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Date Posted: 22:39:24 08/21/09 Fri
Author: Nikki (Uggggg)
Subject: Re: Puppy question on aggression
In reply to: Rayna 's message, "Re: Puppy question on aggression" on 08:24:55 08/21/09 Fri

OK, maybe I should have been a bit more specific about obtaining balance with Zero (for those positive reinforcement lovers).
"If you are wanting this pup to not like people, then correct him for the bad behaviors"

I'm all about positive reinforcement, but giving a reprimand for human aggression will NOT cause a dog to become more aggressive, EXCEPT, if the handler does not communicate to the dog prior to the physical correction, and only silently corrects.
What this means is that if done with correct timing and communication, example... "NO" or "Leave It", before the correction, the dog will not see the target as what is giving the correction, (making them something to fear more), but will see that the owner/handler is correcting for the immediate previous behavior.
If the dog has any respect for the handler/owner as their leader, he/she will take the correction as a correction, seeing that the owner disapproves the aggressive behavior. If the owner is a pushover, the dog may not take it seriously.

"If you want him to like people, then everytime he sees someone he should get a positive experience."

I agree, though aggressiveness should be corrected, not ignored or distracted.

" Like Sam said, it could be some fear"

Depends on how confident he is when he does this. Is the tail tucked or up? Are the ears alert or back in a submissive position? Does the dog stand tall and confident or does he have his rear/head down?

" If you start correcting him everytime he barks at a person, he will start association people with bad things."

If done correctly, NOT AT ALL. Refer to the first few paragraphs.

" I would instead teach him an incompatible behavior, such as sit. So everytime he starts to bark at someone, right away put him into a sit. Then reward him for obeying his commands. That should take his focus of the stranger, and let him see that people being around him is okay.

Do you not see how you could be rewarding him for ACTING AGGRESSIVE? This is something I have to deal with and clean up after every week!
OK, if the dog truly is fearful, like some people are assuming, when he sees someone and acts upon his fearful thoughts, even if you tell him to sit, he is most likely still thinking fearful thoughts about the person. Sit will not "take his focus of the stranger", especially if the person is still in the area.
So really, if you reward him while he is still thinking fearful thoughts, (and believe me, "sit" is NOT going to make him less fearful of someone), you are rewarding his fears, and reinforcing bad behavior.

"Then reward him for obeying his commands"

This is cool when he/she is not in a fearful/aggressive/dominant frame of mind. Otherwise, no matter what kind of command you throw at him, he is still being reinforced for the negative thoughts. Not a good idea if you want a balanced dog.

"It will also show him that you are the leader and you will take control over situations."

Hardly

~Nikki~

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