REALLY???

Imagine for a moment that your four year old son is attacked by an out of control child at the playground.  The child hits and kicks your child, scaring and hurting him.  As a result, your previously socially outgoing son, now yells and throws a tantrum when another child comes near him.  Sometimes he yells at the other child.  Sometimes he tries to run away, thrashing against your restraint.

Here's some advice:
Force your child to sit on the ground and tolerate a child coming close.  If he is terrified and thrashing, hold him down.
Slap your son and yell at him when he gets "aggressive" toward an approaching child.

Would you follow this advice?    I surely hope not!

But people are given this advice regarding their dogs' behavior all the time...AND THEY FOLLOW IT!  Blows my mind.  And makes me very, very sad. Most people don't want to hurt their dogs. They do it because a "professional" told them to.  Dogs view this treatment from human beings as an attack.  Isn't that what CAUSED the issue in the first place?

Some dogs don't even need an actual scary event to occur to become defensively aggressive toward other dogs.  Lack of socialization and exposure can cause a dog to be fearful of what they do not know and result in "aggressive" displays as a coping strategy.

How can it possibly make sense to cause our dogs fear, pain and emotional stress as a way to stop behavior that is fueled by fear, pain or emotional stress???  Ay yi yi...

Please stop and think before implementing any advice given by anyone, regarding your dog.
If you wouldn't do it to your child, don't do it to your dog.