Do dogs get aggressive when overstimulated?
Dolly Zboncak
2025-07-23 02:46:09
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When a dog is overstimulated, it can be hard to calm them down, and this can escalate to aggression if not dealt with appropriately. Overstimulation often looks like excessive mouthing, jumping up, and tugging on clothes or the lead. Your dog could display a range of behaviours when overstimulated, including excessive jumping up, humping, mouthing, nipping, grabbing, and ragging on the lead, your clothes and other equipment. When your dog is overstimulated, avoid distracting them with food as this could encourage them to repeat their behaviour. If we cross this distance, they’ll be ‘over-threshold’ and no longer able to do those things. Monitoring your dog’s body language will help to understand when they are approaching their ‘threshold’. An emergency stop is an important command for your dog to learn as it can be used in urgent situations that need immediate intervention, for example, this could be used to stop your dog from running up to a potentially reactive dog, running across the road, or if your dog has become overstimulated. The command helps to get their focus back to you and can stop a situation from escalating.
Osvaldo Deckow
2025-07-23 01:13:20
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Socialization is crucial for dogs who get overstimulated around other pets. However, pet parents should be cautious when socializing a dog prone to sensory overload — especially if the dog becomes reactive when they feel overwhelmed. Many behaviorists suggest counterconditioning, a form of behavior modification, to address overstimulation in dogs. The idea behind counterconditioning is to create new mental associations that encourage the dog to respond positively to their triggers. For instance, if a dog becomes overstimulated and reactive when around other animals, a trainer may expose the dog to another dog in a controlled setting and offer the dog high-value treats to create a positive association in the dog's mind. Dogs with severe reactivity or very low thresholds for external stimuli may benefit from Behavioral Adjustment Training (BAT), a more advanced behavior modification method. BAT encourages dogs to ignore sensory information that typically elicits a negative response. It's important to keep interactions calm and low-key since high-energy interactions can cause can intensify a dog's response and increase the likelihood of sensory overload.
Okey McClure
2025-07-22 23:14:25
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Did you know that over-excitement could lead to aggressive K9 behavior. An overstimulated dog is in an unhealthy, high state of arousal which can potentially create a dangerous situation. A dog who has been allowed to become – and stay in an over-excited state – may redirect that hyper-energy in the only way they know, with physical action. Unfortunately, that misdirected over-excitement can have negative implications including an unwanted dog bite. The re-direction of this excess energy can be aimed at other animals, humans or even objects that elicit a reactive behavior from the dog including vehicles, bikes, skateboard and more. Always remember, an overly excited dog can bite. Even a normally happy-go-lucky dog.
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