Ever wondered if there is a breed of dog that is naturally predisposed to be the most aggressive?
After researching why dogs develop aggressive behavior and how to train them to get their temperament down to a more family-friendly, I have some awesome tips and insights on aggressive behavior in most dog breeds.
What Is Aggressive Behavior In Dogs?
Dog aggression is whereby the dog threatens to harm another individual or animal, and this may involve barking, snarling, growling, snapping, biting, or lunging. If you are looking into adding to your family a pet dog, the chances are that you would want to make sure you are getting a family-friendly dog breed that is least likely to get aggressive.
However, there are few cases where a temperamentally balanced dog turns aggressive all of the sudden.
So, Why do dogs become aggressive all of a sudden? Sudden aggressive behavior in dogs can be a sign of health issue or could also be from emotional-buildup which can cause dogs to get frustrated.
- Also Read: Australian Shepherd Dachshund Mix Care Guide With Pictures
- Australian Shepherd Mix With Husky Guide With Pictures
- Golden Retriever Mixed with Husky- An Eye-Opening Goberian Dog Breed Guide With Pictures
Types Of Dog Aggression
- Territorial Aggression.
- Possessive Aggression.
- Maternal or Protective Aggression.
- Pain-Related or Irritable Aggression.
- Predatory Aggression.
- Frustration or Redirected Aggression.
- Social Conflict-Related Aggression.
- Sexual Aggression.
Though all types of dog aggression are of concern, knowing the underlying and triggers of dog aggression may help understand how to best tame and stamp down the root causes.
Why are dogs aggressive?
When dogs display aggression, many dog owners don’t try to consider what the dog is trying to communicate, and aggressive behavior is just regarded as unacceptable, threatening, and highly dangerous.
But there are reasons why dogs become aggressive, and if the owners try to evaluate these reasons, they will understand their furry friends much better and deal with the behavior in the best way. Now, let’s look at the reasons why dogs become aggressive:
1. It may be just fear
This is the first reason why dogs will behave aggressively towards other dogs or animals and it is caused by lack of proper socialization at a young age or past bad experiences with other animals.
The dog will show fear based aggression if they feel as if they are in danger and need to protect themselves.
2. Anxiety can cause aggression in dogs
Relocation or change of environment may lead to a dog’s anxiety and this will eventually cause aggression.
3. Illness
When a dog is I’ll and does not receive treatment in time, it will lead to aggression. So once you notice your dog not doing most of the things it loves but instead just sitting around and being aggressive, it may be because the dog is suffering from a serious health condition. Meaning you must take it to the veterinarian as soon as possible.
4. The dog may be just frustrated
This is also known as redirected aggression, and it’s whereby the dog is frustrated for not being able to get something it wants; the dog will then take out its frustration by being aggressive.
5. It may be that the dog is just being protective
The dog will show aggressiveness also when they are protective towards their owners against other animals and strangers.
Now that we know some of the reasons why our furry friends tend to become aggressive, we can now take a look at the top 10 most aggressive dog breeds.
1. The Chihuahua
The Chihuahua is known to be the smallest dog breed in the world and registered by the American Kennel Club. The dog is tiny and cute, and it’s very easy to not take them seriously once they begin to behave aggressively because a snarling, snapping Chihuahua is considered as being “,awwww so cute”.
Although the Chihuahua is small and not seen as dangerous as the larger breeds, it is still capable of biting and causing injuries to a child and even an older person too.
The aggressive behaviors are caused by a change in the environment, illness, anxiety, etc.
2. The Dachshund
The Dachshund was bred for hunting purposes do they are naturally predisposed to aggressiveness. They may start to show aggression when they are just 6 weeks old, they do not like strangers and will not be nice to them and they can as well be very nasty to anyone who visits their home.
So when you notice your Dachshund being aggressive, you must address the problem before it becomes a huge problem to deal with.
Here are some of how you can deal with the Dachshund aggressive behavior at an early stage.
Make sure you socialize the dog with other dogs and people when they are just 14 weeks old. An unsocialized Dachshund will show too much aggression to strangers.
