Ty Brown

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As you'll recall, my Aggression Formula calls for three things:
1- A high level of obedience
2- Using the obedience to achieve environmental control over your dog's 'aggression triggers'
3- Correcting the aggression fairly and properly when it occurs

Up until now the modules have been focused heavily on step 1, achieving a great level of obedience. This is the most important part of fixing aggression. Starting in this module we are going to start entering steps 2 and 3. During this module we'll continue to work on obedience training but we'll start to apply that foundation to controlling your dog's environment and correcting the aggression when it comes out.

Dogs that go into an aggressive mindset when they are stressed, fearful, anxious, etc. do so because dogs only have three options in that state of mind:
1- Fight response- This could include barking, lunging, biting, growling, etc.
2- Flight response- This usually means running away from the stress.
3- Avoidance- Avoidance behavior is when the dog looks away from the cause of stress.

Out of the three the Avoidance response is the most desired. Fight and flight responses are obviously very bad and don't lead to solutions. Avoidance tends to lead to acceptance. By acceptance I mean that the dog now accepts the outside trigger that used to incite the fight or flight response. The following methods will quickly start teaching your dog how to enter the avoidance response instead of the fight or flight response.

How to correct aggression when it occurs-
Most people react incorrectly when their dogs show aggression. The way that you correct aggression (step 3) will make the difference between getting rid of aggression or not. There are two methods that I use with amazing success for correcting aggression. The first of those is a method that I demonstrate in this module. It is the introductory method and is very effective. It is even more effective, though, when it acts as a foundation for the 'step back recall' method that you will learn in upcoming modules.
Video- How to do this distance method with a Boxer dog- Whether your dog has aggression towards other dogs, cars, bikes, people, etc. you can use this method.
Video- How to use my 'Distance Method' to correct aggression-This video was shot on the fly with a cell phone. The quality isn't great but the content was so great that I had to include it on here. This dog went from being aggressive to EVERYTHING to being a calm and happy dog. This was day one of training and it set the tone for a successful training program.
Video- Using the 'Distance Method' with a German Shepherd to fix child aggression- I invited my daughters to help me with this section. Watch as a dog goes from lunging and trying to attack to not doing those behaviors in minutes. (Don't worry, my daughters were safe the whole time.)
Video- Using the distance method to work with a dog that has dog aggression- The distance method encourages 'avoidance' behavior. Avoidance behavior tends to lead to acceptance which is what the goal is for every dog with aggression. This dog starts entering the avoidance state of mind very quickly which leads to quick progress.
Video- How to fix door aggression- A lot of dogs have aggression issues when someone rings the doorbell or knocks at the door. At this stage we can start using the recall to fix door issues. Think about it, if your dog comes when called and stays when told then he or she can't be aggressive. Not only that, but the better you do this, the sooner your dog has an alternative and calm behavior for handling the stress of someone at the door.

Working on Your 'Core' Behaviors-
Over my years of training I've discovered that there are three core behaviors that allow us to control the environment that causes 95% of aggressive behavior. If your dog comes when called, stays when told, and walks on a loose leash then you are in great shape to fix aggression. Think about it, your dog can't bite someone coming through the door if he stays when told, your dog can't lunge after another dog while on a walk if she is walking on a loose leash, and your dog can't tear off after someone if he comes when called. Think about any aggressive situation that your dog has or may have and I can almost bet that one of those three obedience behaviors will help. During this module and the following modules I want to encourage you to start using the obedience we've been working on to control the environment around your dog. By controlling the environment we'll start to desensitize your dog to his or her 'aggression triggers'.

The next stage in training the recall-
In our last module we started the foundation for having a very 'tight' off leash recall. In this module we'll continue the process and then finish up with the off leash recall in next month's module.
Video- Part 2 of 3 in training an American Bulldog to come when called.
Video- Part 2 of 3 in training a Pit Bull to come when called.
Video- Part 2 of 3 in training a Boxer to come when called.

Loose leash walking-
Video- The next step in loose leash walking- Part 2 in teaching a dog to walk properly on leash.
Video- There is a difference between loose leash walking and heeling- Watch this video to teach your dog how to heel on command.
Video- Train the 'Easy' command- The 'Easy' command is a way to add 'polish' to good leash walking.

The next stage in training the down stay using an e-collar-
Video- Next steps for training the sit and down stays- Remember, if your dog has a great 'stay' behavior then it will help immensely in getting control over your dog during potentially aggressive scenarios.
Video- Using the electric dog training collar to teach a dog to lie down and stay.

Other Valuable Aggression Resources
Audio- Tele-seminar on how to apply my 'Aggression Formula'- I did a tele-conference on how to fix aggression for members of my site. You can listen in here.

Video- Understanding the Psychology of Dog Aggression- If you can understand why your dog has certain behaviors you are so much further along in making sure you can fix those problems. This is part 1 of 2 (part 2 to come in next month's module) of dissecting dog aggression psychology.

Audio- National Radio Show on Fixing Dog Aggression- For a time I had a national radio show. I took one whole episode to deal with dog aggression and how to fix it. The episode was so popular that the following week I did another episode on aggression. Stay tuned for next month's module where you'll hear the 2nd episode.