Mountain View Animal Hospital
129 Main Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452
(802)-879-6311
www.vtvet.com
Dominance Aggression
The most common behavioral problem seen in the dog is aggression.
SIGNS OF A DOMINANT DOG
 Bears teeth at you at any time
 Growls at you at any time
 Bites or nips at you at any time
 Gets onto furniture and then will not get off when you ask him/her to
 Growls, nips, or bites when you try to take away food, toys, or anything else in his/her
possession
 Does not obey commands that the dog is trained to obey
 Remains in your way and won’t move
 Insistently nudges at you when they want something (ie to be pet, played with, fed)
DIAGNOSIS
In order to diagnose that your dog has dominance aggression, the veterinarian must look
at the various incidents that have occurred. One single incident is not sufficient for the doctor to
make a diagnosis. The veterinarian will begin by ruling out any physiological cause for the dog’s
behavior. By looking at the various types of dominance behavior that the dog is exhibiting, the
veterinarian can determine which of two broad categories of dominance aggression your dog
falls into:
1. Your dog is confident that he/she is leader of the pack and can get you to do what
he/she wants
2. Your dog is unsure of its role within the pack and is demonstrating aggression to try to
find out its role within the hierarchy. These dogs are often more needy and exhibit
attention seeking behavior in an effort to elicit a response that will let them know what
their role is in the pack.
WHAT TO DO WITH A DOMINANT DOG
 Do not physically punish your dog, it can cause the aggression to escalate.
 When inside, crating your dog or blocking off parts of the house using a baby gate will
help you to confine your dog when necessary.
 If needed, muzzling your dog or keeping him/her on a leash will give you additional
control over your dog.
 When on walks, using a head halter (ie Gentle Leader, K9 Kumalong, Halti, Promise
Collar) on your dog gives you additional control over their head.
 Control your dog’s behavior while around children or other pets.
 Supervise you dog’s behavior when needed.

If you know that specific situations cause your dog to be aggressive, avoid them all
together.
 When your dog is being aggressive, try talking quietly and softly to try to relax.
Remember, dominance aggression is most often not an issue that will just go away, it needs to
be actively resolved.
PROGNOSIS
The prognosis of dominance aggression varies among dogs. There are however, three
indicators that help determine the prognosis. A poorer prognosis is given for younger animals, a
longer time when which dominance occurs, and a more regular or stronger display of
dominance.
TREATMENT
Dominance aggression is not curable, but can be controlled in most cases. Success is
most likely if you actively work with your dog and comply with your veterinarian and behaviorist.
Dogs are pack animals, and therefore in order to begin working on dominance aggression, you
must establish yourself as the leader of your dog’s pack. Follow the following guidelines:
 Spay/neuter your dog. Most often, dominant aggressive dogs are male since
testosterone causes the dog to act more strongly. Neutering/spaying your animal
reduces the possibility of hormones contributing to aggression. In males, it has been
shown to decrease aggression in about 2/3 of cases of dominance towards other dogs.
Please keep in mind though that it does take some time for hormone levels to drop
following the procedure.
 Begin using a training method referred to as “Nothing in Life is Free.” This requires that a
dog work for everything that is important to them. If you give them food, pet them, take
them out for a walk, etc., then they must obey a minimum of one command first.
 If your dog jumps up or barks at you, say nothing to them, don’t touch them and ignore
them.
 Don’t allow your dog to beg at the table and do not feed them when they do so.
 Rough games such as wrestling with your dog and tug-of-war should not be played with a
dominant dog.
 Always reward desired behavior in your dog no matter how little it is. (ie sitting to be pet,
lying down while you’re eating dinner, etc.)
 Being on the bed and the furniture is a benefit of being the leader of the pack. Do not
allow your dog up on the furniture unless you ask them up onto it and you remove them
when you want to. If they are growling, snapping, or biting at you when you try to remove
him, use a treat to draw him/her off and then reward being on the ground. The use of
baby gates and the crate can also help you to keep the dog off the furniture.
 Take your dog to obedience classes. Make sure that the class you choose employs only
positive reinforcement methods. Negative reinforcement methods are not recommended
for dominant dogs; examples include collar corrections, choke collars, and manually
forcing the dog into desired behaviors.
 Talk to your veterinarian about any medications that they may recommend you use along
with your training methods.