How do you break a dog's territorial aggression?
Vergie Murray
2025-06-29 00:30:43
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It’s normal for dogs to guard the resources that matter to them. But if your dog shows warning signs like excessive barking, growling, or snapping, it’s time to step up your training game. Focus on basic obedience, recall, the “quiet” command, and reducing anxiety. Basic obedience lays the groundwork for troubleshooting problem behaviour, and basic commands can be incredibly useful in a tense situation. Recall, or coming when called, is among the most important things you can teach your dog, and for a territorial dog, it’s a key command to keep her out of trouble. If your dog tends to bark when she senses a threat to her territory, teach her a command that means “be quiet.” Training can go a long way, but while you’re still working on the basics, it’s up to you to reduce potential triggers. Desensitise After you’ve spent some time working on the other training steps listed above, you can gradually introduce desensitisation and counter-conditioning to change your dog’s reactions to triggers.
Horace Daniel
2025-06-17 10:01:15
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If your dog is aggressively protecting objects, people or territory, it is crucial to get the help of a qualified positive trainer as these behaviors can be very dangerous. A positive trainer will: Work with you to change your dog’s reaction to triggers that set off the aggressive response, whether those triggers are a dog, human, or other stimulus approaching your dog’s environment. Give you workable management strategies to ensure your dog remains under threshold, is safe, and does not feel threatened when someone comes onto your property or walks by your car. Develop a plan that teaches appropriate behaviors in response to your guidance. Help your dog stay calm when a dog or person approaches or enters the home, garden or yard, and give tips on how to keep your dog and guests safe when they come onto your property or walk by your car. Dogs that behave this way are often labeled as dominant, but like resource guarders, these dogs are most often insecure and fearful, trying to manage access to their yard or home to feel safe and survive. While it looks like dogs are protecting territory and resources within that territory, it could be that they are feeling threatened and fear for their own safety.
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