TERRITORIAL AGGRESSION

Territorial aggression is fundamentally protective and may therefore be partly based on fear. The fear response is triggered by the perceived threat to a highly prized resource, for example the home turf.  In cases of territoriality the person who approaches the territory will inevitably walk by and disappear – this may prove to be a powerful reinforcer to the dog who learns that being aggressive produces the desired result -  the adversary goes away and disappears. The postman, for example, delivers letters and leaves, has the dogs barking and aggression really made the postman go away?

Territorial aggression can occur in specific areas that the dog guards, the home, the car, and in some instances the owner. The above diagram demonstrates the distances which dogs are sensitive to. The critical and Intimate distances are likely to be where aggressions occur when these areas are entered by a strange dog or person.   Inter-male, fear and territorial aggression can produce the same result in this circumstance; however the rationale for the behaviour may differ due to the emotional and motivational context. Sensitivity to these areas (Flight Distance; Critical Distance; Intimate Distance) either through fear, territoriality, training or inappropriate reinforcement can generalize leading to further problems of aggression.

Please contact a Clinical Animal Behaviourist at WellBehave to discuss territorial aggression.