Of all the behavioral problems dogs may exhibit, the most prolific one by far is aggression. Aggression is divided into several different categories, so it becomes necessary to understand which type you are dealing with.

1. "Are You Threatening Me?"

This is more commonly known as dominance based aggression. This is when the dog feels that their position is threatened somehow and they act to reassert their dominance in the group.

2. Fear Motivated Aggression

This scenario is when your dog is aggressive out of pure fear. They are trying to protect themselves. If they are scared that they will be harmed, most dogs don't flee the scene. They fight.

3. "I'm Ready To Protect You!"

Your dog in this scenario is feeling that someone is threatening their pack. That means you and your family. Dogs are loyal and will protect you at all costs. Most dogs see their role in this pack as the protectors. Since they can sense your fear, this only motivates their actions.

4. Territorial Aggression

This is an issue that occurs when the dog perceives that they must defend their "territory". Your dogs "territory" can be substantially larger than just your yard or house.

5. Possessive Aggression

This is when the dog feels they are protecting something that belongs to them. Could be a toy or something they remove from the garbage can. If it's theirs, they feel they have "possession" of it and protects it.

6. "I'm Angry and Don't Know What To Do...

Here your dog is angry about something they can't do anything about. For instance, there is a dog walking on your lawn and they can't reach them from inside the house, so they turn around in frustration and attack something or someone in the house to relieve this frustration.

All these are a serious situation and will require the help of an in-home dog behavior professional. An aggression problem will not go away by itself, so do not fool yourself.

However, there are things that you can do to limit the aggression to a degree.

- Consult with a veterinarian for possible medical causes for the aggression.

- Immediately seek a behavior professional as soon as the dog shows aggressive behaviors.

- You are liable for your dog's actions, so precautions must be taken. Limit the dog's activities until you can get professional advice. Keep the animal confined and under your constant supervision as well. If you need to take the dog out, muzzle them.

- Learn the situations that have elicited aggressive behavior and keep the dog away from those situations altogether.

- For possessive problems, limit the access to the items they are possessive of and the problem will follow suit, if only temporarily.

- Get the dog "fixed" so they can't reproduce. Dogs that have been spayed or neutered tend to mellow out and aggression levels are lowered, sometimes totally alleviated.

If the problem persists seek professional assistance. NEVER punish or physically reprimand your dog for aggression. They may see this as an attack and react accordingly. If you hit them for growling, they may bite to warn you off or defend themselves.

You need to take the proper steps to protect the dog, yourself, and anyone else around you. You may need to confine your dog when strangers are around. However, it is best if you just seek help. If your dog ever happen to get loose. This can be dangerous and expensive if they happen to bite someone and that person ends up suing you.

Confine, consult and seek assistance.

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