Aggression in Dogs: What Leading Experts Really Want You to Know
Dealing with aggression can be tiring — both as a trainer and as a handler. And there’s a lot of conflicting advice out there, so it can be hard to know who to trust.
That’s why we’ve brought together 12 of the world’s foremost experts on aggression for the 2021 Aggression in Dogs Conference to present a range of topics to help you learn about this common behavioral challenge and what to do about it.
To get the ball rolling (and to give you a preview of what they’ll discuss during the conference), we asked 5 of them the following question:
What's a "take-away" message you wish you could provide each client — one thing you wish everyone with an aggressive dog knew?
Here’s what they had to say…
TRISH McMillan:
My take-away message for clients is that there is no such thing as trying “everything” to fix a behavior problem. There will always be one more trainer, one more technique, one more medication to throw at a problem. You should only try everything that is reasonable for you, and that bar will be different for every family.
Trish McMillan holds a Master of Science degree in animal behavior and is a certified professional dog trainer, certified dog behavior consultant, and associate certified cat behavior consultant. She worked for the ASPCA for nearly eight years and now has her own behavior and shelter consulting business, McMillan Animal Behavior near Asheville, NC.
Trish is a co-founder (along with Sue Alexander) of Losing Lulu, a support group for people who have lost pets to behavioral euthanasia.
EMILY Strong:
I wish every client knew that focusing on meeting their pet's - and their own - needs instead of just focusing on trying to get rid of the behaviors they don't like is a much more fun, fulfilling, and relaxing way to address behavior change. When we take the time to scale back and look at the whole picture, it empowers us to be more compassionate with both our dogs and ourselves. It removes a lot of the guilt, pressure, and shame we feel. It improves our relationship with our dog and everyone else in the house.
Emily Strong, CDBC, SBA is Co-Owner and Behavior Consultant at Pet Harmony, LLC, Co-Founder and President of First Train Home, and co-author of the book Canine Enrichment For The Real World.
She has been training animals of many species her whole life, including (but not limited to): dogs, cats, parrots, a wide variety of other species of birds, rabbits, ferrets, hamsters, rats, mice, horses, miniature donkeys, pigs, goats, tortoises, leopard geckos, snakes, pygmy octopi, fish, and even insects. In addition to co-running Pet Harmony and its various programs, she is also a national speaker, a freelance writer, and has an international client base.
GRISHA Stewart
There's no such thing as an aggressive dog, just a dog who has learned that they must escalate to growling and biting to feel safe and secure. Unmet needs are at the root of most aggression. When dogs are systematically given the chance to comfortably experience social situations, they can learn effective, nonviolent ways to navigate.
Why that take-away?
Many people end up resorting to punishment to make their dogs behave differently, rather than seeing the aggression as a form of communication, a dog's last-ditch effort to express their fear, pain, or frustration.
Grisha is a professional dog trainer, author, and international dog training speaker. She founded and ran the Ahimsa Dog Training school in Seattle for 13 years and now teaches an online dog training school for professional dog trainers and pet lovers. She specializes in dog reactivity, socialization, and problem-solving via empowerment. Her techniques are dog-friendly, science-based, and grounded in the idea that behavior exists to meet a need.
She is best known as the BAT-woman, for the technique she developed and called “Behavior Adjustment Training.” She has published 3 books: BAT (2010), The Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual: A Practical, Force-Free Guide to Problem Solving & Manners, (2012; updated 2014) and BAT 2.0 (2016), which replaces the first BAT book. In addition, Grisha currently has 6 DVDs in print (BAT Empowerment series).
In 2015 Grisha started an online dog training school which currently offers 55+ courses, from a variety of speakers, with new ones added monthly.
KATHY Sdao:
I want my clients to know that aggressive behaviors are functional. They help dogs (and other animals) get their needs met, albeit in rude & sometimes dangerous ways. Labeling aggressive dogs as “crazy” or “psycho” blinds us to the ways we may be able to adjust conditions to change their evolving behavioral repertoire to be safer & more socially acceptable.
Kathy Sdao is an applied animal behaviorist with a Master’s degree from the University of Hawaii. She’s been a full-time animal trainer for thirty-five years, first with marine mammals and now with dogs and their people. After leaving the zoo world, Kathy co-created Tacoma’s first dog daycare, Puget Hound Daycare, where she first began teaching clicker-training classes for pet owners.
Since selling Puget Hound in 1998, Kathy has owned and managed Bright Spot Dog Training, providing training and behavioral services to both the general public and professional trainers.
She’s proud to be an original faculty member for Karen Pryor’s ClickerExpos and has taught at forty of these popular conferences.
Kathy, a hugely popular speaker, has lectured at venues across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Israel, Japan, and Mexico, totaling over 400 seminars, workshops, and conference presentations.
In 2012, she published her first book, Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace.
MICHAEL Shikashio
Dogs are so great about telling us how they feel about something through their body language and behavior. The single most important thing we can do to help our dogs is to listen. By learning the subtleties in body language and behavior that indicate a dog is uncomfortable, stressed, fearful, anxious, or frustrated — the typical drivers of aggressive behavior, then we can be their advocate and make adjustments in the environment to set them up for success.
Michael Shikashio, CDBC, is the past president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and provides private consultations working with dog aggression cases through his business AggressiveDog.com. Michael is fully certified through the IAABC and is a full member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT).
Michael is sought after for his expert opinion by numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, New York Post, Baltimore Sun, WebMD, Women’s Health Magazine, Real Simple Magazine, The Chronicle of the Dog, and Steve Dale’s Pet World.
He is a featured speaker on the topic of canine aggression at conferences and seminars around the world, and he offers a variety of online courses, webinars, and mentorships.
So, there you have it!
In a nutshell:
Only try everything that is reasonable for you.
Focus on meeting your pet's - and your own - needs instead of only focusing on trying to get rid of behaviors you don't like.
There's no such thing as an aggressive dog, just a dog who has learned that they must escalate to growling and biting to feel safe and secure.
Aggressive behaviors are functional: they help dogs get their needs met.
The single most important thing we can do to help our dogs is to listen.
If you’re living or working with a dog that displays aggressive or reactive behavior, make sure to come and join us on 22 - 24 Oct for the Aggression In Dogs Conference, live-streamed to your living room. You can find all the details, including our full list of presenters, here.
Can’t wait to see you there!
