Dog Behavior Dog behavior is molded upon a number of key factors. What breed is the dog? How was the dog trained? What were the circumstances of its upbringing? Etc. All these factors and many more can have a significant impact on dog behavior. The most common issue relating to dog behavior is aggressive behavior.

This is a problem which a lot of dog owners have to face and which often causes a lot of disturbance in the relationship between the dog and its family, especially if the family includes children. Dogs originate from the canidae family which also includes wolves, foxes, jackals, wild dogs and coyotes; therefore it is to be expected that dogs tend to demonstrate some kind of aggressive behavior. It is part of there nature. A dog's instinct is to protect his own territory and is naturally aggressive to anything that would seek to invade or disturb that territory. It is, however possible, with the correct training, to weaken these instincts in a dog to such an extent that they are no longer displayed as one of the dogs character traits.

There are several early warning signs to help recognize potential aggressive behavior in a dog. Some symptoms are growling and aggression toward other dogs or animals, being overly protective of there food, chasing moving object aggressively, excessive barking and also snapping and biting are all symptoms that will act as a warning sign to an owner that their dog might be prone to aggressive behavior. There are a number of things that a potential dog owner can do even before they purchase their pet to help reduce the chance of having to deal with an aggressive dog. One of these is to spend a bit of time with the litter of pups and to avoid purchasing a dog that is displaying aggressive signs even at puppy stage. Early separation from the mother should also be avoided as it has been known to develop aggressive behavior in dogs.

By keeping the dog with the mother for the first eight weeks after the dog is born, you will decrease the possibility of aggressive behavior dramatically. Young dogs will often learn to become less aggressive in there behavior if they live under there mothers protection for long enough. Paying careful attention at this stage will make the job of training your dog to behave non-aggressively in your home, a lot easier.

It is important to accept, when trying to resolve the issue of aggressive dog behavior in your pet that every dog has a unique personality, which you have to embrace, respect and work with as a dog owner. Training your dog to not be aggressive is however also down to a bit of common sense. It's is very difficult for a dog to behave and not display aggressive behavior if the dog is kept inside all day with no opportunity or space to let out some energy. Like human beings, dogs need a certain amount of stimulation and exercise in order to behave at there peak. With all this in mind remember that your dog can be of great value, a well appreciated friend and a companion for a long period of your life. Don't give up on your dog if you cannot seem to shake its behavioral issues straight away, these things take time.

The best thing to do is to look for help and to try and help your dog to adjust its behavior to the standards expected of it so that it can have a good relationship with you and everybody else it comes into contact with. Dog training mistakes and how to avoid them.

Guido Jongbloed is author of this article on Expert Dog Trainer. Find more information about Experienced dog trainer here.