Why Is My Dog Aggressive Towards Other Dogs?

One of the more complex and hard to understand behavior of dogs is their tendency to be aggressive even to their own kind. Sometimes, it may even come to a point where the aggressive behavior can be quite hard to control. There may be many factors which can lead to such a problem. In fact, this aggressive tendency may even show at a very early age when your dog is still in his puppy years. Think of it as the start of the "terrible twos". What could be the possible reasons behind Fido turning into a monster

Medical Reasons

One of the reasons which may be behind your doggy's rough behavior is an underlying medical problem. Chemical imbalances, for one, can be largely to blame. Other medical reasons may be as follows:

. Hypothyroidism or a less active thyroid gland 

. Distemper 

. Low blood sugar 

. Epilepsy 

. Presence of a brain tumour 

. Head trauma

It's Just The Breed

Clearly, there are some breeds that behave more aggressively as compared to others. Some are just born with that kind of temperament. Most of them have a protective tendency, hence the aggressive behavior. Examples of these kinds of breeds are the Doberman, Rottweiller and Akita.

The Pack Attitude

Dogs, by nature, recognize that they are part of pack. Unfortunately, being part of a pack also means that someone has to be the leader or the alpha-male. It is this instinct which may somehow lead into a dog being aggressive towards another. This is most especially if you have two or more dogs of the same age and sex. Oftentimes, this will involve the need of one dog to be the head of the group.

Along with the need to be a leader comes the need to protect one's territory. Dogs do not appreciate it really if someone invades their space. Another dog who happens to be a stranger to him can really rub him the wrong way thus leading to another problem when it comes to aggression.

Poor Socialization Skills

Just as there is a need to teach a child socialization skills, so is there to expose a dog to different kinds of environment and other dogs as well. This is usually best when a dog is still at a young age wherein he can still be developed. The best time would probably be around 3 to 14 years of age when the dog has his senses fully developed and he is able to get to see more of his surroundings.

Past experiences

Dogs do have memory. When a dog, especially during the early years, encounters a bad experience from another dog, he may start to develop certain fears which may lead to aggressive behavior.

Whatever the reasons are, especially if they are not medical in nature, it is important to take note that this behavior should be corrected early on and not tolerated. As has been often said, it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.