When our dog’s calming signals fail to reduce or remove the threat, dogs often feel as if they have no other choice than to react.                                                    

The behaviors that our dogs display in their reactions often escalate in the “Ladder of Aggression”. Please see the attached file for a full description of the ladder of aggression. Dogs will typically start with the lower rungs of the ladder displaying those distance increasing (calming) signals.

If the “lower rung” behaviors don’t work, dogs will often continue to escalate up the rungs of the ladder and could ultimately result in the decision to bite.

There are cases when a dog may skip steps and jump many rungs. This typically occurs if those early signals have been ignored in the past or worse, punished. This is why it is so important to NEVER punish a dog who growls.

Growling is normal dog communication and a great warning signal! Punishing the growl will NOT change the way the dog feels internally and will NOT teach the dog not to be aggressive.

What punishing the growl WILL DO is eliminate the growl from the dogs communication and can lead to a much faster escalation to biting.

We want to focus on changing the way our dog feels internally so they no longer feel the need to exhibit those warnings in the first place along with providing our dogs with the assurance that we understand what they are saying and that we can work together to find a solution.