Over the years our trainers have seen a marked increase in the requests for consultation on aggressive behavior. Just 10 years ago 5% of the people who contacted us requested information on aggression issues, and now it is running at about 70%! What is going on these days?
What are Aggression Issues in Dogs?
Aggression issues can come from many angles with a dog, be it from lack of exercise or mental stimulation, lack of training and proper socialization around dogs or people, or modern lifestyles that don’t allow for proper outlets of dog energy. Whatever the reason, the number of calls that we receive regarding aggression issues has grown dramatically. At Fidelio Dog Works, we take aggressive dogs very seriously.
Aggression issues are particularly worrying to us because we’ve seen so many issues over the years develop and get to the point where the consequences are disastrous.
What Can Happen with an Aggressive Dog?
Without resorting to mongering, here are some of the consequences for unaddressed aggression issues:
Loss of homeowners insurance
Increase in insurance rates or demand that the owners maintain extra rider policies on their property to cover dog-related injuries.
Demands by the insurance companies to remove the dog from the property in order to maintain coverage.
Lawsuits
Involvement in lawsuits
Depositions
Called in to testify
Legal fees for lawyers
The dog could be classified as a “dangerous dog” by the city
Quarantine of the dog after an incident involving a person
Other limitations of where the dog can go placed on them by the city
Injury to family members
Injury to neighbors
Injury to other dogs
Eventual euthanasia of the dog
When you consider the list of outcomes of having a dangerous dog, the risks become very apparent. Not only is it your, the owner’s, responsibility to manage your dog, but the financial risk to you of not addressing the issues can be significant. In short, if you have an aggressive dog in your home you need to address the issues promptly before someone or another animal gets injured.
How to Fix Aggression Issues
When you engage a Fidelio behaviorist, they will thoroughly evaluate what is going on and create a program to work on the behavior and implement a command and control protocol to prevent situations where the dog becomes aggressive. In some cases what we recommend is not pleasant and is difficult to accept for clients. We have a great deal of experience with aggressive dogs and we tell the truth no matter how difficult it may be. We believe that clients deserve to know what they are facing.
Why is an expert so expensive when working with aggression issues?
The risk to a behaviorist that deals with aggressive dogs is significant. All of us have been seriously injured in the past by client dogs and some of us have been permanently debilitated by those injuries. Also, we are required to maintain detailed records when we work with one of these cases. Due to the potential legal ramifications associated with aggressive dogs, we must thoroughly document every step taken in a manner that allows us to quickly and easily work with authorities and the courts when an injury occurs.
All this means that professionals that specialize in aggression issues are not inexpensive. If you have an aggressive dog, then you bear the responsibility and expense of dealing with the issue. We are here to help and promise to give you an honest appraisal of the situation.