There is nothing scarier than having your beloved pet turn aggressive.  It may seem funny when your puppy shows aggression towards another puppy, but this can be a serious problem if it continues until you become desperate to stop dog aggression in your treasured pet.

There can be lots of reasons why this is occurring and you need to realize what they are.  Is your dog socialized?  You may have one or two dogs that get along fine in the backyard and house, but if they hardly ever go out, when they do see another dog they may become aggressive.  So how do you stop dog aggression like this?

The First Step to Take

The first step is, when you have a new puppy you must socialise it with other dogs and people.  There are puppy socializing classes held in most large vet clinics and you should take your puppy.  Take a 3 month course with your local dog obedience group once your puppy is 3 months old.  Your dog will learn to focus on you and your instructions (even
when there are other dogs and people around) as well as learn some new skills.

This needs to be an ongoing activity to stop dog aggression.  I have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and did dog obedience training and special clicker training with the young dog, Cooper.  As he got better with the clicker training I stopped going to dog obedience and only trained him at home.  Some time later when I had to take him for a Vet check, he barked madly (though not really aggressively) at other dogs
(which was embarrassing) and I had to take him back to dog obedience to socialise him.  Ever few months I would take him back to dog obedience.

Why You Get Dog Aggression and How to Stop It

You may have to stop dog aggression in a dog that is not neutered.  Dogs are much more aggressive when they have male hormones egging them on!.  Your dog is more likely to be aggressive when he is
guarding you or your property or his territory.

Clearly you need to neuter any dog that begins to show aggression towards other dogs, unless of course you are showing them or want to breed from them.  Likewise, if your dog is being protective, you want him to be this way, but you also want him to obey you and you need to be able to stop dog aggression if necessary.

Once you have a well trained dog, you will also have the solution.  Your dog must accept you as the leader, the boss and the pack alpha.  Stop any form of aggression without delay, even if it is just a low growl.  In aggressive
situations a ‘No’ command will have little or no effect.  To stop dog aggression, try growling with your teeth bared; you could get good results if done in the early stages of the behavior.  I would not advise you do this if the dog is in a full throated attack mode as it is best not to even have eye contact if the dog is acting very aggressively towards you.

How to Stop Dog Aggression

It could also be a good initiative to use a muzzle or one of the special leads and mouth restrainers that are available.  These products stop the dog from opening its mouth wide enough to bite and will not hurt your dog.  It could be a good way to start your training to stop dog aggression and you should be able to remove these restrictions after you are positive he will not attempt to bite  when he is on the lead with you in command.

If your dog has been trained using food rewards, then food can become a good way to distract him and stop dog aggression.  Get his attention by letting him see and smell the food while you give him a command.  As soon as he gives you attention, give him the reward.  Keep his attention by giving another directive immediately after the first one and this time make him look for the food by dropping it on the ground.  The food reward will bring him to focus on you and not be distracted by the other dog.  Repeat this process a few times until he has his mind totally on you and the reward. To understand better there is a book covering how to stop dog aggression to help you.

By being a strong leader, I am sure you can remove most aggressive tendencies if you absolutely never allow any indication of aggression.  However there are some breeds e.g. Rottweilers, Pit Bull Terriers and Dobermans that are ‘hard wired’ for aggression and you could have trouble training them out of their aggressive behavior.  In these cases you should seek professional help to stop dog aggression.