According to researches, the most common reason for aggression is pain. The dog might associate pain with a certain situation or person and therefore attacks. If the dog becomes aggressive only once in a while without any visible reasons, you should find out if he suffers from gripes. Hormonal changes in the organism can also make the dog behave aggressively. In this case, castration / sterilization helps.

Aggression based on fear is a very common type of aggression. Cowardly dog interprets signals wrongly and tries to defend himself by attacking. In this situation, this is the solution for him. A typical characteristic of a cowardly-aggressive dog is strong affection for his family or master, he usually has a hate-love relationship with the surroundings. Cowardly-aggressive dog ordinarily attacks his close ones. Never punish a cowardly-aggressive dog, this only deepens cowardice and fear!   

Dog might be aggressive when protecting his territory, this is territorial aggression. In this case, the dog defends his territory or pack against strangers. A typical example would be “anger towards mailman”. Territorial-aggressive dog should not be allowed to mark when having a walk, by doing this he only expands his territory.

A she-dog might behave aggressively when protecting her puppies. Similar behavior can also occur during false gestation, this is called maternal aggression.

Aggression between dogs of the same sex comes from rivalry. Dogs that are sick or tired might have temporary irritation aggression.

If the dog defends his food, toys, etc. intensely, it is called possessive aggression.

Defensive aggression occurs on dogs who protect their family.

Redirected aggression can evolve, for example, in the situation, where two dogs from the same household react aggressively to a strange dog behind the fence, their adrenalin level rises and since they cannot attack the dog behind the fence, they attack each other.

Aggression caused by genetic reasons is innate, ruined psyche that cannot be entirely changed. Inbreeding might (but not necessarily) increase the tendency for aggression. An important factor is the dog’s period of gestation, a dog with young suffering from stress will “bequeath” the stress to the puppies. 

Aggression can be considered an overreaction caused by stress hormones, i.e. instead of warning by growling, the dog overreacts and attacks. A dog under stress does not notice “the opponent’s” signals of placation and surrender either. 

Socializing the puppy at the right time reduces noticeably the risk of becoming aggressive in the future. Through playing, the puppy learns to be among people and other dogs and gets used to it. If he experiences only insensitive attitude, unpleasantness, strictness, and lack of tenderness, he later on will not be able to express affection.

An important factor in the emergence of aggression and also insecurity is the owner’s ineptitude to raise the dog and act as the leader of the pack. If the dog’s life lacks of clear rules and he does not understand his position in the hierarchy of the pack, it might also cause aggressive behavior, and this is called dominant aggression. In this case, the dog’s goal is to maintain a higher position in the social hierarchy. It should be kept in mind that dogs do not respect those who are at a lower position, a member of the pack does not obey to commands coming from a member of lower position. Giving in to an aggressive dog only consolidates aggressive behavior. It would be wiser to have the dog under your command and show who the leader is before he reacts aggressively. Never hit or punish an aggressive dog, under no circumstances should you react by yelling. For the dog, yelling means insecurity – a surrendering member of the pack escapes yelling. You should not debase yourself to the same level with the dog and start a physical fight. Use your common sense and overbear the dog mentally.

Where does aggression towards strange dogs come? The most common reason is little socialization in puppyhood. Another common reason is fear obtained from an unpleasant experience (another dog attacking) in puppyhood. Fears tend to escalate; therefore, the memory of the unpleasant experience should be dispelled right after it and the situation should be repeated so that it ends with a pleasant experience for the dog. If the dog has been punished in the presence of another dog (e.g. pulling the collar), he might start to associate the unpleasant feeling with the other dog. If the dog has experienced pain due to punishing, it is almost certain that he will connect pain with the other dog in the future.

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