, firm voice.
If the dog treats some family members with respect and ignores others, let those others begin to feed the dog and do everything that has been described. Teach them how to behave around a dog and help them if needed. It is important that all members of your family behave in the same dominant manner towards the dog. It is desirable that she be at the bottom rung of the hierarchical ladder of your family - this will eliminate aggressive conflict situations.
Knowing your dog, you can predict its behavior in different situations. At the beginning of training "therapy", avoid conflict and take appropriate action if the dog behaves like a leader. For example, if she climbs into a trash can and growls at you when you scold her for it, put the bucket out of her reach. If she likes to go out the door in front of you, take her on a leash, put her in front of the door, after a short pause, open the door and only on command let her go out. If your dog doesn't come to you on command, don't let him go off-leash or you won't be able to control his behavior.
Kindness and attention.
Leaders want to be loved. In a real pack, subordinate dogs (subdominants) always touch, lick and care for the leader in every possible way. So they emphasize their attitude towards him and submission. If you are re-educating your dog and his behavior has not yet improved, reduce the amount of petting and attention. When she demands attention, make her sit (or lie down) and only after that praise a little. Then go back to your business and ignore her. If a dog is pestering you, tell him "No!" - and ignore it for a while. Pay attention to the dog, caress and stroke it when you see fit, and not when it wants to. Do not lie down or kneel when petting the dog - this is also a sign of subdominance (submission).
Try to always be above the dog in the literal and figurative sense of the word.
Games.
Stop all power play with your dog. They give her the impression that you can physically dominate a person using your teeth. In a dog pack, these games are more than just games, they help establish a hierarchical structure that is based on physical strength. If you are the owner of a large dog, then it is probably stronger than you. Rough games with the use of force will once again show her this, which is undesirable if you are trying to re-educate her.
Find new forms of play: hide and invite the dog to find you (or family members), look for objects and toys, play frisbee (a flying saucer game), etc. Remember, you start and end the game, not the dog. Stop playing before she gets bored.
While the puppy is small, do not let him become the master of toys. Let each family member take a toy from the puppy at any time, and after 10-15 seconds invite him to play with it again. If the puppy growls, shake him by the collar and scold him. However, it is not so easy to pick up a toy from an older dog. In this case, follow the advice of Ed Frawley: “You need to fasten the leash and adjust (make a series of sharp jerks) on the leash near the toy. If at this moment the dog is still growling, it must be scolded in a strict low voice. As soon as the dog throws the toy, the owner must lead him away before picking up the toy. Until the dominant situation is under control, this toy should not be given to the dog again. Only the owner controls the world of the dog, and the dog must understand this. One of the points in this scenario is that you determine which toys to play with and for how long.
It happens that the dog does not give up the toy even after correction by the leash, and the owner is not sure that he can safely pull it out of the mouth. In this case, there are options for further action. Ignore the current situation. Join the fight only when you can win. And when the dog finally releases the toy, pick it up, put it away, and never give it back.
If you decide to force the outcome and win the "war" over the toy with a strong dog, you need to do some preliminary preparation. First, put on a second strict collar on the dog, or better, a noose. Secondly, tie the leash to a solid, strong object - a “post” (which would not move), for example, to a central heating battery. When the dog takes the toy, lead it by the leash to the second leash that is attached to the "post" and fasten it to the second strict collar. Now the dog has two leashes, each of which is attached to its own collar. Order the dog to give up the toy and, moving away, pull so that the dog is between the “post” and you. To do this, you will have to apply some force to the dog to spit out the toy. Once she does this, praise her. If you don't mind being bitten by a dog, walk up to it and offer reassuring praise. But she may again try to grab the toy at this point. In this case, step back again and pull.
This process should not be too hectic for you. Control yourself, stay calm. Keep pulling the dog every time he tries to retrieve the toy during your approach. If you don't feel brave enough to pick up the toy, just kick it away with your foot so the dog can't reach it. Always remember that it is better to get into a fight when you can win it.
