Dog Aggression is one of those things that we professionals in the dog training and dog behavior industry will be debating until the end of time.  What is it? How do you define it? What are the ramifications of an aggressive dog?  And how best should owners deal with having a dog that is showing aggressive tendencies?

Every one of these is a tough question and every one of the questions has a different answer depending on the situation, the owners, the dog, and the environment that they all live in.

I’ve been working with a lot of clients over this COVID period who have gotten a dog, raised the dog to a certain point and are now noticing some of the behavior issues that come with the limited amount of socializaiton that we’ve been able to give the dogs over the last year.  It’s a problem without any doubt and the behaviorists that I work with are already seeing it in our micro bubbles.  It did, however, come as a bit of a shock to me today when I read an article in the NYTimes that indicated that dog bite cases in Pediatric Hospitals are up 300% over least year.

That is a worrying number no matter how one looks at it.  The article has a number of suggestions on how to approach, handle, and deal with dogs to minimize the risk of a bite, and all of us professional dog people know those tools very well.  If you are new to the dog world then I recommend reading the article above.  And, if you have a pandemic puppy that is starting to have issues that are looking like aggression or other worrisome behavior, it’s time to get in touch with a specialist in training and behavior that can help you before something like a real bite happens.  Do NOT postpone getting in touch with someone if you’re worried about your dog.  The physical, emotional, and legal consequences are to high to avoid dealing with the issue early.