Teach people to treat your Dachshund with kindness once they are in your home because the Dachshund tends to become aggressive because if fear and thus fear may cause it to bite, so treating it with kindness will show it that people are okay and can be trusted too.
The Dachshund breed likes to dominate and hence will show aggression once it realized people are being resistant to them being dominant.
In such cases, the owner must show or establish dominance over the Dachshund when they are still young so that they grow up knowing who the boss is.
3. The Chow Chow
Aggression is an issue of concern with the Chow Chow, but can easily be avoided. The breed was bred for hunting purposes and it’s in their nature to be aggressive; they will be aggressive towards dogs of the same sex, and their hunting instincts will take over if presented with a cat or other small animals.
The dog is also highly suspicious of strangers and will not show kindness to them at all. Below we have listed some of the ways in which you can deal with the Dachshund aggressive behavior.
Socialize the dog at a young age: As we said, early socialization is essential so that the dog grows up used to having people around him.
Train your Chow Chow: Yes, it’s in the dog’s nature to be aggressive and suspicious of strangers, but training the breed at a young age will help eliminate the aggressive nature.
Establish leadership: The Chow Chow requires strong leadership but that has nothing to do with yelling or striking your dog.
4. The Doberman Pinscher
The Doberman Pinscher is known for being loyal, affectionate, smart and strong, they make good family companions and guard dogs too.
But if they are poorly socialized and trained, they tend to become very aggressive towards strangers and other animals too, and because of it’s large size, an aggressive Doberman is highly dangerous.
But fortunately, there are plenty of ways to deal with this behavior in a kind and humane way.
5. The Rottweiler
The Rottweiler was bred for guarding purposes, hence they have very strong guardianship instincts so once they feel that their family member is being threatened, they will react aggressively. They will bark and bite too.
So to deal with this condition, early socialization and training is very essential. Below we have listed some of the ways of dealing with aggression in a rottweiler:
Avoid aggression triggers: For example, if you know you are expecting visitors, keep your dog away and make sure it doesn’t know when the visitors are in your house.
This will help because the dog is highly suspicious of strangers.
Neutralize the triggers: Take your dog for long walks as a way to deal with too much of their energy.
While you are at it, always give him verbal praise and reward him once he goes from aggressive to passive.
The reward system helps to reinforce the dog’s good behavior as he will now know that passive behavior is more appreciated than the aggressive one.
6. The German Shepherd
German Shepherds are extremely overly protective when it comes to their family and owners and that’s the first reason why they become aggressive, start barking and charging at the person.
This is a common behavior problem of a German, but it’s known for being loyal, affectionate, smart but very much hate seeing it’s family members in danger.
Another reason why a German Shepherd becomes aggressive is when they lack enough exercise when you try to dominate them and also when they get bored.
Below are some of the ways in you can deal with the aggressive behavior of the German Shepard:
- Socialize it at an early age
- And make sure you train your dog and establish leadership to them while they are still young so that they grup Knowing who the boss is.
The Jack Russell Terrier
The aggression in Jack Russell Terriers is an issue of concern, and it may be a result of fear so they turn to being aggressive asaway to protect themselves, it’s also because of lack of proper socialization so before handling the situation you have to correctly determine which one of these factors, or their combination, is the root of the issue
Siberian husky
Siberian husky’s aggressive behavior is also caused by lack of proper socialization and training.
So the Breed must be socialized at a young age so that it grows up Knowing it’s okay to have other people and animals around them. The aggressive behavior is also sometimes because of fear and boredom.
The dog has too much energy, and it needs proper exercise so that it can be at ease or else it will turn aggressive and destructive in the house due to an excessive amount of energy.
9. The bulldog
The bulldog is naturally aggressive and can translate the aggression into violence when it’s used to dominating and will attack other dogs or a human when it’s dominance is being threatened.
So the best way to deal with this is to train it at an early age and socialization too. Make sure it grows up Knowing you’re the boss of it.
10. The Pitbull terrier
A lack of socialization and training also causes Pitbull’s aggressive behavior. Whether you have an American or the Stafford Bull Terrier, it’s obvious you should make sure you train and socialize it when they are still young. Otherwise, they are known for being very sweet, loyal, affectionate, and very smart.
