8 Best Measures to Calm an Aggressive Dog
1. Staying Safe
When you have assessed that your lovely dog is at the state of aggressiveness, be better safe. Making sure that you have strong fencing is one of the first things to do. Keep your pet on a firm leash when on walks and don’t let them pull away.
Considering them to wear a muzzle whenever visitors are around or when you’re in public places is a good idea. This, however, requires training primarily when your dog is not used to it.
Read also: 11 ways to know a friendly dog
Learn More2. Use of Desensitization
As a pet owner, you need to understand that desensitization aims to expose your pet to things fearing them.
Teach them the “come away” command to leave a particular situation and come back to you. You may use this command to get their attention.
Expose them to their trigger safely and in control. Bring the trigger to their aggression closer and closer over a certain period.
Do this little by little.
3. Behavior Modification
How do you precisely modify the aggressive behavior of your dog?
Change how they respond to certain situations. This is where people usually begin when dealing with aggression. You have an option to get a behavior trainer to show you some techniques you can try at home.
Of course, you need to apply these methods to see improvements in your dog’s behavior.
Teach your pet some simple commands like stay, come, or sit. This will serve as the foundation of the obedience of the behavior training of your dog. You are preparing them for a more focused training to ease their aggression. It somehow helps them mitigate their anxiety and stress.
As a result, they will develop more self-control for their actions. It’s not fair to push them fast for behavior modification.
Consider some cues indicating their preparedness to undergo training.
4. Environmental Modification
Changing the environment where your dog lives or stays can be helpful to lower the aggressive behavior of your pet. You can do this by changing their diet.
Might as well reroute your walks with them to avoid the other aggressive dogs. Slowly introduce them to others.
Do small environmental changes like keeping them in a room on their own until they calm down. They might get overstimulated, causing them to be aggressive.
5. Dealing with Aggressive Dog and other Behavior-Associated Issues
Lessen the chances for your dog to practice guarding behavior.
As much as possible, keep them from situations where they can exhibit or practice their guarding behavior. Teach them that guarding their food is not necessary.
Follow this up with any positive reinforcement.
6. Veterinarian Consultation
Talk with your dog’s veterinarian on the possible medical cause leading to aggression.
Aggression can be due to medical issues like convulsions, increased body weight, rapid mood changes, hair loss, and lethargy. Consultation with your veterinarian can help diagnose these medical conditions, which will then prescribe the necessary treatment for your dog.
7. Medication
When you consult a veterinarian with regards to your dog’s aggressive behavior, you will be prescribed medications.
Your responsibility to modify your dog’s behavior and change their environment does not end here.
Remember that medication may not work by itself. Dogs requiring medication to ease their aggression usually have a higher anxiety level compared to an average dog.
Medications can be a great contributor to becoming more responsive to modification techniques. This can make them less impulsive and give them more self-control.
Some of these calming medications for dogs to treat aggression are:
Fluoxetine
Buspirone
Sertraline
Propranolol
Clomipramine
Amitripty
A calming medicine for dogs like those listed above is not necessarily a quick fix. However, they are typically used in treating dogs with aggression or any other behavior-related issues.
They must not be considered in all cases. Your veterinarian will allow you to determine whether they are great for your dog.
Read also: 7 ways to effectively manage an obese dog
8. Professional Help
In cases when your dog shows aggression toward other animals or people, it is crucial to ask help from a professional who can assess and offer long-term behavior modification assistance.
Never expect your pet to grow out of aggression or to get better on their own. Keep in mind that aggression can be a severe problem when neglected. Though it is normal, you should not let your lovely dog stay aggressive.
Such behavior can be a cause for a potential disaster with liability risk. Dogs that demonstrate aggressive behavior — hissing, growling, and barking — can benefit from positive reinforcement (intended for good behavior), socialization training, and the natural solutions containing some calming herbs.
It would be critical for pet owners to learn how to socialize with an aggressive dog.
The measures mentioned above on how to calm an aggressive dog are critical whether you have encountered it with your dog already or not because sooner or later pets may show some aggressiveness. It is still better to know before anything unsolicited things happen.
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