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Owning a dog is socially healthy and beneficial for a family, but it can also be stressful at times. When a dog shows aggression towards the owners or people the dog is familiar with, you start to have seconds thoughts about having the dog around.
It’s your responsibility to properly train your own dog so that it will not be aggressive towards your family and people you love. Of course, you wouldn’t want your kids around a dog that doesn’t know how to behave, as it will probably not end well.
In this guide, we are going to explore the reasons why your dog might be aggressive towards familiar people, and how you can be better prepared to deal with them.
Reasons For The Aggression
There are many reasons a dog can show aggression towards familiar people. And it’s fairly common – many pet owners have to deal with this problem.
Let’s have a look at the most common reasons:
1. Your dog doesn’t recognize you sometimes.
There are a few reasons why a familiar dog might not recognize you. It is especially true in older dogs that suffer from vision problems.
In the case of an older dog, just be patient. As you start to give your dog more indications about who you are, it will show you some love again.
With younger dogs, there could be other reasons. Dogs don’t always recognize every single detail about you, especially at night when there’s less visibility. This may cause your dog to get confused and show aggression towards you or your family.
Although dogs have pretty good vision, it’s generally not as good as human vision. If the aggression occurs during the daytime, it’s a good idea to take your dog to see a veterinarian and have their vision checked.
Also keep in mind: dogs might sometimes get confused with different clothing styles that you don’t normally wear; this can also cause it to not recognize you.
2. Your dog shows defensive aggression.
When dogs feel threatened, they go into defensive aggression mode. Whether he or she knows you or not, this can be a problem.
Your dog may show aggression towards you if it doesn’t want to be pet in a certain way.
If your female dog just had newly born puppies, it may be be very aggressive during these periods and not want much attention from you. So, it’s a good idea to give her and her puppies their space, at least until your dog is more comfortable.
Also, if you take something that belongs to your dog, it might show defensive aggression. Even if you’re doing it playfully, your dog might not understand that behavior and show aggression towards you.
3. Your dog is dominant.
If your dog shows sign of dominance, it can be an issue for you and your family. It can be even more serious if you have kids, because dogs tend to be more aggressive towards more vulnerable, smaller children.
If you dog is dominant, be very careful about how you approach the issue, because you might make the problem even worse.
You have to show your dog that you’re the one in charge, and that they are supposed to obey your rules. But this will take some time.
Don’t expect your dog to fall in line overnight. Not doing it correctly can lead to other problems that are worse. Just know that this is a problem that likely won’t get resolved quickly, and will take time.
4. Your dog has health problems.
If your dog shows signs of being aggressive all of a sudden, it can be a sign of health issues such as hypothyroidism, neoplasia, psychomotor epilepsy, and hyperkinesis. This can be very serious and has to be resolved by a professional.
There are many illnesses and conditions that can contribute to your dog’s aggression, but it’s better for you to have a veterinarian resolve these issues. If you don’t take the necessary actions quickly, thing can get worse or even be fatal for your dog.
How To Stop Dog Aggression Towards Familiar People – Summary
For Puppies
For people with younger puppies, this can often be an easy issue to fix.
It’s important to get you and your family involved in the puppy’s day to day life. As your puppy grows with you and your family, the problems of aggression should be reduced significantly.
Doing things like petting and showing affection to your puppy, feeding it, and giving it treats once in a while will help your puppy know that it can trust you. Good interaction is important, along with the proper healthcare for your puppy.
For Adult Dogs
Owning an adult dog that you had no interaction with as a puppy can be more challenging. But still, the same rules apply. Over time and with consistent action, your dog will adapt and start being friendly.
Final Thoughts
A dog can have many issues with aggression. Even if it’s part of who they are, they can still be conditioned to behave better.
Knowing the possible causes mentioned above and taking necessary steps to fix the problem will benefit you and your family in the end. And if you suspect any other symptoms along with these problems, you should go see a veterinarian immediately. After all, our dogs deserves the best treatment.
Now, if you’ve ruled out a health problem, it’s possible that you won’t be able to fix the problem yourself. If this is the case, or if you don’t have time to fix it, there is a very economic solution available.
A certified dog trainer with well over a decade of experience working with clients has created an online program and community for dog owners.
He is known as Doggy Dan, and he has figured out that dog aggression fundamentally boils down to learning how to calm your dog down so it can regain control of its emotions.
This dog aggression rehabilitation package is substantial, and it costs a tiny fraction of what you would pay for the services of a typical dog trainer or behaviorist.
You can alternatively read my review of Doggy Dan’s program. If your dog is also aggressive towards other dogs, see this article.
Good luck in correcting your dog’s aggression problem.
