Deterrent behaviour is normal, necessary and acceptable as long as the dog stops when the animal or person backs off. You’ll commonly see adult dogs use deterrent behaviour to warn off or discipline unruly pups or dogs with poor social skills. Although deterrent behaviour is widely accepted in humans, we often don’t afford dogs the same right to communicate their discomfort.

Aggression is simply communication. The burning question is where acceptable communication crosses the line into unwanted aggression. For perspective let’s take a look at the ACTT K9 Communications Continuum.

Think of canine communication and aggression on the same continuum. In Zone-A, you’ll see normal, healthy communication. Zone-B is where the intensity starts to escalate.

Social and confident dogs exist in Zone-A. Under-socialized and fearful dogs live in Zone-B. On a best day scenario when anxiety is low, B dogs live in the center of the continuum and start communicating their discomfort with deterrent behaviour. That’s why they’re perceived as reactive or dogs with a low threshold.

A dog can change its communication according to the situation by sliding up and down on the continuum with the intent to prevent conflict. The dog may communicate its discomfort with calming signals in Zone-A, but if those signals aren’t respected the dog’s behaviour will move toward Zone-B into deterrent behaviour. The line between A and B is where the dog flips from mild to more severe deterrent behaviour leading to fear and aggression.

Reprimands cripple communication causing the dog to quickly jump to severe behaviour in order to avoid the admonishment. Punishing or allowing severe deterrent behaviour can create an aggressive bully that picks fights. When communication is repeatedly punished it creates a learned helplessness and can trigger a primordial survival instinct manifesting in self-defense behaviours.

To prevent or mitigate aggression and shape a confident dog that’s a master communicator:

Learn to interpret canine body language

Encourage natural communication

Teach acceptable deterrent limits

The secret to solid communication is socialization and because it’s a skill, the “use it or lose it” rule applies. Dogs should be carefully and thoroughly socialized before four months of age and socialization should continue throughout their lives to keep their skills fine-tuned and prevent aggression.