Small Dog Aggression

There are many causes of aggressive behavior in small dogs.  Small dog aggression might be related to something that happened to your dog while it was a puppy, such as an attack by a person or another dog.  It might also be a dominance issue and your dog not understanding its role in your pack.  Wherever the small dog aggression is coming from, it obviously needs to be dealt with quickly.

Sources of Small Dog Aggression

Small dog aggression can become a problem even at 6 weeks of age.  Around 6 weeks old is an important time for a dog.  This is when they need to start being socialized around other dogs, as well as learning to not bite people.  This type of socialization process usually last until around 14 weeks old and sometimes longer.

This means there are several things you need to keep in mind right from the beginning to help prevent small dog aggression.  If at all possible, don't remove a puppy from its litter until its at least 8 weeks old.  Treat your puppy gently.  Never use harsh discipline.  Harsh discipline, especially at a young age, will often turn into aggressive behavior as your dog grows.

It's important that you focus on good human and dog socialization by 14 weeks of age.  Proper socialization by this age will go a long way to prevent small dog aggression.

As stated earlier, small dog aggression can come from many factors.  Dogs that have not been spayed or neutered can be more aggressive.  Some breeds have had aggressive behavior bred into them.  So genetics can be a factor, but that is not a set rule.

The most important factor in understanding small dog aggression is the environment.  Dogs that have poor socialization, harsh discipline, bad living conditions, or attacks from other dogs are much more likely to have aggressive behaviors as they get older.

A lot of small dog aggression often comes down to the issue of dominance.  Aggressive behaviors like biting, growling, and posturing are often about a dog trying assert itself as the pack leader.  As stated in other articles on this site, you need to make sure that from puppyhood you are establishing yourself as the pack leader.

Stopping and Controlling Small Dog Aggression

If your dog is manifesting aggressive behaviors after it has reached 14 weeks old and especially after it has been spayed or neutered, you need to deal with this problem immediately.  Small dog aggression will not just go away on its own over time.  You need to be intentional about dealing with it.  Do not reward aggressive behavior, and focus on how to establish yourself as the pack leader.

A part of establishing yourself as the pack leader will be to control feeding times and walking times.  You need to run the house, don't defer to your dog.  If you allow the dog to take liberties in your house, it will develop stronger aggressive behaviors.

Be very aware if your dog is fearful.  Fear can easily develop into a defensive aggressive behavior.  This type of small dog aggression is very dangerous because this easily leads to dogs biting.  Keep small children away from a dog that exhibits this type of behavior.  This type of dog will often see a small child as a threat.  You may want to think about training sessions with a dog behaviorist.  Don't put off dealing with this type of small dog aggression.

Small dog aggression is a serious problem, but it can be dealt with.  You need to be intentional about how to more effectively assert yourself as the pack leader.

Please check out our Small Dog Training Resources for more help with this problem.