Fear-Motivated Aggression
This is Rusty. He used to fit into this category. He was abused by people for years. He was so abused he was afraid of not just people but other dogs. It took a very long time to make him feel safe. Fear-motivated aggression is a defensive reaction and occurs when a dog believes he is in danger of being harmed. Remember that it’s your dog’s perception of the situation, not your actual intent, which determines your dog’s response. For example, you may raise your arm to throw a ball, but your dog may bite you because he believes he’s protecting himself from being hit. A dog may also be fearfully aggressive when approached by other dogs. We see this behavior in many rescue dogs that have been abused. They know nothing of human kindness and simple react to what they have been “ taught” . Because humans and dogs have different communication systems, misunderstandings can occur between the two species.