'Is he being aggressive' and 'oh no, my puppy is aggressive' and 'thats an aggressive dog' - really common questions and statements that often strike an huge amount of fear into the heart of the dog owner or new puppy owner.
The connotations of the terms used are that a dog using aggressive behaviour is vicious, is determined to hurt somebody, is vengeful or hateful, is 'bad'.
The reality though.. is that aggressive behaviour, ie body language, and vocal sounds and acts such as biting/snapping/nipping.. are all perfectly NORMAL parts of your dogs toolkit of communication.
ALL dogs can growl, bark, bite, snarl, make vile and threatening looking postures and faces showing a horrifying array of pointy teeth - in exactly the same way as all humans can make threatening gestures, bite, scream, yell, kick, punch, beat etc..
Not only that, but from the time both species grasp the concepts of self propulsion they also practice all these things - you dont need to spend a lot of time with a toddler to realise that they will resort to using aggression when fearful, frustrated or in pain.
Puppies are no different, and what you see in the human toddler is pretty similar to the puppy, they are practicing behaviours so they will know how to use them later on in life.
There are differences of course - humans develop a much better ability to communicate verbally, and are better equipped to physically manipulate their world, pick things up, get close to objects and view them from a variety of angles. Dogs on the other hand don't tend to grow up and want to overthrow the universe!
So it shouldnt really come as a surprise that an animal who has evolved to be a hunting/scavenging creature will practice in infancy those skills he needs to keep himself fed and safe as an adult.
And yet somewhere along the line we have sort of forgotten that underneath the cute puppy fur, big eyes and comedically huge paws and ears, there is a living, learning animal in there, whose sole purpose in life ISNT actually to be cute and make you go 'aww'. (Though I would suggest thats a huge part of WHY the modern dog exists as it does today! Don't underestimate cute!)
Our job as a puppy 'parent' is to guide the barking biting growling snapping 'practice aggression' in the young pup, so that our dog grows up able to communicate, but unlikely to misinterpret and use aggression as his first option in any given situation.
Thats not so hard, dogs dont set out to be aggressive, they dont 'want' to use it, in many cases where a dog is truly fearful or frustrated, the apparent aggression is really a bluff, its a lie (yep they can lie!), if confronted they would probably back down IF they still have that as an option.
Using aggression and being actually willing to get in there and get physical is a risky strategy, its one wild animals use either when the odds are stacked in their favour heavily, or as a last resort - other displays of aggression between members of the same species, on closer examination prove to be ritualistic, bluffs, machismo and strength of character rather than the real thing (its no good being the toughest Gorilla in town if you die three weeks later from an infected wound!).
In dogs though, we meddle - we breed dogs that are much more willing to get physical, we select for those with a higher pain threshold, those who can retain a degree of calmness and control whilst fighting to the death - ie, dog fighting dogs.
Much MORE of a problem though is our meddling with our dogs ability to communicate with us. You may find a cute fluffy puppy lunging at you and snarling a worrying prospect, but I find an adult dog who DOESNT growl when fearful a much more worrying animal!
Puppies in their most natural, ideal environment, before they leave their littermates, with access to Mum and a range of other adult and semi adult dogs, will perform the same lunging biting snarling growling tusselling behaviour that you see in your cute labrador puppy at home.
The difference is, the other dogs are not offended shocked or upset, they dont think 'eek Fido is vicious' or 'oh no he doesnt love us'. I cant swear to what they DO think but the overall impression I get when watching such a scene is 'ugh, I am not playing with you'.
When puppies practice their aggression, as well as their hunting and chasing and stalking behaviours on other dogs, once that behaviour exceeds the acceptable level - ie the bites hurt, the other dog is fed up of it, the game ends because the annoyed party says 'no'. Either by roaring at the other pup, in the case of some adults, or by walking away and avoiding it.
This isnt to say that other dogs discipline dogs best of all, SOME of what they do is great - other stuff is less successful. For instance one of my dogs can give a dirty look and stalk away in disgust and no puppy yet has dared follow her and see what happens! But another of my dogs will just argue loudly, and you have a barking match which solves nothing and is really annoying to listen to.
So its not so simple as just doing what the other dogs would do, and not just because we are not other dogs!
What does work, consistently, is to clearly end the fun by removing either yourself or the puppy for a few seconds the second the unwanted behaviour starts. A time out.
