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You have explicitly decided to take the challenge and try your best shot in rehabilitating that aggressive dog recently relinquished by its former owners. While you are enamored by those languishing eyes pleading for help, you are considerably concerned about the outcome. With many perplexities domineering your mind, one thing you know for sure: "there are no such things as evil dogs".

Aggressive dogs are oftentimes fearful and generally diffident dogs. They scrutinize the world through eyes of anxiety. Their bodies reflect their tense sense of mind as they filter the world as a grim place to be. Most of these dogs are constantly in a stressful fight or flight situation. This has become their fist line of defense. Unfortunately, more often than not these aggressive dogs are the result of negative human interaction. Abusive owners might have stripped these dogs from their confidence, allowing them to grow aloof and uptight.

In other cases, aggressive dogs are the aftermath of a lack of leadership. These dogs have developed missing the essential guidance element from their owners. They have unceasingly been allowed to do as they please without considering their need for a pack leader. These dogs may display aggressive behavior over possession of food or toys or may even growl and snap when wakened up from their sleep.

Finally, some dogs may have grown aggressive because of a temperamental issue deep down in their genetic core. Basically, these dogs are "wired" wrong. Among all the forms of aggression, this may be the most arduos to manage.

Aggression in dogs in the wild is quite average. If we would observe dogs in the wild, we would acknowledge that they quite often have altercations over rank order. These conflicts seem to mostly generate over food, a female in heat or sleeping areas. It is all about hierarchy. Aggression towards human kind appears to stem under the same circumstances. When an owner is unable to demonstrate proper leadership skills, an unhealthy upside down relationship is established where the dog is the alpha leader enforcing the rules.

Restoring an aggressive dog requires time, patience and lots of effort. The underlying cause needs to be addressed in order to gain a trustful companion again. In some cases sadly, rehabilitation may not suffix and the dog is ultimately euthanized. These are ordinarily extreme cases where the dog reports no improvement within an expectable length of time.

Should you rescue, foster or adopt an aggressive dog, there

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