Aggression in Dogs

This encyclopedic book is an excellent reference guide for anyone who wants to know more about aggression - or dog behaviour! As the book says, "Aggression has a wide range of manifestations." And, it shows how to address reactive or aggressive behaviour, with over 400 pages of text, drawings, and photographs. This book does not just "discuss" aggression. It describes in great detail, protocols to use for behaviour modification. Starting with prevention, the reader learns about common mistakes owners make to promote aggression in their dog, and how to avoid these mistakes. Then, in the behaviour modification section, you learn about how to build trust with the dog, using positive reinforcement. "Trust will push out or replace fear," says Aloff. And, the text shows how to achieve this level of trust with hundreds of exercises to promote appropriate behaviour and modify inappropriate behaviour. In the practical management section, the reader is prepared for a lifelong regimen of keeping his dog safe. The exercises in this book will be a salvation for problem dogs and a guide for prevention for others. Anyone involved with dogs will find a wealth of information about dog behaviour in these pages and practical "do-able" solutions for problems. - Peer Review: Brenda Aloff is a pioneer in our field. Clicker trainers have proven that "it can be done" with competition obedience, agility, flyball, service dogs, indeed in all fields of what might be called "performance training." But Brenda takes our technology into a field long considered the ultimate bastion of the force trainer: rehabilitating and training the "aggressive" dog. Brenda shows clearly that one can address the issues posed by these dogs in a constructive, effective way without losing oneself in the murk of "dominance" theory and all the mythology that surrounds it. This book is a worthwhile and necessary addition to any serious trainer's library. - MORGAN SPECTOR, AUTHOR OF CLICKER TRAINING FOR OBEDIENCE