- 1). Take your dog to the veterinarian when you observe aggression toward other dogs. Signs of aggression include snarling, baring teeth, growling, snapping and biting. These behaviors might be caused by an underling health issue. If your dog is not yet spayed or neutered, now is the time to do it. Sometimes this can alleviate aggression toward other dogs.
- 2). Seek assistance from a professional animal behaviorist if your dog gets a clean bill of health from the vet. Do not try to deal with your aggressive dog on your own.
- 3). Train your dog to respond to verbal cues, such as "sit" or "stay," before you put your dog in the same area with other dogs.
- 4). Reward your dog when they listen to you and refrain from being aggressive, as opposed to focusing on their punishment when they do get aggressive. A proactive treat will get the point across much more effectively than a scolding will. Getting forceful with an aggressive dog may even make the problem worse.
- 5). Protect your dog and other dogs when in situations where aggression might occur. In general, situations where your dog could come in contact with other dogs should be avoided unless otherwise directed by the animal behaviorist. If you must take your dog around other dogs, use a muzzle as a temporary measure of safety.
- 6). Observe your dog to try to figure out the cause of the aggression toward other dogs. If your dog is displaying dominance over other dogs, this could be the cause of the aggression. This is often indicated by aggression around people as well as other dogs, such as growling when being woken or when being moved from a spot. However, if your dog is gets aggressive only around other dogs and not humans, then fear might be the main culprit. If you find that your dog is aggressive toward other dogs that enter your home or yard, which indicates territorial aggression.
- 7). Communicate your observations to the animal behaviorist. The animal behaviorist will be able to work with your dog to safely alleviate the aggression without putting other dogs or people at risk. Again, this is not something that you should try to do yourself.
- 8). Take away things that your dog gets possessive about. For example, if your dog has a favorite toy, remove that toy before your dog interacts with other dogs. If your dog is protective over an area in the house or the yard, block them from being able to get to that area when another dog is around.
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