WHY ARE SO MANY SMALL BREED DOGS PRONE TO AGGRESSION?
by Friends of the Dog - Scotty Valadao - [email protected]
by Friends of the Dog - Scotty Valadao - [email protected]
This is not to say that all small breed dogs are prone to aggression however – we have come across umpteen well natured small dogs – however, we have also performed umpteen behaviour consults on small and toy breeds, where aggression was in place and by the time we were called in, the aggression was serious.
Unfortunately, apart from the genetic component, and purchasing a pup from a commercial breeder, the majority of aggression in small dogs can be contributed (albeit unintentionally), due to both a lack of early socialization and the manner in which their owners treat them. Why? Because there is a huge inconsistency on what small breeds can get away with, compared to the bigger breeds – if a bigger breed dog exhibited aggression, the odds are that the owners would get help that much sooner.
The Most Common Reasons Aggression Occurs
come into play, is then the pup goes to a one sex family, or a family without various ages of
children, especially when the person lives by themselves and no work, or very little work is
undertaken to help the pup become socialized with other people and animals.
natural instincts, and problems do develop.
All owners could do themselves a favour and read about a dog’s body language from people such as Turid Ruguus, The Art of Survival as well as make themselves familiar with signs of impending aggression. Another good site with basic information is https://petcube.com/blog/dog-body-language/
The most common behaviour exhibited that signal possible future aggressions are:
What is encouraging is that aggression can, more often than not, be changed – however, if any aggression is in place, we would suggest never trying to rectifying this yourself. Rather call in the services of an accredited canine behaviour consultant, and in addition to helping you change the aggressive behaviour, they will explain how the behaviour occurred, how to prevent in future, and what changes to bring in.
Unfortunately, apart from the genetic component, and purchasing a pup from a commercial breeder, the majority of aggression in small dogs can be contributed (albeit unintentionally), due to both a lack of early socialization and the manner in which their owners treat them. Why? Because there is a huge inconsistency on what small breeds can get away with, compared to the bigger breeds – if a bigger breed dog exhibited aggression, the odds are that the owners would get help that much sooner.
The Most Common Reasons Aggression Occurs
- The Genetic Component – a reliable, reputable breeder will only breed with dogs that are balanced and have a good temperament. Unfortunately, it is very seldom that a ‘commercial’ breeder has even looked into this very important aspect. A reputable breeder is very unlikely to breed a dog where aggression/fear had been observed in the parents. You should always ensure that the pup you purchase is from a reputable and responsible breeder. We have supplied a link at the bottom to give you further information.
- Adopted Too Early or An Only Pup – Pups that are taken away from their mothers and litter mates before 8 weeks of age, have lost out on a critical learning/socializing experience. From about 5 – 8 weeks of age, mom starts to dole out discipline, pups learn by playing with one another, about canine body language and what behaviour is, and is not acceptable. Pups taken away from mom and littermates before 8 weeks of age are immediately placed at a serious social disadvantage which can affect them their whole lives. Unfortunately, many commercial breeders put pups up for sale at 5 – 6 weeks of age.
When it comes to an ‘only’ pup, whether due to being the only pup in the litter, or something happened to its mother – these pups seldom learn dog language and body language and what is acceptable or not unless a surrogate dog is brought in to nurse and look after them. - Lack Of Early Socialization – Many new owners believe that because the pup is a small breed it is not necessary to take the pup to puppy school – if only they realized! A small breed pup should always go to puppy school, especially one that engages in supervised and appropriate free play. Heavens, think about it – where else is the pup going to learn to interact with other dogs of various sizes, different people, different situations etc. Especially when we consider that the period up to 16 weeks of age is what is called the 'critical learning period/window of opportunity', and when pups most easily accept new people, animals and situations into their lives - after this age it becomes much more difficult to socialize a pup.
come into play, is then the pup goes to a one sex family, or a family without various ages of
children, especially when the person lives by themselves and no work, or very little work is
undertaken to help the pup become socialized with other people and animals.
