K9 Manners & More: How to manage aggressive behavior in dogs

Dealing with an aggressive dog can be challenging, especially when guests visit your home. Mary Green, an animal trainer with K9 Manners & More, shares expert advice on managing aggressive behavior and helping dogs feel more comfortable around visitors.

Training Tips for Aggressive Behavior

One viewer, Tara, reached out for help with her dog, a Heeler that aggressively tries to attack anyone entering her home. She currently keeps him kenneled when guests arrive, but he still charges at people through the crate.

“I have many thoughts on that actually, and I want to thank Tara for bringing that forward because that's probably something a lot of people deal with,” Green said. “There’s some embarrassment sometimes associated with it, and people are kind of reluctant to act on it, but it's probably more common than you think.”

While Tara is taking the right step by managing the situation with a crate, Green suggests additional training to help the dog feel less threatened.

Muzzle Training Can Help

One key tool Green recommends is muzzle training.

“I am a huge proponent of muzzle training,” she said. “There's a great online resource called The Muzzle Up Project. It’s a website where you can find how to size a muzzle and how to desensitize the dog to wearing it.”

Green advises starting by training the dog to wear a muzzle in non-stressful situations.

“You want the dog to think that the muzzle is really no big deal,” Green said. “The particular kind of muzzle recommended on The Muzzle Up Project is a vinyl basket muzzle. It doesn't close their mouth completely—you can actually get little treats in there and do some positive associations between the stranger coming and the dog getting something really special.”

Proper Crate Use and Leash Training

Green also suggests that Tara avoid letting her dog practice aggressive behaviors in confinement.

“When he's in that kind of confinement, he's kind of trapped and doesn't feel like he has any other recourse other than to lunge and try to increase that distance by scaring the people,” she explained.

Instead, she recommends a gradual introduction process when guests arrive:

1. Keep the dog muzzled and in the crate when guests enter.
2. Allow guests to settle in before bringing the dog out on a leash.
3. Keep the dog close and provide positive reinforcement for calm behavior.

Additionally, Green stresses the importance of making sure the dog doesn’t associate confinement with punishment.

“If she just sticks with confinement, make sure that he's getting confined in that kennel at times that people aren’t over,” Green said. “So he doesn’t associate someone coming over with him having the end of all fun.”