Post by ShariMurphy on Aug 28, 2014 22:21:27 GMT -5
One of the most frustrating experiences for a dog owner is having a dog that hates strangers with a vengeance. Fear-aggressive dogs are not necessarily aggressive to all strangers; they often single out certain types of people as particularly abhorrent. Men and children are the most common objects of this aggression, though women are certainly not immune.
Causes:
- Genetic factors. Some breeds and breed lines are quite well known for anxious and fearful behavior. In general, herding breeds may be more at risk of developing fearful behaviors than other breeds, though any dog may become fearful and aggressive to strangers if circumstances dictate.
Inherited fearfulness is known to occur. Hypothyroidism is one mechanism by which apprehensiveness and even frank fearfulness may be propagated. Not absolute hypothyroidism, which is associated with lethargy and inactivity, but the subliminal state of "borderline hypothyroidism," in which anxiety may be enhanced. Detecting this hormonal shortcoming and treating it by restoring thyroid hormone levels to an optimal level will often restore a dog's confidence and alleviate its fearfulness. In order to rule out a health issue, please have your dog checked out by your veterinarian if your dog shows signs of aggression. - Environmental factors. Lack of socialization or unfortunate experiences with strangers during the "sensitive" period of development (3 to 12 weeks of age) sets the stage for fear aggression. Relative isolation from strangers leads to a global mistrust and suspicion of unfamiliar persons, whereas adverse experiences produce more targeted response. Men and children are most likely to be the subjects of dogs' fearfulness with respect to of people, probably because of their greater propensity for agonistic behavior toward animals. Although the early period of life provides the most rapid and indelible form of learning, extremely distressing incidents later in life can also result in permanent learning of the regrettable type. In their wisdom, dogs sometimes generalize their learning to include all men or all children, though fearful learning can be as specific as being associated with only men wearing tall hats or men with white beards.
A puppy that is destined to become fear-aggressive is usually unconfident around strangers from an early age. As strangers approach and enter the dog's home ground, the puppy will back up and bark at them and will flee to a safe distance if approached. Dogs that have been mistreated may become "hand shy" or agitated by the movement of strangers' feet. As the puppy matures, he gains confidence. He also learns, from strangers' reactions, that a strategy of intimidation works, so he intensifies his repellent behavior. This learning accounts for the typical direction of fear-aggression toward people who are not comfortable around dogs. The dog perceives this uncertainty and capitalizes upon it. In the final stages of its evolution, fear aggression can be difficult to recognize as stemming from fear because the dog can develop confidence in his defensive strategy that he show little overt sign of his underlying anxiety.
For the dogs that display fear aggression in this way (barking, growling, lunging, snarling) this is a learned behavior on their part, this is directly tied into their inherited behaviors dictated by survival instinct and self-preservation. Some of these nervous dogs learn rather quickly that by acting ‘mean and intimidating’, they scare away what they perceive as an immediate threat to them. And most often that potential threat in the dogs mind is strangers; people they have only met a few times; people that are not part of their ‘pack’ (that don’t live in your home) and sometimes even your family members living under the same roof.