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Aggressive Dogs Dealing with an aggressive dog

An aggressive dog is always potentially dangerous. But if your dog misbehaves in a non-threatening manner around a new baby, the postman or anyone else, you may be able to modify its behavior with positive reinforcement. You might try showering it with attention and treats when the disliked person is present. The dog may gradually begin to enjoy the person's presence.

Are you trying to stop a dogfight? Don't yell at the dogs; make a loud noise, press your car horn, ring a bell, or beat on a frying pan. If this fails, douse the combatants with a hose or with buckets of water.

Visitors comments

Show them their place in the family. Comments By: Dani on 2006-05-01 Another way to keep dogs from being agressive around new babies and children is to show them where they stand in the family. When the dog is being agressive, simply have an older member of the family whom the dog obeys and have them pin it to the ground, proving that the dog is out of line in growling/biting the child/baby. It's the way that things are done in packs of wild dogs and works very effectively. You do need to be careful about how this is done. The point isn't to hurt the dog, or humiliate it, just to show them their place. Dogs are a member of the family, yes, but children and other humans need to come first.