Why is my dog being aggressive at dog park?

It’s important to pay close attention to your dog’s body language and other dogs’ body language throughout your visit to the park. Rough, excitable play where one dog is having fun but the other dog is getting overpowered or crushed, rough play where both dogs are over-excited, and play where there is a significant size difference between dogs are situations where you may need to call your dog away or distract them with another activity before a play situation escalates into aggression. If the other dog in question reacts with anxiety or fear, such as turning their head away or tensing up, you will need to step in. Monitor your dog’s interactions with others and remove them from play if they are charging or tackling dogs at full speed. If you can see that another dog is uncomfortable with your dog – even if your dog isn’t doing anything ‘wrong’ – redirect your dog away from them. If your dog is small, he may be easily injured by excitable or larger dogs. You need to feel comfortable that your small dog will feel comfortable in this high energy space. A common mistake that dog owners make is to pick up their small dog if it appears intimidated, lifting a small dog may trigger a ‘chase’ instinct in larger dogs, causing them to jump up to reach or snap at your dog.

The reasons why dogs become aggressive at parks are due to dominance and prey aggression. Dominance aggression is very common and is usually seen in non-neutered male dogs or dogs approaching puberty. Since dogs are pack animals and packs need leaders, it is not uncommon for a dog to assert himself. A hierarchy of individuals is formed as pack members challenge each other for positions of authority. Though this kind of aggression does occur among females, it is most prevalent among unaltered mature males or those approaching maturity. Prey aggression takes a form that is often misunderstood by pet owners and even professional obedience trainers. Prey aggression is not actually dog fighting, but is rather the psychological drive inherent in some dogs to chase, capture and seize prey. It generally occurs between medium and larger size dogs that show an exceptional fascination with smaller, weaker dogs.