A Trainer’s Guide to Managing an Aggressive Dog

How to help an aggressive dog is not always an easy problem to solve. And why they’re aggressive, in the first place, is often misunderstood.

As a trainer, I encounter worried dog owners asking, “what can I do about my dog’s aggression?” My first response is to reassure. The root cause of your dog’s aggression isn’t that they’re naturally “bad” or “mean.” Most likely they’re fearful of or insecure with a particular environment or stimulus. Aggression and fear are two sides of the same coin.