The described procedure is applicable only for a large dog. The little one just needs to be lifted off the ground and kept hanging until she releases the toy. To some kind-hearted owners, this may seem terrible, but it is no more terrible than a dog biting a child in the face.
Useful advice from Ed Frawley should be used.
Where does your dog sleep?
The dog should not sleep in your bedroom and on your bed. The bedroom is your "den" as a leader. The leader dog, sleeping in it, begins to consider himself an equal to you. But perhaps your dog is already sleeping on your bed and growling or biting when you try to get him out of there? We'll have to re-educate him - not to allow him to go into the bedroom. The same goes for sofas and armchairs - exclude the dog from access to them until his behavior improves.
One of the best ways to re-educate a lead dog is to put it in a cage. There he must sleep, eat and stay long enough if you want him to calm down and remember that he is a dog.
Feeding.
If you don't want to raise a dominant puppy, keep him out of the kitchen and don't feed him from the table. The table is a large bowl from which only the dominant members of the pack eat, and first the dominants, and then everyone else. For family dinners, send the dog to another room, place, or crate. At worst, feed her at the same time that your whole family has dinner, but in a different room.
If the puppy growls while eating, feed him while holding a bowl, or put a little food in it and put more while the puppy eats. When he buries his nose into the bowl, offer him something tasty from your hand, holding it directly over the bowl.
After the dog has come to terms with the above procedures, take the bowl from him during meals, put food in it in front of the dog and return the bowl to him again. If you missed the time and your grown dog inspires some misgivings, take your time. Start with all other non-feeding training activities, then try things like: fill a bowl, put it on the edge of the table for the dog to see, sit on a chair nearby and call the dog over. When he comes up, start feeding him with your hand, defiantly picking up food from the bowl each time. After 3-4 exercises, place the bowl on your lap and repeat the lesson. Then feed the dog, holding the bowl in your hands. Be careful when doing this and do not let other family members provoke the dog during his dinner.
Walks.
The leader leads the pack - this is his right and duty. Thus, if you want to be the leader, be the first to go out the door, be the first to go down the stairs, and on the street do not follow the puppy and do not drag him on a tight leash. Change direction frequently, making the dog follow you. Use your rights to the fullest extent possible. It's up to you to decide what to sniff, who to approach, and who to play with. A trifle? But it is very important when establishing a relationship with a dog.
It's not enough to be a leader, you have to be one.
So, after a while (very different for different dogs) you became a general, but that doesn't mean you'll be one forever. The main issue is resolved - the dog has ceased to use physical force in resolving conflict situations. But it's too early to calm down. Yes, there are dogs for whom one cycle of re-education is enough for the rest of their lives, but inborn leaders need to be constantly reminded of their real place in the pack family. Dogs-"careerists" will also sometimes have to be reminded of who is the boss in the house, because they will not give up hope of getting closer to the leader.
Obedience training.
Once your dog has begun to change his behavior (no need to wait for the final victory), you need to go through an obedience course with him on the training ground. All dogs need to be trained, but especially leadership dogs.
The obedience course will teach you how to manage your dog. In the process of training, you will become a leader, learn how to properly set the rules and command, how to win the respect of the dog and maintain it. You will need to acquaint all members of your family with the rules for shaping dog behavior.
I have to disappoint you: obedience training does not end with attending training classes. Obedience commands must be practiced daily throughout life.
In a dog pack, the leader uses every opportunity to remind him of his status in order to reinforce it. Some skills, such as grooming, are particularly effective and non-violent in reminding the dog of its place in the hierarchical structure of the family.
A well trained dog is a happy dog. For complete happiness, our four-legged friends need to work as part of a pack, interact with its members. Training satisfies these needs. A well-trained dog will allow you to be more free. You can go to different places with her and do more different things if she knows how to behave. A well-trained dog is safe for family members and bystanders.

