34: Aggressive Behavior in Dogs and Cats
What is aggression?
Aggression is hostile or violent behavior or attitudes towards another, and/or readiness to attack or confront.
While some people reference aggression as a personality trait, it is a behavior by definition, and it is a normal behavior. It is important to remember that even with a very solid behavior plan, any animal can show aggressive behavior.
With that being said, it is still not desirable behavior, so in this episode, I am getting into what aggressive behavior looks like for pets, how to tell whether or not it is pathological, how to retrain a pet’s brain to respond differently or prevent it in the first place and more.
If you have friends that think you have a “mean” cat or dog, it is likely that your pet is stressed or uncomfortable. Being able to understand where their aggression is coming from and whether it is offensive or defensive is really going to help you, and whoever you are working with, define a treatment plan.
What We Cover in Today’s Episode
The definition of aggression
Why aggression is a normal behavior for most species
When aggression is pathological
How to retrain a pet’s brain to respond differently
What to do if the pet doesn’t respond to the behavior plan
How I define and diagnosis aggressive behavior
The difference between offensive or defensive behavior
Remember, we won't know if a pet is going to respond to a behavior plan until we've started to implement that behavior plan, but it is important to make sure that you are working with a professional that is experienced in creating and implementing treatment plans for aggression.
The sooner you start getting appropriate help, the more likely you are to be able to turn this behavior so that it doesn't become a bigger problem. There is so much we can do to treat animals showing aggressive behavior when it's safe to do so.
If you haven’t already, sign up for my mailing list on my website! I will send over a free behavior planning worksheet that will help you get started with changing your pet’s behavior. It pairs great with this podcast episode and it also tells you what other episodes to listen to for additional guidance.
The Behavior Success Club is built specifically to get you the behavior YOU WANT from your pet and give you the SUPPORT you need along the way. Find out more at https://www.stephaniebeeson.com/behaviorsuccessclub.
Head over to pod.link/changeyourpetsbehavior to listen to this episode and previous episodes on your favorite podcast platform!
Resources Mentioned
American College of Veterinary Behavior: https://www.dacvb.org/
American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior: https://avsab.org/
Fear Free Pets: https://fearfreepets.com/
Low-Stress Handling: https://directory.lowstresshandling.com/
Behavior Success Club: https://www.stephaniebeeson.com/behaviorsuccessclub
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