By Kyle Montgomery

There is no such thing as a dog that is mean or aggressive simply for the sake of being mean or aggressive even though it may often seem that way. Nearly a million people are admitted to a hospital each year with a dog bite injury and a couple dozen of those actually die.

It is important to understand the mind of a dog to best avoid violent or aggressive reactions from the animal. Even dogs that seem to always be friendly can potentially bite a person if they misunderstand that persons actions. There are specific reasons for dog aggression that can be avoided more often than not provided you understand the dogs behavior.

Dominant Dog Aggression And Behavior

Dogs are descended from wolves which are by nature pack animals. In any given pack there is always one dominate pack leader followed by a hierarchy of leadership. The pack leader gets their pick of the resting spots, the food, and the territory in general.

Most common dominate behavior occurs when a dog growls or snaps at someone when they try to move the dog, step over the dog, or touch the dogs food or other items the dog perceives as their own. When a dog is behaving dominantly the dog believes he is the pack leader of your family or at least that they have greater authority than the family member who they are exhibiting dominance over.

Dogs are more likely to exhibit dominate behavior when they are not neutered and males are much more likely to be dominate than females. There are also certain dog breeds that more typically behave dominantly such as Lhaso Apsos, Chows, Rottweilers, and Ridgebacks, among many other breeds. While an un neutered male Pitbull may be more likely to be dominate, a neutered female Pomeranian could also end up exhibiting dominant behavior.

Good training at a young age will help deter this behavior by showing your dog that you are the pack leader. Always treat your dog in a calm and assertive manor without negative or fearful reinforcement failure to do so could prove to a dog that has dominate tendencies that you are not fit to be the pack leader in your home.

Fearful Dog Aggression And Behavior

Dogs may also react aggressively if they are afraid for any reason. Just because you understand a situation and aren't scared doesn't mean the dog understands. When the fight or flight response kicks in many dogs will opt to defend themselves. Dogs can get scared for any number of reasons but being careful to avoid certain behavioral actions can often avoid fearful behavior.

The best way to avoid fearful aggression in your dog is to properly socialize your dog as much as possible and as young as possible. Dogs can be afraid of unusual things, people, or situations they don't understand and find potentially threatening. If your dog has never had any interaction with children or other dogs for instance they may get very tense during an unexpected social occurrence. Dogs can even get scared by things such as a bicyclist or skateboarders if they have never encountered such things.

Dogs can very easily be scared of strangers or strange places. The animal will often settle down if scared of a stranger or place if you yourself greet the person or examine the place in a very non fearful and un alerted manor, dogs will feel and perceive your emotional state and often take to the same feeling.

Fearful aggression is not breed specific, any dog can be afraid. Beginning signs of fearful aggression are barking, growling, or lunging as a warning to ward of whatever it is that is scaring the dog. If these warnings are not heeded by the offender a nip or bite will often follow.

If you encounter a dog that is exhibiting these warnings there are some things that you shouldn't do. Do not run away, if you run the dog will almost definitely react giving chase. Stay quite don't alarm the dog, don't flail your arms out, don't move suddenly, avoid eye contact, and try not to act scared as you move away slowly.

Some Less Common Reasons For Dog Aggression

Poor training or mistreatment can be an obvious cause for dog aggression. Training your dog to be aggressive will obviously make him aggressive. Also negative reinforcement during training and excessive teasing or mistreating the dog can lead to biting or aggressive behavior.

While giving birth a female dog can be extremely aggressive if you come near her. The mother is also aggressive during the first 2 or 3 weeks afterwards until the puppies eyes are open and they can move around on their own accord. There is no special training to avoid this maternal aggressive behavior if you intend to breed your dog you simply need to provide a safe and comfortable place for the mother to care for her newborns and everyone needs to to respect this space.

Aggression can be induced by pain. If your dog is in pain due to disease or injury they could potentially lash out at someone consoling them or caring for them. This is similar to fear aggression the dog simply doesn't understand why they are in pain and associates it will you be careful not to cause excessive pain especially by someone the dog doesn't trust.