Aggressive Dog Behavior Specialist New Haven CT

Soon after Karen Miller adopted Murphy, a burly 7-month-old hound mix, from a shelter, she knew she had a problem. Murphy tried to bite her every time she bent over him, attempted to move him off the couch or got too close to him while walking down a narrow hallway.

"At first, I was afraid to go to sleep with Murphy around," Miller says. But enamored with his many agreeable characteristics, she embarked on a comprehensive canine rehabilitation program.

Without owners like Miller willing to uncover aggression's cause and curb the behavior, many dogs who bite do not get a second chance. They are euthanized. "Half of the dogs born in this country don't live to see their second birthday," says Nicholas Dodman, DVM, director of the Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, and author of "Dogs Behaving Badly" (Bantam). "Aggression is the No. 1 behavioral reason for that."

By immersing herself in dog-behavior literature, particularly Dodman's book, Miller learned Murphy's behavior was textbook dominance aggression. He reacted to any gesture or posture he interpreted as a threat to his self-appointed top-dog status. Even a pat on the head, which people universally intend as an expression of affection, set him off. Knowing punishment would only make matters worse, she implemented non-punitive solutions with great success.

First Miller gave Murphy gainful employment. Whenever he completed a "job" such as sitting or coming when called, he earned a rewar...

Author: Lloyd Resnick

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