There are many behavioral concerns which have a high success rate of successful remediation. Fear, leash reactivity, fence chasing, bolting out doors, excitedly jumping on houseguests – these are all common issues which dog owners seek help for, and which dog trainers will readily take on because there is a good chance that these behaviors can be modified.
Aggression, however, is unique in the fact that its associated behaviors can be very dangerous, and oftentimes there has been a progression of behavioral escalation which has led to the aggressive responses. This is usually accompanied by an extensive learning history, or a physiological issue such as undiagnosed pain. True aggression – which is characteristically accompanied by making damaging physical contact – can leave owners and trainers alike wondering, “Can you actually change a dog who wants to hurt something?”.
The cause of aggression
In order to determine whether or not a behavior can be changed, it is imperative to first understand what is causing the behavior. If a behavior is learned (which means that it has been accompanied by established associations and a reinforcement history), the outcome may be different than if a dog has a legitimately aggressive phenotype.
So, what can actually cause aggression?
Learning
The combination of established associations, either built through repeated exposure or during a single learning episode (such as in instances of trauma), can cause dogs to attach a certain emotion to something. When a dog begins feeling threatened by a stimulus, or learns that they can accomplish a certain outcome through their behavior, the behavior often repeats. The more that a behavior is repeated, the faster it occurs. If a dog feels that the behavior is no longer having the desired effect, it will often escalate its behavior to something more intense. This is how what begins as a small growl or lip roll can escalate into full-on bites.
Pain and other health issues
Research is demonstrating that there is a strong connection between pain and aggression in dogs. Undiagnosed or chronic pain can lead to changes in the brain which make dogs respond to things as if they are more threatening than they would otherwise seem. Typically in these cases dogs will become more sensitive to handling or physical contact, and may seem to show more aggression after partaking in physical activity. Certain health issues, such as thyroid imbalances, infections, cognitive abnormalities or focal seizures, can also cause aggressive behaviors.
Neurotransmitter and hormonal imbalances
A significant part of a properly functioning brain includes having the right neurotransmitters in the right amounts to keep a dog calm and happy through life experiences. If, for instance, histamine levels are raised due to chronic allergies, serotonin is being inadequately produced, a dopamine imbalance is present or dopamine receptors are functioning in an altered state, or any other number of possible neurochemical disparities are disrupting a brain from functioning optimally, aggression can be a resulting factor. Hormonal changes, such as those experienced during estrus and pregnancy, can also result in increased levels of aggression.
Early life stressors and prenatal brain changes
If a dog experiences a great deal of stress during pregnancy, whether due to malnourishment, sickness, trauma or chronic stress, the brains of her developing puppies will change to respond to stress more quickly and intensely than the brains of puppies whose mothers were not chronically stressed during pregnancy. Early life stressors, such as malnutrition, bullying from mom or littermates, sickness, or an unsafe environment can also change a puppy’s brain to respond to stress differently than if they were not stressed during this delicate developmental period. Both of these things can result in aggressive tendencies which often manifest during late adolescence and early adulthood.
Genetic selection
Certain breeds were selectively bred to display aggressive behaviors in certain contexts. In these situations, you will oftentimes see contextualized aggression typical of that breed or their lines.
Aggressive phenotypes
Although it is rare for a dog to have a truly aggressive phenotype, it is possible. An aggressive phenotype refers to genetic mutations which predispose dogs to developing very generalized types of aggression. Oftentimes these are the dogs which bite uninhibitedly from an early age, bite or show other forms of aggression in a very generalized way and do not appear to be responding to overt provocation when aggressing towards a target.
Can you change an aggressive dog?
The short answer is: Yes, you can absolutely change an aggressive dog!
The longer answer is that you can have great outcomes working with aggression cases in certain situations. The truth is that it really depends on what is driving the behaviors and how serious they are. Since bites are likely occurring in aggression cases, you should evaluate the damage and intensity of the bite. A higher level bite is typically uninhibited and meant to cause serious damage to a target, and the prognosis in these cases is typically worse than if a dog is biting at a lower level.
If a dog is biting very often, it may be more difficult to alter the behavior than if they are biting less frequently. If the aggression is generalized, it will likely be much more difficult to resolve than if it is contextualized. If a health issue or pain is driving the aggression, treatment will likely improve or resolve the aggression. The key is to accurately diagnose the cause of the aggression and then decide what the likelihood of behavioral modification success will be.
There are many situations where aggression can be ‘resolved.’ Counterconditioning a fear aggressive dog, for instance, can make a significant difference in their behavior. Changing learned aggression through training can eliminate undesirable behaviors. Putting a hurting dog on a pain trial can in some cases completely fix the issue. There are many cases where aggression can be changed.
This being said, there are also cases where aggression cannot be resolved. If the aggression is due to a gene mutation, abnormal cognitive functioning, changes in the brain which occurred prenatally or during very early life, or the dog having an aggressive phenotype, it becomes significantly more difficult to ever truly resolve the issue.
In extremely rare cases, a dog is such a significant threat that it is too dangerous to attempt behavioral modification. In instances where a dog is repeatedly hospitalizing their human family members unpredictably, children have been hospitalized with serious bites in instances where no overt provocation occurred, or a dog is severely injuring or killing other animals or humans, it may be that you could never truly trust the dog again in these situations. In these cases, it may be that a management strategy is permanently implemented, or even that behavioral euthanasia needs to be considered.
It is important to always be honest with yourself, and with owners, about the realistic prognosis for an aggressive dog prior to undertaking any sort of behavioral modification program. Aggression can be resolved with training in most cases, but there are also cases where it is so dangerous and unpredictable that it’s best to consider management combined with alternative forms of treatment.
In conclusion
A large part of being a successful dog trainer is understanding why dogs behave in the way that they do – and where that behavior is rooted. Once you understand the causes of behavior (such as in aggression cases), you can begin to put a plan in place to help manage the behavior.
At the School for Dog Trainers, each of our programs provides our students with the framework for accurately diagnosing canine behavior. In addition, students are able to actively participate in events like our semi-annual Behavior Clinic to apply these concepts to real-world situations. If you are interested in learning more about the School for Dog Trainers, reach out to our team at learntotraindogs@highlandcanine.com, or call us toll-free on (800) 726-7412.