Is your pet very aggressive with other dogs? Has your dog bitten someone?. The truth is that aggressiveness is a problem that affects public health and should be treated by a professional who guides the owner in making decisions about what to do with the animal and how to act.
First it should be noted that bite and aggressiveness is not the same, because a dog can bite without warning and be very aggressive without biting. In general terms, the attacks of dogs on people are of moderate or mild severity, although in some cases extreme severity and even the death of the person involved has been observed. Anyway, the lack of knowledge on the part of the owner of education and preventive measures in the treatment of the animal are usually present..
Aggressiveness occurs mostly in dogs from 1 to 5 years old, with high variability within the same breed. The attacks are usually located in the extremities, except in children where they usually go to the neck and head. Nowadays there are biomarkers, tests and questionnaires that try to predict the behavior of the pet, but none of these actions reports with a 100% reliability the future behavior of the dog. That is why we believe in the need to carry out a insurance for the animal and wear it tied with a muzzle in the presence of other dogs or people. They are two very simple and low cost measures that help to avoid most aggressions.
Regarding the types of aggressiveness, there is no consensus and differences are observed according to the author. In general are between 8 and 15 different types of aggression (territorial, dominance, predatory, maternal, fear …). There are three very important issues when classifying the form of aggressiveness: the target, the context and the position of the dog.
If the target of the animal is to dogs, it is an intraspecific aggressiveness, if it is to people or other animals it is interspecific. The context can be very varied (fears, protection of the food, gain the attention of the owner …) and the position is offensive or defensive.
The action of the veterinarian is essential against any type of aggressiveness to prevent future problems. In principle, it is necessary to discard organic diseases (intoxications, endocrinological and nervous problems …) and a mixed treatment with pharmacology (amitriptyline, fluoxetine …), behavioral therapy and/or castration can be applied.
Anyway, do not forget to consult your veterinarian after modifying the behavior of your animal.