During one of the recent Pet Education sessions, the conversation turned to fighting and biting dogs. I pointed out that dog bites aren't funny and owners should recognize and take the situation seriously when dogs send signals that biting or fighting is on their minds.

Wouldn't ya know it? A couple of weeks later, I received a very serious bite. The dog bit, and then continued to chomp on my hand 3 or 4 more times.

Why? Because I became too relaxed and quit (for a few moments) looking for the signals that could have told me trouble was just around the corner. Instead of moving on to some other activity, I kept working with him. Result? Punctured hand. Sometimes these sorts of things are wake up calls. It's easy to become complacent.

If a dog is a biter, then the owner must deal with it. The best advice I can give you is to enroll in one of our local obedience schools. Tell them about the problem when you register. We used to get dogs in the school and we knew darned well the animals were biters, but the owners wouldn't admit it. It gets old for instructors to be told "That's the first time that ever happened." "Yeah – right." The "ostrich syndrome" is dangerous. To own a biter -- or a dog aggressive dog -- isn't something to be ashamed of. To hide the fact, however, is shameful and dangerous.

Some claim obedience schools will turn their dog into a little robot. Rubbish. Obedience will give you the control you need to allow both you and Buddy to enjoy life. An out of control dog robs you of the joy of dog ownership.

Most of the time, dogs bite or fight because of one of three reasons. They are known as the "3-F's" in canine behaviour – Freeze, Flight, Fight – all are the result of extreme stress.

Freezing - A dog that freezes is playing statue and trying to be "small" and not interesting. This dog is in all likelihood Afraid and Stressed.

Flight – Some dogs choose to retreat and will run blinding attempting to hide from the cause of the worry. Afraid and Stressed? Yep.

Fight – These dogs resort to aggression. Sometimes they growl and then lunge, sometimes they "just go for it". The cause is the stress level is pushed beyond their ability to cope. Stressed? Yep again.

One of the topics taught at PEP (Pet Education Programme) is that just because it's considered Normal Behaviour doesn't mean it is Acceptable Behaviour. We can understand it, but we can't excuse it and we can't just ignore it and hope it will go away. Bottom line, an owner has to gain control of the dog and maintain that control for the duration of the dog's life.

If your dog is a biter – take a look at why the dog bites and then remedy the situation. Maybe he's spoiled. Maybe he's afraid. Maybe he's stressed. However, he still has to deal with it and you have to be able to control your dog's behaviour.

Doesn't he want you to touch his rear? Then give him something else to do (offer him a doggie cookie and let him nibble on it from you hand) as you lightly touch his rear – briefly and lightly. Try again after a few minutes have passed. Pretty soon the stressful touching of the rear becomes quite pleasant and the behaviour has been modified.

If he's stressed by training, then continue to train, but give him more breaks and consider using a quiet, insistent training approach which is calm and encouraging instead of a method based on lots of noise, activity and quick movements.

If the dog is a fighter, teach a negative command, which means "stop whatever you are doing – RIGHT NOW!". I use "phooey it" but any word or phrase that's feels comfortable is fine. It shouldn't be similar to other commands, however. Many folks use "leave it" or "uh uh". Some folks prefer to use a hand signal which tells the dogs to cease and desist. Whatever you choose to use, be sure you are consistent and that there is a consequence for misbehaviour. We had a Boxer before Buddy, Bo, who was dog aggressive. Never had any reason to be – just was. When he was in the presence of another dog (starting at 7 weeks) he tried to fight. Whenever we walked into a room with other dogs, I commanded "phooey it". He knew that if he even thought about causing trouble, I would be all over him. No wavering, no negotiating, no discussion.

If you believe your dog is a "hood" then you should consider taking a look at a Koehler basic obedience book. There are, by the way, "hoods". Some claim there's never born a dog who wants to fight and/or bite. Again, I can't agree. We've seen dogs who have never been unfairly treated and who aren't spoiled, they're just prone to temper tantrums and will fight at the drop of a hat. (Think about Bo) Stressed? Probably. Is it the dog's nature? Probably. Can it be fixed – most likely. IF the handler is dedicated and determined

Many of today's experts are discussing canine behaviour and signals. You can pick up most any dog training book and read about canine signals.

Wendy & Jack Volhard's Dog Training for Dummies is a "must have" in that they cover just about everything a dog owner should know. They don't get into the "how-to's" as deeply as some, but they do provide common sense concepts that everyone should have in the dog training "tool box".

The Mumma dog of today talks to her pups in the same way she did thousands of years ago. We've changed our approach to dog training and we understand canine behaviour better than we did a couple of decades ago, but when it comes to dog aggression – get the upper hand quickly, firmly and irrevocably. Just like Mumma did when she was in charge. She didn't raise a dumb dog, so your dog has the intelligence to respond to firm, fair and consistent training. The colour of the ribbon on the package is different today than it was 40 years ago, but the message of dog training is the same, take control of the situation and deal with it - fairly, consistently and logically (from the dog's point of view – not yours!).

There are a couple of effective ways to deal with a fighter.

1. You can give him something else to do –

   When your boy (or girl) "keys" (fixed gaze) on her target, direct the dog's attention back to you. Praise when the dog gives you 100% attention and require the dog to comply with an obedience exercise. (examples include "sit", "down", "heel".) Then heel the dog away from the area or reposition him so she can't look at the other dog.

2. You can tell her to "leave it".

   Initially, give the command to leave it and tap (hard) on the dog's muzzle with the tips of your fingers (which are bent) so the tips of 3 or 4 fingers collide with his muzzle in no uncertain terms.

   When the dog looks away from the other dog (calming signal) or looks at you – Praise her enthusiastically.

3. You must take her to an obedience class and condition her to work in the presence of other dogs -- without contention.

   It is the responsibility of the owners of a dog aggressive canine to be aware what the dog is doing 100% of the time.

   There's potential for things to go horribly wrong when a dog is allowed to fight and/or bite. A person could be badly bitten or another dog could be seriously injured or killed. None of us wants that – so we must work hard to ensure our dogs are the polite family members we know they can be.

A little reminder --

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