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In most cases, this happens with breeds of small dogs: Spitz, etc. If such a case occurs with a strong large dog, then things are worse. It is enough for the owner to be afraid of his dog at least once, when he growls, and the dog will understand his superiority, he will rush at the owner and bite him. If such relations are fixed for several years, then the possibility is not ruled out that even the most qualified trainer will not be able to correct some dogs. If you grab on time while the dog is young, then such a mistake can still be corrected. Let me give you an example: a 6-month-old drathaar of athletic build with great passion for the beast (catching up and tearing cats) did not want to open his mouth in order to put an object for retrieval there; snapped at the owner, even grabbed his hand with his teeth; should have ignored it. If the dog is not in the hands and it is not on the fold, then it will either run away or bite when it is swung at. Both are undesirable, since in the first case a shy dog will come out of it, and in the second - a dog that bites the owner. After a while, you need to put on the dog parfors and a bundle and repeat everything again. When the dog begins to snarl, you should sharply pull the parfors, put the dog on the floor, press it well, squeeze its throat not hard, but enough so that it opens its mouth, and then stick an object for retrieval into it.

Say "apport", stroke the dog, pet it and sit on the floor with it. After that, the dog will understand that his resistance brings him pain, and as soon as he opens his mouth, the pain disappears; she is caressed and given treats. I emphasize again: no matter what the dog does, no matter what troubles he does, the dog can be beaten only if it is tied, i.e. if conditions are created for the complete victory of the owner, for the complete and unconditional submission of the dog, otherwise it is better not to touch it. For success in this case, the most necessary condition is the complete success of the first intervention of the trainer.

Strong dogs that are difficult to handle should be muzzled.

If the dog cannot be handled even in a muzzle, then a 4-link chain with a strong carabiner at the end should be attached to the end of a strong stick, the length of a brush stick. To enhance the action, you need to cut the hair on the dog's neck, put on a parfor, attach a stick to it by a carabiner, and the dog will be fixed like a bear, which is led on the same stick attached to the nose ring; only for the dog this ring is replaced by a parfor. In this way I managed to deal with two very ferocious sheep dogs. At floor level, a hook should be securely fastened to which one of the 4 chain links can be hooked. At this point, you need to provoke the dog to disobedience and then, laying it down with a stick, hook one of the links of the chain onto the hook so that the dog cannot get up. The advantage of this method is that the trainer stands in front of the dog without putting his hands on it, that is, without scaring it away from himself, and calmly persuades it, and the pain throws the dog to the floor at the very moment when it does not obey, the pain does not stop until the trainer releases the dog. Some dogs have to be left in this position for about an hour. And when the trainer releases the dog and caresses it, it already recognizes its master in him and will obey him.

In this way, you can achieve the obedience of the dog in the shortest possible time, and the dog will love his master, and not be afraid. If you have to train a completely ill-mannered adult large and strong dog, then before you lay it down, you need to tire it out well, let it run, you can make it run next to the cyclist; after that, a tired dog will want to lie down itself; it is necessary to give the command "to lie down", and also to use a parforce and a whip in order to impose your will on the dog. This technique - to tire the dog before training - is used very often. It is easier to force a tired dog to walk beside him, both on a harness and without it, and also to force him to sit down, lie down. Her resistance will be less than when she is not tired, full of strength. When a tired dog performs commands well, knows well what they want from him, then we will require him to execute commands in an untired state, and if he refuses to execute them, we will apply coercion. In this way, we will achieve less resistance of the dog than if we immediately started working with a dog full of strength. Many dogs protect their bowl of food even from the owner, and this is good, as it proves the usefulness and independence of the dog. But a dog, especially a hunting dog, must be taught to give its prey to its owner, and this must begin with giving food. At the place where the dog is fed, it is necessary to fix a ring in the wall, pass the cord from the parfora put on the dog through it, and give the end of the cord to the assistant, who must hide in another room. If the dog tries to bite the handler who comes up to his bowl and gives the command "drop", then the helper must pull the cord and pull the dog against the wall so that the handler can take the bowl. The trainer must take away the bowl, which the dog has already sniffed in good faith or even already begun to eat, put something especially tasty for the dog into it and immediately put the bowl back and tell the dog first “sit down”, and then “you can”. The next day, the bowl must be removed 2 times, then 3 times, etc. Soon the dog will no longer need to be kept on the parfort, he will be imbued with complete confidence in the trainer and will wag his tail when he takes up the bowl.

