Using the Term Aggression to Label Domestic Dogs is Just Name Calling!

I hear the phrase "my dog is aggressive" or "my dog is being dominant" all too often. Before jumping to conclusions and "diagnosing" the dog, its my job, as a certified professional dog trainer, to sift through the subjectiveness and labels that go along with what the human is trying to describe. I want to know what the dog is actually doing, not what he or she might be thinking.

I know there are folks out there claiming to be pet psychics - well, Im not one of them. I dont read minds, of humans or of dogs, so I like to rely on good old fashioned science for developing a dog training plan. Is this a "cold" approach? Hmm, thats subjective too. I like to think of it more as a realistic, simple approach that can get the job done!

You want behaviors changed right? You want your dog to be or act a certain way, right? So why not get there the easiest way possible? This way, you can have more time playing and having fun with your dog, versus trying to figure out if theyre trying to take over the world. How can it be done? Simple:

1. What is your dog doing now? Describe it! Paint a picture.
2. What would you rather have your dog do instead? Describe it!
3. What do you need to do to their environment to help get them there? Set your dog up for success, not failure!
4. How do you need to let your dog know she or he made the right choice? Reward your dog for the desired behavior!

See how simple it can be? Sure you do! Now, go out there and do it! Even for fun, just practice with one behavior your dog already knows, but train him or her to perform that behavior in a different place.

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Defining a subjective term

I hear the words quite often...But what do they all mean? What exactly is being described? What is the message being sent? Its difficult for me, the dog trainer that comes from the "academic" "science-based" philosophy camp, to judge or determine why a dog is doing what theyre doing based on these subjective terms that owners share with me. What words am  I speaking of? Allow me to share: 

• My dog is being dominant.
• My dog is being alpha.
• My dog is being controlling. 
• My dog is being aggressive.
• My dog has learned to be submissive with me. 

First off, lets see what some of the true definitions are, shall we?

• Dominant: commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others.
• Alpha: something that is first.
• Controlling: inclined to control others behavior : domineering.
• Aggressive: tending toward or exhibiting aggression. 
• Aggression: a forceful action or procedure (as an unprovoked attack) especially when intended to dominate or master
• Submissive (submission): to yield oneself to the authority or will of another

Wow. I find all of these terms pretty interesting - and confusing, and frankly quite negative in describing a loved one, including our pets. I think we all understand what they mean, and how they would pertain to describing another human. But describing our dogs? Really? Okay, Ill give you "aggression". That one Ive used myself when describing dogs that would fit into my Feisty Fido class - one with dog-dog issues, or dog-stranger issues. But even a word like "aggression" can be very subjective. Whats "aggressive" to one person, might not fit that same picture to another. Geez, you should see me on the road sometimes, I can be pretty "aggressive" ;-) Ive been known to bark more than my own dog Poncho... at times. 

As for these catchy and popular terms... well, humans can use them all they want to describe their dogs behavior... but what it comes down to, and what I will ask right outta the gate when working with clients is, "what is your dog doing? Paint me a picture." Why? A few reasons are: 

1. Subjective terms dont tell me anything substantial to correctly evaluate a situation. 
2. The descriptions could be more about an owners own frustrations with their dogs behavior, vs the actual behavior of their dog. 
3. Acts of "dominance" to one person could mean something completely different to someone else. 
4. There is no exact scientific measure, standard protocol etc... of these descriptive terms. 

What are dogs really doing when people use the above descriptive terms? Is your dog bolting out the door before you? Uh, hello? Is that being "dominant" or are they just being a bit more impulsive? After all, they are dogs, right? Impulse control is usually not in their behavior repertoire. How about jumping up to greet when you get home? Is this "aggression" or just the normal greeting behavior or dogs? I believe the latter. As for "submission", well, I ask you what the underlying motivation is there when animals "submit" to us humans. Usually "fear". They dont want to "get in trouble" (yikes, dare I use this phrase...) so they provide their innate body language of "Im no threat to you." 

Regardless if you use these terms or not, its probably more important to pay attention to what your dog is doing and not try to figure out what theyre thinking... Im not clairvoyant, but Im a good history taker and can observe your dogs behavior, the details, triggers, and of course how and or why a behavior is being reinforced - by you and/or the environment. Which brings me to this important question for you to take with you today: if you think your dog is controlling you, what are YOU doing that is reinforcing the behaviors you dont like? Ouch, theres the word of the day: "accountability". 

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