- Resource Guarding – this can be the guarding of toys, food and even the owners. The pup snarls or growls and this behaviour is ignored by the owner. The more the pup figures out that this behaviour works, the more likely it is to engage in it.
Where resource guarding of owners is concerned, many owners believe it is ‘cute’ that the dog wants to ‘protect’ the owner when people come too close. However, what they are looking at, as this behaviour escalates, is the possibility of a dog being euthanised due to serious biting issues. - Fear – What many owners do not understand is that about 98% of aggressive behaviour is actually fear based! The dog is fearful – a person approaches and the dog lunges and snaps and the person backs off. All that occurs here is that the dog has figured out a way to get rid of the perceived threat, and if the behaviour being exhibited does not work the next time a perceived threat approaches, the dog is forced to increase the aggression. One of the most dangerous types of aggression is what is called a fear biter – this dog rushes in quickly, bites and then retreats.
One of the ways that aggression towards other dogs often develops, is when the owner is out with their dog, sees a bigger dog, and owner immediately picks the small dog up. What this achieves, is that the dog feels the owners fear and reacts – the small dog is immediately higher than the other dog, therefore more likely to exhibit aggression – the dog perceives that because it was picked up, combined with the owners stress and fear, that other dogs are something to be aggressive towards. - Anthropomorphism – this is when we treat dogs like humans and is a very common occurrence, especially when our kids leave home, or people are lonely and seem to replace their kids and have dogs as surrogate friends. Worldwide it seems as if there was a tremendous increase of people getting pups during the current covid19 outbreak - people were unable to hug, visit etc and tended to purchase pups to be able to give the love that was missing. It is estimated that approximately 83% of people call themselves their pets’ mom or dad (we also do!). As long as the relationship with the dog is balanced, this really does not present a problem, however, when the relationship is unbalanced and the dog is misbehaved or ‘naughty’.
What we need to remember is that dogs are not part of our ‘pack’ – they are a totally different species completely and really need rules, limits and boundaries. When we give
natural instincts, and problems do develop.
- Body Language – we all know the common signs of aggression – growling, snarling, raised hair (pilo erection), lunging and barking at perceived threat etc, however there are more subtle signs such as the dog going very still, the eyes hardening, the whiskers becoming stiff, the body becomes stiff, and so forth. So often people will say that the dog ‘bit with no warning’ when there was plenty of warning signals, just the owner did not realize.
All owners could do themselves a favour and read about a dog’s body language from people such as Turid Ruguus, The Art of Survival as well as make themselves familiar with signs of impending aggression. Another good site with basic information is https://petcube.com/blog/dog-body-language/
The most common behaviour exhibited that signal possible future aggressions are:
- Over excited behaviour
- Jumping on people and dogs
- Growling at people or other dogs
- Lunging or snapping at perceived threats.
- Hiding – behind the owner or objects or begging to be picked up (now a learned behaviour)
- Refusing to get off furniture even for the owner
- Guarding the owner or objects
- Disregard for owner – dog seldom even listens to the owner unless it suits it.
- Lack of basic and early training. This seems to be brought in with the bigger breeds, but unfortunately something that is often neglected by owners of small and toy breed dogs. This often results in the dog being the ‘boss’ and thinking that it can get away with just about anything.
What is encouraging is that aggression can, more often than not, be changed – however, if any aggression is in place, we would suggest never trying to rectifying this yourself. Rather call in the services of an accredited canine behaviour consultant, and in addition to helping you change the aggressive behaviour, they will explain how the behaviour occurred, how to prevent in future, and what changes to bring in.
'That doggy in the window' as the song goes (or cage), may look cute and appealing. Be warned, you could be opening yourself up to possible problems in both health and behaviour.
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We are contacted so often by people that have purchased pups from commercial breeders and when things go wrong physically, get absolutely no help. Unfortunately. the 'buck' stops with you is all too true. Do your homework or pup/breeder work before!
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We consider this an absolute 'must read' for anybody considering getting a pup from a breeder. Will give you so many tips to consider.
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