05/07/2026
When it comes to behaviour problems, I am a solution driven trainer. With over 4 decades in this field, I 'cut my teeth' mentoring under a trainer who genuinely "specialized" in true aggressive dogs - most of which were retired or washed out police K9's, aggressive dogs were all he worked with.
For more than 2 years I learned not only how to handle such dogs but to read them and rehab them (where rehabilitation into civilian life was the goal / hope / possibility).
Following that education I spent YEARS working with aggressive dogs, rehabilitating them when possible, teaching management of them to other professionals when full rehabilitation was not a possibility. But aggressive dogs in civilian homes was not a thing, pet dog owners understood and weren't interested in having the responsibility of a dog that would offer serious bites to owners, others or other animals. Such dogs were in the hands of professionals or those who kept them for property / self protection and they were highly trained.
Times have changed it seems!
Back then, truly aggressive dogs weren't all that common, and most were the result of dogs being specifically trained to bite that were then deemed (or went sideways) not stable enough to be trusted with that "skill".
Today we have added to the mix far too much crap / greed breeding and bad genetics that play a roll, in addition to poor choice of dog breed / mix and bad temperament when picking a dog.
I do think the word "aggression" is often misused; people label dogs who suffer from barrier frustration (fences, cars, homes and leashes mostly) "aggressive"; and while the behaviour exhibited can absolutely lead to aggression, in most cases it is far from it and can be resolved with the right training, and far quicker than most realize.
But the cases of civilians with truly aggressive dogs has absolutely increased 40 fold, all one need do is a search on dog attacks to get an idea of just how really bad it is out there, or field enough phone calls and do enough evaluations to see the problem.
And in many cases it is in homes where there are multiple dogs.
"Pack life" requires people not only knowing dogs, but how to properly raise and train them from the start and what their daily obligations are to make sure the "pack" stays balanced and in good order.
The chances of a civilian, someone lacking the expertise needed to deal with such a dog, a person with a job, hobbies, family, a normal busy life, having the time or knowledge needed to not only train, but manage a genuinely aggressive dog, or worse yet, a "pack" where there are one or more genuinely aggressive dogs are close to nil. And who can blame them? I don't think anyone getting a "family pet" was looking for Cujo, but far too many end up with them.
I am not by any means criticizing the average person for not having the knowledge or skills a professional in the field has - there's no reason for them to, but they do need to be aware of what it takes to safely live with such a dog and then make a decision as to whether it is feasible, LONG TERM, for the life of the dog.
My best advice for those pet dog owners who are dealing with what they believe, or know, is true aggression is to have the situation and dog evaluated by at least two professionals with vast experience in that area of canine behaviour - not one expert, but at least two; and then REALLY think about what this is going to mean and look like for your life and everything around you for the life of the dog and make a decision based in reason and logic rather than emotion as to whether you truly want to learn and practice all that needs learned and practiced for the years that dog will be in your life.
And if YOU aren't safe from a bite or attack from your own PET, IMO, you're a fool to sleep at night with such a dog in your home.
I will never lay my head down at night knowing there is an animal with 42 teeth in the house that is willing, able and WANTS to bite me for no good reason. If you choose to keep feeding something that keeps biting you, you are by definition, choosing to be a victim.
That is what I consider both wrong thinking and insanity.
And yet it is the case in far too many homes.
Our obligations to our dogs is never ending, it begins the day we bring them home to the day we say our last goodbye; our obligations to ourselves, our family and society are even more important.
If you have what is deemed a dog that will need a "lifetime of management" to keep yourself and/or others safe - you need to decide going in if you are truly up to that task because it is not one to be taken lightly - lives are at stake, and the management of such a dog is a 24/7 job.
"Lives are at stake" is not a statement made lightly, nor one intended for drama purposes - I can link to more articles than anyone wants to read, news articles that come out DAILY in this country alone, of another person or pet mauled or killed by an aggressive dog, often within the home it lives. (I will provide some to anyone interested, because people need to understand what they are looking at when they harbor a truly aggressive dog, especially if that dog is unbalanced.)
It is most literally a pandemic in this country and one that shouldn't be happening.
Dogs with true aggression, dogs that are a danger to humans or other animals, should not, in my opinion, be in the homes of the average pet owner or someone who lacks the decades of experience it takes to keep such a dog(s). The management of them alone is a literal life style; and if the aggression is towards the owner or other family members - I've got to wonder why anyone would sign on for that.
I have lived in the Rocky Mountains where I have walked out my door to have a mountain lion sitting on the retainer wall not 20' from me, where bears with cubs were a common, near daily sight in spring, in my yard, literal yards from my home.
I have lived near swamps where alligators were a daily sight and near every dangerous snake in the world can be found.
I have been the wolf keeper at a zoo and lived for a time 'with' a pack of wolves.
I have slept on the ground in coyote territory and watched them pass nearby my dark camp, with them knowing I was there.
I have trained and handled dogs whose purpose is to apprehend (take down and bite) people, and nothing, none of that, scared me - the out comes of such encounters is more predictable than not and most of the time, based on the humans response.
But a pet dog, or pack of pet dogs where true aggression is at play, THAT scares the s**t out of me, and it should, just as it should scare anyone, because the predictable outcome is never a balanced one, the motivations for a bite or attack are not the same as those of a wild animal BECAUSE we have "domesticated" them to have no fear, and all to often, no respect, for humans.
Encounters with wildlife rarely end in the mauling or death of a person, encounters with TRULY aggressive dogs not in the hands of a professional do
Every
Single
Day.
If you harbor what has been deemed to be a genuinely aggressive dog, be prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that dog or dogs have the best life possible while also ensuring that every other animal and human that comes into contact with that dog is protected from the risk of a bite, or worse. If the aggression is aimed towards you, the owner ... if the dog is of adequate size to take you down - that's Russian roulette with 42 teeth and a body that out classes yours on every level along with skills you lack.
There are some trainers in this area happy to work with truly aggressive dogs, and while I am no longer one of them, I am happy to do an evaluation to determine if you are in fact dealing with genuine aggression v. reactivity or misplaced reactions based in fear or lack of confidence, and if I believe the dog is a high risk dog, refer you to a couple of trainers willing and SUITED to working with you.
But I ask that you think long and hard about the next 2 to 12 years and decide whether you are up to the task of managing such a dog and everything that goes along with that for that dogs life no matter what changes in yours, knowing that what you have isn't a "pet" and as far as I can tell, not what anyone wanting a pet had in mind.
