How to stop my dog being aggressive towards other dogs

Having a dog that lunges, barks, or shows aggression towards other dogs or people can be tremendously stressful. As special needs dog parents, we all know about the early morning walks, the long drives to find empty places, and the immediate anxiety that rises as soon as we step outside. Due to our stress levels, we often seek quick fixes. We just want the behaviours to stop. However, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves why our dogs are feeling this way.

Yes, we can start training them to behave differently. Yes, we can start feeding them as soon as we see another dog to try and make them feel better. But eventually, we end up right back where we started because the underlying causes of the behaviour have not been addressed. Dogs suffer from many of the same mental health issues we do. They experience the same emotions and even struggle with the same chronic health conditions.

Our dogs already live in a very human-centric world that they are expected to navigate. If, on top of that, they suffer from any health issues, mental or otherwise, they will start to struggle socially, much like many of us do. Usually, when I begin working with a dog and their families, everyone's stress bucket is overflowing. No one can cope with even the smallest triggers and stressors anymore. So, we need to find ways to empty that bucket for both dogs and humans.

Many of these issues are not detected by general vets as dogs rarely show physical signs of these chronic issues and show us through their behaviours instead. We might be looking at issues with the endocrine system, gut health, and muscular pain, just to name a few. It's not uncommon for adolescent dogs to struggle through growth spurts or for older dogs to start feeling aches and pains. We need to find ways to support dogs to feel their best so they can start to process difficult situations better and manage conflict more effectively.

Once we address the underlying causes, we can then find ways to support dogs in coping better in challenging situations. Dogs that fell better behave in more socially acceptable ways. It's not easy to identify the underlying causes that contribute to these behaviours, but with professional support, you can work as a team to travel the journey together.