How To Manage An Overprotective Dog?

Dogs have a protective nature, and it goes without saying that they are the best companions a human can have. But even for that they require being educated, and the best way to do that is to adopt professional methods in training them. However, in most cases, excessive pampering leads to an unimaginable outcome. It gives rise to overprotectiveness in their behaviour. Well, better now than sorry, it’s essential to put a full stop on a few things right at the beginning to avoid such behaviour. But if they have grown into that behaviour, try identifying signs your dog is protective over you. It’s time to “grab a leash” and put the teaching pants on because we are going to help you identify signs and teach you to understand methods to improve your pet dog’s behaviour.

Do you remember how we were forced to go to school even at times we used to sleepwalk to school and hate anyone who’d tell us to do that? Becoming a parent helps realise why was that necessary. All we want is to pamper our kids and keep them with us at all times. But there’s a difference between spoiling and educating.

We learn it from our pets, and we learn it when we are old enough to parent them. If we think about it now, going regularly to school and all the punishments helped us become the best version of ourselves, and so is the case with our pet dogs. They are the ones where we stood long before, and we can see how that turned out.

There’s a saying that dogs understand humans more than humans understands themselves. This bond and connection keep them encouraged to be their whenever either-one needs the other. And it is because of this connection that pet parents end up pampering endlessly. This kind of relationship give rise to a feeling of overprotectiveness. A dog start considering their hooman to be their responsibility even more than a pet parent feel for themselves. And to be honest it’s harmful for your dog in the long run. 

Overprotective dogs believe that it’s their job to protect their human, not just from other animals but humans too. They will show aggression when someone hugs you or even walks inside the house. There will be a spark in their behaviour that will force them to growl over that other person. When this continues or left ignored, it impacts them badly. They become anti-social and react to anyone who comes near to them aggressively.

Reasons for Overprotectiveness in Dogs

Dogs love to be around their hoomans, and they love it if they are given sole attention. In some cases, this kind of response from their hoomans lead to negative signs, and your pet dog feels this to be the right way of stealing your attention. That’s the point where you have to stop. Below are some of the possible reasons which you must have encountered while parenting your pet dog:

The behaviour of pet parents

We are already aware of how dogs sense our emotion, dogs who have understood a certain type of behaviour will react in the same way they are told. Pet parents with this kind of behaviour keep their pet dogs away from others. They avoid their pets having company and never let anyone else feed them. They keep them inside almost all the times and appreciate positive reinforcements even when their pet dog is doing things wrong. They slowly grab such behaviour pattern and react to it because it has been approved by their pet parent.

Some pet parents show certain insecurities when the other person is petting their pet dog or even holding them. Your pet dog can read what’s going on by looking into your eyes; that look expresses certain insecurities and they react in a way to go away from that human.

Lack of Space

It is again the most common mistake that pet parents do whenever they have a wagging tail in the house. Just like every other human, every animal needs their own space. Because pet parents are excited to have the company of their pets all the time, this lack of space takes a toll on pet dogs.

Dogs must have space, like a comfortable corner with all their favourite toys, bed, mat etc. so that they can feel secured and use that time in self-exploration. However, there should be a healthy limit to the time you can leave them. Learn more about leaving a pet dog alone and understand how it benefits them, but learn about the boundaries as well. 

It doesn’t mean to stop supervising them, a puppy should be kept under supervision all the time because they might get into trouble. When they grow up, leaving dogs in their favourite spot around their favourite toys help reducing anxiety. Apart from that, this helps in keeping them away from Separation Anxiety.

Lack of getting social 

Sounds familiar? Remember the time when you avoided the company of your friends and stayed at home even after receiving a million calls from them. The same is the scenario with dogs. Getting them social doesn’t mean that they will find a better company or leave home or  even run away. It means that they have a distraction from boredom, anxiety issues, overthinking problems and more. Yes, dogs overthink, a study published in The Royal Society monitored the sleep cycle of dogs after introducing them to an emotional response. Using this scenario

Getting them out for a walk, introducing them to other humans and animals will help them understand how to be themselves even when their human is not around. It is a long shot but quite useful when settling their overprotectiveness about their humans. They will learn ways to respond to other animals on their own, just give them time to learn. 

Appreciating the wrongs

It is again one of the reasons for them being overprotective. How? Do you remember a time when you neglected their reactions concerning any situation? For example, have you ever punished your dog when they have done anything wrong? If you have, good, but even that is wrong.

You understand the importance of treats in their life. You might have appreciated their wrong behaviour and awarded them with positive renunciation (treats). For instance, while taking a stroll in a park, there must be a scenario where they have grudged out in front of a stranger and you have completely ignored that. Have you ever punished them in a way that they have generated a fearful response towards a certain action? Have you ever laughed at their growling towards a human? We are sure these will help you understand the source of their over protectiveness.

Dogs watch such reactions so closely that they start practising it to please their hooman. It gives rise to overprotectiveness, and then there’s nowhere to go.

Lack of Training 

This is one of the most common mistakes that pet parents do when they bring a pup home. First of all, pet parents must understand the importance of training their pup. Secondly, they must know the right time to end their training.

Training your pup helps improve communication with your pet, you start to understand the reasons behind their action and act on it to please them and help gain your trust. Obedience training is the very basis of pup training where they learn to respect their hooman and become social. This helps in gaining confidence and help them understand ways where they can help themselves even if their hooman is busy.

There’s never a right time to end their training. To your surprise, training is the basic education which they require at all life stages no matter how old they are. But most of the pet parents end their training thinking that they have had enough of basic training. Well, there are more levels to it.

Lack of training becomes one of the major reasons behind their overprotective nature. They haven’t had enough of it.

Signs to notice before the situation worsens

• Growling at humans apart from you
• Love to stay at home more than going out
• Reacting aggressively when someone hugs you (their pet parent)
• Marking their territory and guarding it all the time
• Staying around you all the time

Noticing these signs will help you build a plan of action in time. 

Some of the Known Protective Dog Breeds

Dogs are unique in every way, and concerning their breeds, their traits differ. Some of them are born protective and have been ruling this genre for centuries. Below is the list of known protective dog breeds to amplify your understanding of them:

If you are a pet parent of the above-mentioned dog breeds then it’s essential to take adequate measures before their protective trait becomes overprotective. Dogs are the most adorable pets for every pet parent/pet lover. But giving them full attention even when they can live the best life without it can give rise to severe issues. Therefore, it is essential to take adequate measures with time to help them stay healthy and happy in every way. Even after your homework of learning the best methods to help your pets fail, it is strongly advised to seek the expert’s advice at the earliest to avoid any further implications.