Dog Aggression

Focusing on Aggressive Behavior

Aggression issues plague many dog households. Often aggression falls heavily on communication issues. Dogs get confused about what is expected of them and take it upon themselves to interpret their response to situations and interactions.

Thus when dogs fall back on instinctual drives behaviors such as resource guarding, object obsession, being protective, aggressive, and possessive can all work their way to the surface and become a safety issue.

Any dog with an aggressive past or bite history should NEVER be off-leash in a public setting. The ends never justify the means and you must protect other people from getting bitten by your dog. It is always your responsibility to have positive control over your dog at all times. Never assume the dog is rehabilitated, it is still a living creature and thinks for itself. Always set your dog up for success. Manage your dog and manipulate the environment for the betterment of your dog.

Aggression Packages / Pricing

Four to Six-Week Aggression Control Rehabilitation Packages (5 months and over)

Our aggression rehab program lasts between four and six weeks. Our trainers will work with dogs that are aggressive toward people and or other animals. Such dogs may snarl, snap, or even attack. Our animal behaviorist will first identify the cause of aggression, which can include fear, dominance, insecurity, and much more. Once the cause is determined, we will build a plan to help your dog.

During our rehab program, we will teach your dog how to behave appropriately both at home and in a public environment like a park or store. 

Pricing: $4300 (28-day immersion program)

Your dog will stay with us for the duration of training. During training, we will work on obedience and control as we also work on your dog’s aggression issues. Dealing with aggressive dogs is NOT a quick fix; that is why training is much longer. Also, not all dogs can be rehabilitated. We cannot change the genetic composition, but we will give you absolute control of your dog and teach you how to handle it.

Pricing: $5300 / $6100 (All training packages are all-inclusive)

Your dog will stay with us for the duration of training. During training, we will work on obedience and control as we also work on your dog’s aggression issues. Dealing with aggressive dogs is NOT a quick fix; that is why training is much longer. Also, not all dogs can be rehabilitated. We cannot change the genetic composition, but we will give you absolute control of your dog and teach you how to handle it.

Reactivity vs. Aggression

Many dogs that are tagged as “aggressive” actually belong squarely in the “reactive” category, an important distinction as improperly classifying dogs as aggressive can earn them injurious labels like “dangerous” when intent to harm is actually absent.

For dogs, these cues in body language are communicative, serving as warning signals that they are not comfortable in the current situation. It is not until these signs of stress are ignored or overlooked that a dog will change costumes and escalate its behavior in order to reduce its stress.

DOG AGGRESSION OVERVIEW

Don’t stress, you are not alone. Dog aggression and reactivity is a very common behavior in households across America, but why does it happen? 

There are several factors that can lead to your dog behaving this way:

  • Are they scared?
  • Is it who they are? (Genetics)
  • Is it a learned behavior?
  • Do they understand what is expected of them?
  • Are there medical reasons?

All of these factors can play a role in why your dog is behaving this way. We at Ridgeside K9 have successfully rehabilitated hundreds of dogs who have ranged from misunderstood to extremely dangerous. The steps we use are generally the same. TRUST, TEACH, APPLY, TIME and MOVEMENT. The most important step is to establish trust with the dog and build a relationship through motivation. Secondly, we establish a communication system with the dog that we use to teach what behaviors are acceptable and what behaviors are unacceptable. Lastly, we teach the dog these behaviors not only apply in a sterile training environment but they apply in the real world.

We have all heard countless stories of friends and families spending thousands of hard-earned dollars to invest in their dogs’ education. Then two months after the training is done it becomes completely undone and they are back to a misbehaved dog and a loss of money. Why does this happen? Simple, a lack of education and understanding of the dog from the owners.

How do we combat this? Educate!! We at Ridgeside K9 have not only spent thousands of hours educating pet owners, like yourself, but we have also provided thousands of hours of education to some of the most elite Military and Police agencies across America.

We pride ourselves on our ability to not only educate dogs but their owners. We will spend hours with you and your family explaining WHY these things happen and more importantly how to avoid them in the future and how to appropriately respond when things do happen.

Get Started Today

Are you interested in getting your dog professionally trained or daycare?