Talk:Dog aggression

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Contents 1 I'm adding more information... 2 This page was riddled with so much misinformation. 3 Dog Psychology Center and response to vandalism 4 This is how he rehabilitates dogs 5 This page needs citations

[edit] I'm adding more information...

I am adding more information; most of it comes from popular dog behaviourist Cesar Millan of The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channel. I have seen first hand him rehabillitate the most extreme cases of aggression in dogs; so it's important to note in the article that the idea that some dogs may never be fixed is a load of crap; it's just that those correcting the dogs aren't taking the right approach.

[edit] This page was riddled with so much misinformation.

I have updated the page based on scientific information about dog aggression. Main problems with the article as written include:

1. Dominance is the cause of many types of aggression. The only types of aggression which might be labeled as dominance aggression would be resource guarding or territorial aggression. Some veterinary textbooks also label owner-directed aggression as dominance aggression, although this is not based on the ethological understanding of dominance.

2. Behavior modification based on DS/CC methods does NOT include ignoring aggressive behaviors. This statement showed an incredibly poor understanding of behavior modification and was likely written by someone who is familiar with only one type of training method, jerk-and-pop.

3. Dominance theory has been de-bunked by top wolf bioligists, ethologists, behaviorists (those with actual degrees in behavior) and top dog trainers in the country (See Dominance Theory in Dogs, by James O'Heare). Dominance theory doesn't apply to wolves and dogs aren't wolves. Dogs aren't even pack animals (See Dogs, by Ray Coppinger PhD, who actually STUDIES the behavior of natural dogs).

People, when you are talking about aggression in dogs, this is a very serious topic, not for armchair behaviorists who have watched every episode of The Dog Whisperer. Bad information that is based on no real understanding of dog behavior runs a SERIOUS risk of increasing aggressive behaviors in dogs if applied improperly by the average dog owner. Wikipedia needs to take a stronger stance on allowing the average web user to post information on topics such as this, not just to reduce their own liability, but also to be a little more responsible about the information you are putting out there. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Certified Pet Dog Trainer and Behavior Consultant (Yes, I work with "red zone" (made up term) dogs and dog aggression every day. No, I do not tell owners to euthanize their dogs. Yes, the dogs I work with have previously undergone "Dog Whispering" type treatment and their behavior escalated)67.182.166.46 (talk) 17:30, 8 May 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Dog Psychology Center and response to vandalism

I agree with the "Vandal"'s removal of Cesar Millan from this article; I guess it isn't very fitting; although I think it's nice to have the Dog Psychology Center link up for people who want potential help for rehabilitating their dog. It may also be appropriate to provide a link to the Dog behaviourist article.

[edit] This is how he rehabilitates dogs

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14505140.htm

Logical fallacy. Please read logical fallacies. Doesn't prove he's not a dog behaviourist. Just maybe a "bad" one. I have asked you to provide reasons for why he's not a dog-behaviourist. You have failed to do so. Discussion/debate continues on dog behaviourist dicussion-forums. 67.164.209.137 23:22, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] This page needs citations

None of the assertions in this article have citations. Most specifically, the section on the United States is in serious need of attention, as it contains unreferenced statistics. I'm not sure who added the information, but please cite your sources. I'm gonna go through and clean up what I can, anything that's not cited or that I can't find references for will be removed. Widgertick 06:20, 12 July 2007 (UTC)