This case very clearly shows how a dog perceives phenomena: a sharp coercion from nowhere, against which it is pointless to resist, and in contrast to it - a permissive gesture and praise from the trainer, its owner. For a dog, its owner should always be as kind as possible, not hit the dog himself, not pull the cord of the parforos himself, if an assistant can do this.

Distrust of strangers is highly desirable to keep the dog. To do this, you should do the following: put the dog on a fold, give it a bowl of food, stand next to it yourself, or you can even put the bowl between your legs. The helper, neither by sight nor smell familiar to the dog, should sneak up to the food and touch the bowl with a stick. The owner must incite the dog to the assistant. When the dog attacks the helper, the helper must run away so that the dog remains the winner, and the owner must praise and stroke it while it eats from its bowl.

It is very pleasant to educate your dog in such a way that it has boundless trust in the owner, does not let strangers in, rushes at them, but on the command “no” and “sit down”, it would stop these actions, and even would not take food from strangers.

There are also dogs that do not let anyone near their booth, even the owner, and do not allow themselves to be touched. Usually their life ends sadly: such a dog is put on a chain forever, since even the owner cannot get along with it, and they get a chain dog that rushes at everyone and bleakly lives out its dog life. Meanwhile, there is nothing easier than to correct this shortcoming from the very beginning. It would be wrong if the angry owner himself rushed at the snarling dog and beat him half to death; even worse if the dog bites him. On such a dog, you need to wear a parfort with a long cord. When the dog goes to the booth, you need to affectionately call her, and if she does not go, then drag her to you, give a treat, caress, each time you should come closer to the booth before calling the dog; when she approaches (or pulls), be sure to give her a treat and caress; in the end we will come close to the booth, and before calling the dog, we need to stroke it and give it a particularly tasty treat.

After that, you need to call her with a whistle, command "next", and the dog will happily execute the command.

Many dogs are excellent guards and it is their direct responsibility to show aggression towards uninvited guests. But sometimes the situation gets out of control, and then the dog growls at the owner. Unfortunately, often the owners do not try to understand the situation, especially when it comes to large animals, and immediately get rid of the pet, fearing serious consequences. But such behavior necessarily has a reason, and it is far from always associated with anger. What can cause such a reaction and, most importantly, how to discourage a pet from this bad habit?

The dog can not only growl, but also demonstrate its negative attitude in other ways - baring its teeth, barking, not fulfilling the task given to it. An angry animal may be overly protective of its bowl, toys, or other items that the pet considers its own.

In addition, the dog can show excessive dissatisfaction during hygiene procedures that are especially disliked, for example, trimming nails, combing hair, using a trimming machine.

But sometimes this behavior is not a sign of aggression, it signals that the pet is confused and feels defenseless. How can you find out the cause of the growl?

Experts identify several situations that can provoke growling, anxiety and other emotions in a dog:

In almost all of these situations, except for the dominant manifestation, there is an irritant that provokes the dog. But the most difficult thing to correct is the errors of upbringing, in which the dog allows himself inappropriate behavior towards the owner.

Why Dominant Behavior Occurs in Dogs and How It Manifests

Dogs have been living next to humans for thousands of years, but at the same time, in fact, they retain their pack behavior. Only for a flock they take the owner and household members. With proper upbringing, the dog perceives the owner as a leader, he must obey him. The leader must obey both the pet and other family members.

If the puppy was not immediately shown who is in charge in the house, then he perceives this as an opportunity for independent choice. Naturally, he will appoint himself to this position, gladly becoming the leader of the pack, and his behavior will be appropriate.

The behavioral line of the leader develops gradually, starting with a little disobedience. The dog does not execute commands the first time, waiting and evaluating the reaction of the owner. There is no question of any aggression in this case. Why, then, does the dog allow himself to growl at the owner?

The manifestation of anger and an animal grin indicates that the dog has taken a dominant position in the house and considers himself the leader of the pack. To exclude such behavior, the pet needs to indicate its place from the first day of its appearance in the house.

