Mary Allen
Your four-legged friend is very friendly in everyday life and shows no conspicuous behavior patterns – except for the leash aggression? Are you wondering how this could have happened? Perhaps this development seems like a gradual process to you and you cannot clearly identify the trigger for the aggressive behavior. Sometimes you can walk past other people and dogs and sometimes you can’t. But you want nothing more than to walk your dog in peace and harmony again? Then you are right here.
Leash Aggression – A Case Study
Herr Meinke is walking his Bernese Mountain Dog Anton on a leash. The two have been on the road for about an hour and today is a tricky day. It’s been a long time since we’ve had so many dogs encounters on a walk. Since the day is very muggy, Mr. Meinke already regrets that he chose the big round. He feels himself getting tenser and tenser and Anton, who is generally a friendly and easy-going companion, is panting heavily and seems stressed.
150 meters before the saving garden gate of the home, Herr Meinke says to Anton: Well, my big one, now we’ve almost made it. With this statement, Mr. Meinke relaxes and already imagines himself at home with a cup of coffee. Anton would get his chewing stick because that’s her daily ritual after the walk. At that moment, Anton’s arch-enemy Willie (a young pubescent shepherd dog) comes running around the corner, head-on at Herr Meinke and Anton. Out of sheer fright, Herr Meinke pulls hard on the leash and grabs Anton’s collar. Mr. Meinke is under adrenaline and Anton tries to get up and barks impressively. Herr Meinke can hardly hold Anton and almost falls. Willie stops abruptly and barks at him until after what feels like 5 minutes he finally retreats and Herr Meinke and Anton find their way home, completely upset.
With every dog that looks similar in size and color to Willie, Herr Meinke always reflexively grabs the leash, takes Anton shorter, and tries to go through the encounters quickly. According to the principle “close your eyes and through”. As a result, Anton shows more and more aggressive behavior on the leash with more and more dogs.
Dog Behavior in Conflict Situations
Leash aggression, as the name suggests, occurs when the dog is on a leash. Dogs naturally bring strategies with them that they can use in conflict situations so that there is no constant damage or injury in the social network. Dog encounters are part of our everyday life in our society and therefore stress management strategies are very important. In technical jargon, these expressive behaviors are called the 4 F’s.
The 4 F’s:
flirt: skipping behavior
freeze: to freeze
flight: escape
fight: attack
Dogs use all four strategies and use them as the situation demands.
For example, in order to be able to show flight behavior, dogs need space to flee, to make a turn, or to change direction. Anton was therefore only able to attach the leash to create distance. All other strategies would have failed.
From the dog’s point of view, it follows: He has done everything right. Nevertheless, this is not behavior that you want to go through with your dog in the long run. Stress for both ends of the line!
How Can You Help Your Dog Stop Leash Aggression?
Ask for expert advice. If you notice that you are insecure and feel helpless, seek advice and training from an experienced dog trainer. Don’t waste time here and don’t just try it out. The subject of leash aggression is very complex and many questions need to be answered. A professional supports you with expertise and takes a neutral look at you and your dog.
Note the mood. For the transition, try to avoid such situations early on. Until your training is successful (unfortunately it takes a few weeks), you should focus on avoiding unwanted encounters with conspecifics at an early stage. Better no encounter than bad encounters, in which your dog would also see confirmation that he is showing aggression.
Test leash. Check the basic leash handling. Can you walk your dog with a loose leash without distraction? If no, you should practice leash walking because if he won’t listen to you without a distraction, why would he with a distraction? So you can train here.
The goal should be that you and your dog can walk past other distracting stimuli in a completely relaxed manner. Neither you nor your dog reacts, you only orientate yourself towards your goal and your dog towards you, no matter who or what comes.