Forms of Canine Aggression: Part 1.

There are various forms of canine aggression and a multitude of reasoning behind the behaviours being displayed. It is important to remember that all forms of aggression are

emotionally painful for dogs. Many of them are linked to fear; fear of the unknown, fear of losing something and fear of pain are some examples. Common forms of aggression that people reach out for are Fear aggression, intraspecies (dog to dog) aggression, dog to human aggression (interspecies aggression),  territorial aggression, resource guarding, predatory drift, Littermate syndrome, redirected aggression, medication related aggression, sudden onset aggression (SOA) and anxiety related aggression. 

Fear is highly associated with canine aggression. Fear lead aggression occurs when a dog wants to increase distance between themselves and the cause of their fear (the ‘trigger’). When previous communications have been ignored such as appeasement behaviours and nervous body language their behaviour may escalate. A fearful dog will communicate its emotional distress through its eyes, ears, mouth and body position. It will move from alert to fearful in which the tail may become tucked, crouching their body, hiding behind their guardian, flattened ears and whale eye are all indications of their fear increasing. If distance is not increased they may escalate to the higher levels of communication on the ladder of aggression; growling, barking, lunging, snapping and biting as a last resort. A dog suffering from extreme fear may be panting excessively, drooling, trembling and even lose control of their bladder or bowels.  Escalation is more likely to occur if the dog feels trapped; common causes of this feeling is being on a lead removing their ability to remove themself from the situation (flight response). Small, enclosed spaces, blocked exits all can contribute to increased aggression led behaviours. The route cause of their fear can be formed due to various reasons. For instance, a previous negative experience, fear of the unknown and/or inadequate socialisation. It is important to remember that this form of aggression is linked to fear which can either be ‘real’ (negative experience) or a perceived threat: Every threat/trigger is unique to the individual dog . 

Intraspecies (dog-to-dog) aggression is a common reason people seek the help of professionals (veterinary or behaviourist) in regards to their dogs behaviour. This form of aggression can be directed at all dogs, or a specific size, colour or breed. This form of aggression can present in a variety of forms with various reasons for their response. If a negative experience has occurred in their past it can cause a fear of all dogs or a specific breed. If they lacked socialisation at critical windows during their upbringing this can lead to aggression due to lack of positive interactions. Other aspects to consider are the dog's personality; they may get on well with a dog that they live with but do not want to interact with other dogs. They may feel overwhelmed at the presence of multiple dogs, thus becoming more reactive in parks, inside locations with multiple dogs such as cafes, bars. 

Another consideration is the restrictive nature of leads, if communications such as lowering their body, curving body away and appeasement are ignored by a guardian and the dog is not removed  from the situation they may escalate their behaviour. Their body language is key when they see another dog; their hackles (fur on their back) may stand up, they may display other alert body cues. If the other dog gets too close for what they deem comfortable increasing their perceived threat level they may stiffen or change their position and growl. Once again if not removed from this situation this may escalate their behaviour to a snarl, bark, lunge and in some circumstances snap/bite in order to make the dog go away and to keep themself safe.

Another form of intraspecies aggression is Predatory Drift.  It is essential to understand the difference between fear based aggression and predatory drift. Predatory drift is based on a hardwired instinct based response not fear. Even though dogs have evolved over tens of thousands of years from their grey wolf predecessors, they still resultantly share 99.9% DNA and some hunter based instincts still remain even though the domestication process started over 12,000 years ago. Predatory drift occurs from the hard wired predatory sequence associated with hunting; the search, the eye stalk, the chase, the grab bite and the kill bite . Predatory sequence tends to be initiated through play, especially larger breeds playing with smaller breeds. Although modern day domestic dogs through breeding, socialisation and training have learnt to inhibit the last steps . The game of chase often involves ritualistic behaviours to indicate it is play such as inhibited biting or play bows, unfortunately sometimes the game goes too far.  Often the causality of the game going too far can be initiated by a sound (yelping or squealing) or simply overarousal. To prevent this form of aggression from occurring play should be monitored closely; if smaller dogs start showing any prey-like behaviour (squealing and fleeing) play should be stopped immediately. If multiple dogs are playing it is essential to monitor all dogs, if a dog is exhibiting stress it can impact others’ behaviours, potentially tipping the balance toward a predatory drift response. It is important to note that dogs, especially larger breeds should always be supervised around young children as they can exhibit prey-like behaviours (high pitched noises, running away) which can trigger this instinct prey response on rare occasions with devastating outcomes. Albeit rare, it is something to be aware of to prevent any risk of harm or injury to a child, whether that is being knocked over from being chased or worse suffering from a bite. 

There are ongoing debates in regards to whether it is recommended to take two dogs from the same litter. This is due not only to the amount of work that is involved and the challenges of two young puppies at the same time but due to what has been dubbed ‘littermate syndrome’. This is a label that has been attached to displays of aggression between two dogs from the same litter raised in one household. This form of aggression can either be present in displays of aggression towards each other (for various reasons including resource guarding) or  aggression led behaviours rooted in fear/anxiety due to over bonding with their sibling . 

Another form of intra-house aggression is alliance aggression. This form of aggression stems from a dog which forms a bond with a person (guardian) or another dog within the household. They can become protective or territorial in group settings, due to them feeling they need to defend their ‘allies’ . This aggression often displays in the form of fighting over the attention of an owner if directed at each other. This can also present in the form of outward aggression displays such as lunging, barking and snapping if other dogs or people approach their guardian. These behaviours will not be displayed if walking with someone else if the root cause is this alliance (attachment based) . 

Protective and Maternal aggression is a form of instinctive aggression. This aggression stems from a dog's instinct to protect its family/pack. This protective behaviour is not solely associated with their own offspring but can be shown in regards to protecting humans including children, other animals or dogs from within the household. This form of aggression similar to various other forms will start with growling and barking in order to ward off the person/animal approaching the subject they are protecting. If this goes unheaded it can escalate quickly to lunging, snapping and a heightened risk of biting. Where some guardians may find this protectiveness desirable it is highly unpredictable and can lead to someone getting hurt. Female dogs who have just had a litter can be increasingly protective of their offspring (maternal aggression) rooted in instinct and hormones, this should naturally reduce as time goes on and counter conditioning can help show that household members are not a threat. Ensure that ample space is provided, especially keeping other household pets away initially.