What signs of dominant dog behavior should alarm the owner?

the dog has the audacity to go to bed in the place of the owner, and when trying to drive it away, it starts to growl and bite;
the first to rush to dinner, demanding tidbits (according to the rules, the dog should be fed only after the meal of all other family members);
drags food into the room and, again, when suppressing such behavior, begins to bare his teeth and growl;
when guests come to the house, the behavior of the dog can be unpredictable - it can show curiosity, aggression, and at the same time the owner is not able to calm the pet and remove it from the room;
during the walk, the dog does not go side by side, but all the time strives to move ahead;
does not listen to commands, performs carelessly, tries to play as much as possible during class, obsessive behavior is observed.

Often, dogs perceive the superiority of adult family members, but children are considered equal or attributed to an even lower rank. Naturally, with such an attitude, the dog can growl at them, grin and bite, even in cases where the dog does not allow itself such behavior with adults.

The process of re-education

No matter what causes a dog to growl at its owner and other family members, these behaviors must be dealt with. Indeed, according to statistics, about 80% of pets that allow themselves to behave this way are capable of biting a person.

If anger is not associated with a disease of the central nervous system, injuries and other pathological conditions, then you should start raising a presumptuous pet.

When working with overly aggressive dogs, experts recommend using an ultrasonic whistle. Its sound is so unpleasant to the ears of animals that the dog stops growling and grinning, just to no longer hear it. Gradually, he will begin to understand that his impact is associated with inappropriate behavior and will understand who is in charge in the house. In this case, the necessary reflexes are triggered.

When choosing methods of re-education, it is imperative to take into account the type of aggression, habits and temperament of the pet. And if such behavior occurs in serious, large-sized dogs, then it is best to contact a cynologist who knows the breed characteristics and has experience working with such dogs. A large, strong pet is a big responsibility and it’s not worth risking your health and those of your loved ones.

But, regardless of the size of the pet, it is important for the owner to restore his authority by becoming a real leader. The dog, of course, will not immediately accept the new state of affairs and will resist, but by showing patience, endurance and fortitude, a person will be able to normalize the situation.

Otherwise, a guard or fighting dog can become a threat to others. And if a person does not initially have a strong character and does not have experience in communicating and raising such animals, then the idea of \u200b\u200bhaving such a pet should be immediately abandoned.

To restore the hierarchy, it is important for the owner to know the points of influence and take control over them. This includes the process of feeding, caressing, rewarding and punishing.

How to properly feed your dog

You should stop giving food to your pet before eating yourself or not feeding him during a common meal. It is important to teach the dog to eat only after a certain command and stop the process upon hearing it. A well-bred dog should meekly give a bowl, even if there are food leftovers in it.

If the dog tries to push the owner away from his bowl, he is advised to start feeding him, holding the dishes in one hand. Another aspect: you need to stop all attempts at begging and drive the dog away from the table. You should never retreat when you hear a growl, otherwise the dog will decide that this method works, and the owner immediately loses his leadership status.

Weasel rules

Even a beloved, beloved dog, in which the owner does not have a soul, should receive a limited amount of affection. It is impossible to caress, praise and stroke the pet all the time, as he perceives such behavior not as a manifestation of love, but as a recognition of his dominance.

It is advisable to use affection as a reward for well-executed commands, excellent behavior.

When to Reward and When to Punish

Dogs are very sensitive and understand when they are treated fairly, and when they offend just like that, they are not just pets, but four-legged friends who deserve an honest attitude. Has your pet earned praise? He should definitely get it. Guilty? Punishment is inevitable, and the dog must understand what is happening.

With punishment, you need to be more careful and better use the method of leaders. In a flock, the offender is grabbed by the withers, pressed to the ground using pressure, and held in this position for some time.

If the dog tries to resist, then he should be sharply lifted into the air, this will give him a feeling of helplessness and reduce arrogance. A limp animal is considered inferior, recognizing the authority of a stronger opponent.

This technique will give more positive results than swearing, insults, screams. It can be used for any disobedience, both in training and in everyday life. If the dog is too aggressive, you can use a muzzle to protect yourself.

Any behavioral problem is always easier to prevent than to fix afterward. In addition, some breeds are practically not amenable to re-education, while others will have to work with specialists. Therefore, it is worth paying special attention to early socialization, education and training of a pet while it is still a puppy. In this case, it is much easier to correct behavior and, if necessary, to remind who is the leader.