But understanding which behaviours are worrying and which are fine can be difficult - you do NOT want to totally extinguish growling for example. Growling can be used as part of an aggressive display, real or bluff - but it can also be a general 'chatty' sort of communication, it can be done in play by pups and adults. Growling is NOT indicative of a vicious dog in the slightest, but it seems to be one of the things that freaks people out the most.
A pup who gets silly and giddy and the growling gets more and more frantic and the play becomes dangerous and wild, that sort of behaviour needs to be stopped before it really starts - time outs are useful here.
The pup growling at you when he has a bone or when he is eating his food though - thats not something you want to provide a consequence for, thats something you need to re-adjust YOUR behaviour around. That dog is communicating that he has something that is valuable and it is HIS. If you push him and attempt to take it he may be forced to take further action (its like a solicitors letter?..
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Thats a useful growl, it tells you lots, it tells you how close you can be to that dog before he feels scared - ie if hes not growling, its ok, if he is... dont get any nearer.
What isnt ok is that he feels scared and feels the need to warn you - thats what you need to modify, and you cannot modify that by removing the growl. If you could rewind the situation and turn the volume off... that dog is still saying hes threatened and potentially willing to bite you, regardless of the fact you can no longer hear him say 'grr'!
So you change his emotion, the puppy who grrs over his food is fed in peace without people bothering him. He has sessions with an empty food bowl or three and the nice human walks around dropping bits of kibble into the bowls, plink plink plink.. one at a time so he can eat them quickly, has nothing to guard (hes eaten it) and a very very clear understanding that human near bowl = food.
Changing his emotions means he no longer needs to growl, he doesnt fear you taking his food away, he welcomes your approach because it might mean more food!
He still has the same ability to growl and to bite - if he felt threatened he still would, but now he isnt going to feel threatened by something that could be a misinterpretation on his part, so he is safe and he is happy.
Play biting is something else you need to modify, because although play biting doesnt turn into aggression, humans misinterpret it and it isnt safe for an adult dog to do.
Unfortunately most peoples reactions to a puppy leaping and nipping and biting is to squeal and move around quickly. WOW - thats SUPER fun! If you are a puppy.
Left to continue that as some dogs are, the owners may still tolerate it in a fully grown 30kg dog - though many do become frightened of their own dogs, but strangers absolutely will not and its all very well that you know Fido is only playing, but thats no consolation to the old lady flat on her back with her jumper torn because Fido played with her! This could see the end of Fido!
Handled wrongly this can become real aggression - start yelling at and hitting Fido and where you get to the point where its actually hurting Fido and making him fearful, thats where the behaviour turns to aggression rather than just play. (If you dont get to the point where you are actually hurting and frightening the dog, you teach him to be a better, faster, rougher play fighter... ).
So tackling that one by becoming more aggressive is no good, and again time outs become really useful here, alongside appropriate outlets for chewing/biting/ragging games with suitable toys, raw meaty bones etc, appropriate exercise and training to improve self control. You teach the pup that starting that sort of game will end in no game at all and you prevent him from starting these games in the first place so he doesnt form the habit of behaving that way with people. He still has the ability to do it - but he hasnt the history of finding it rewarding.
Another area that often frightens puppy owners, and causes confusion about practicing behaviours, is 'killing' toys and playing tug of war games.
These games are fine, if your dog enjoys ripping up a toy and ragging the heck out of it, that is what he enjoys (and he is probably a terrier) - you cannot tell him that isnt what he enjoys if it is! But the context of these games is what matters - with his own toys, these games are fine. Within a clearly defined set of rules, these games are fine. Playing raggy games with a rope, where the game ends should contact with skin be made or the dog gets too silly and cant listen any more, thats fine. Playing ragging with sleeves and socks and trouser legs... where the game ends because someone kicks the puppy across the room, or a kid starts crying and Mom slaps the puppy - not fine, the rules arent suitable, the items are not appropriate, the end result means the game starts to become tinged with fear and apprehension as well as excitement.
So - as I say - aggression is something we all have the ability to use. Human society has rules about where it is and isnt appropriate to use it. Puppies need similar rules that you can explain - they arent born knowing those rules in the same way that humans arent.
Dont panic and fear that your dog is inherently vicious - serious aggression comes from fear and pain, and this can be fixed. Puppy behaviours are practice, testing out their new world to see what works. Dont seek to eradicate a behaviour, just look to adapt and contain it in an acceptable and safe way.
And never take it personally!