Aggression

I'm going to cover a basic summary of the different types of dog aggression. Keep in mind that there is a HUGE difference between dog/dog(animal) aggression and dog/human aggression.

1) Fear or nervous aggression. This is a common form of aggression for dogs and can be directed towards animals, people, objects and can even be triggered by scary places. Fear aggression is correctable with proper socialization and R+ training methods (You can read about Liwanu's battle with this on the blog 'Curbing the Violence')

2) Frustration aggression. Also known as fence-fighting or boundary aggression. Dogs who are kept in dog runs behind the house 24/7, are chained 24/7 or otherwise live a fairly isolated life (IE are not family pets, don't get to explore or meet other dogs/people) are prone to this type of aggression.

3) Sexual Aggression- This usually occurs between two intact males in regards to a female in heat. Females may show aggression towards other females during their season or even the male if they are not receptive to his behavior.

4) Territorial Aggression- The name speaks for itself. Many people mistakenly think that this type of aggression is appropriate because they have never seen how quickly it can get out of hand. Anything the dog regards as 'their property' is defended often with serious injury being done. Many dog attacks happen because of someone mistakenly entering the dog's perceived territory and not knowing how to react to the initial threat display. NILIF is a great method to help break the cycle of territorial aggression.

5) 'Dominance' aggression- While I do not support the dominance theory, dogs do establish a ranking order when meeting other dogs. When two dogs meet who are equal rank or where one is trying to 'buck up' there is likely to be aggressive posturing, intimidation tactics and potentially a dog fight.

6) Predatory aggression- This is fairly straight forward as well. Predatory aggression is the act of fulfilling their prey drive. It comes into play when people, animals or other objects appear to be running from the dog.

There are more, but I think I've covered the basics for now. It comes down to a very simple fact. Aggression is a serious issue and correcting it takes help from a behaviorist. Because of the complex body language and various cues (many of which can barely be seen by an unblinking human eye) the average dog owner is not capable of telling which type of aggression their dog has, which makes it very difficult for them to correct.