10/05/2025
Does well trained = not aggressive?
NOPE!
If you have owned a dog who barks / growls or otherwise displays space creating behaviours towards other dogs or humans, you've probably heard someone shout something along the lines of " get that thing trained!!"
Dog behaviour is massively misunderstood by the general public, unfortunately hugely due to the popularity of hocus pocus dog training TV programmes.
Here's the thing, the most obedient dogs in the world can still dislike other dogs.
Training tricks, obedience and sports for the most part is pretty easy. It might take time, and it might depend on the natural drives of your dog, but most dogs can reach a high level of obedience with time.
Behaviour ' problems' ( I use that word loosely, as actually these behaviours are completely normal for dogs, and only an inconvenience to humans) are not the same as behaviour such as sit, stay, lead walking.. When a dog struggles to cope on the presence of other dogs/ people/ traffic, this is often a conditioned emotional response. Similar to how you react when a spider falls from a ceiling and lands on you. Conditioned emotional responses are survival techniques, hard wired in the brain to keep us safe. They ensure when we see a certain stimulus (for example, spider) we react with space creating behaviours ( screaming & running) in order to avoid being hurt. They are often learned from a negative experience.
CER's are very difficult to overcome and take lots of time, patience, love and understanding. Working with a trainer will help you to know how to do this safely & effectively, but it will not make the behaviour go away in a few weeks. In fact, when reactivity is caused by isolation or trauma during the critical learning period (0-4 months of age) the dog is likely to suffer with reactivity in some way or another for life, due to the way their brain has developed.
Did you know that physiologically, a reaction in a dog ( barking, lunging) is similar to a panic attack in a human. It you've ever experienced these or seen them happen, does that make you feel differently?
I personally know some insanely well trained sport dogs, who are dog/human aggressive ( but you wouldn't realise, because they are managed very well). On the flip side, I know plenty of dogs who have not had a day of training in their life, who don't struggle with aggression.
As long as the owner Is keeping others safe to the best of their ability, and doing their best to help their dog, they do not deserve any abuse!
So please don't be that person who shouts "get that dog trained!" Be the person who shouts " Dont worry, I'll cross over !" Or " That's okay, I'll wait here while you pass!".
There are a few problems with that statement.
1. Training a reactive / aggressive dog takes months or even years. Some never fully recover. It's not as easy as " just get them trained".
2. That person probably has a much higher level of obedience training than you do, and has worked a hell of a lot harder with their dog than you ever have had to.
3. Well trained doesn't always mean emotionally sound! Dogs can be expertly trained and still be scared!
4. There is a big difference between training and behaviour. Just like there is a big difference between being bad at maths & having agoraphobia.
