It seems to have taken a full-on, year-long study by scientists at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania to have revealed that aggressive dog training, or aggressive behavior by dog owners, contributes significantly to aggressive behavior in those dogs. Such behaviors as hitting or kicking the dog, growling at the dog, and "alpha rolling" the dog elicit aggressive responses.
On the other hand, "The study, published in the current issue of Applied Animal Behavior Science, also showed that using non-aversive or neutral training methods such as additional exercise or rewards elicited very few aggressive responses." In keeping with the theory that dogs have aspects of "human" intelligence, such as the all-too-human emotion of envy. You can read more about this interesting report from ScienceDaily, published February 17, 2009. You can find plenty of resources in the sidebars of this site to help you curb aggressive dog behavior; we welcome your business!
