A Very, Very Different Approach to Aggression/ “Reactivity”

I don't just ask, "How do we stop the aggression?" I ask, "Why does this dog believe aggression is necessary—and can we change that?"

My approach to aggression is very different from what you'll find with 99.9% of dog trainers. Much of my education and approach has been influenced by Ivan Balabanov, one of the world's most accomplished dog trainers, with experience training guide dogs for the blind, police and military dogs, sport dogs, and, perhaps less publicly known, complex pet-dog rehabilitation. He teaches his students ingenious approaches and techniques not found on YouTube, TikTok, or anywhere else.

When a dog is barking, lunging, growling, or has already bitten, most training focuses on stopping what we can see. My first question is different: Why does this dog feel the need to behave this way?

Imagine a dog that was attacked by another dog. Now, whenever another dog approaches on a walk, he barks, lunges, and aggressively postures. He may have learned that other dogs are dangerous—and that acting aggressively makes them go away. We can teach that dog to stop barking and lunging without ever changing what he believes about other dogs. Or is your dog simply barking out of frustration at not being able to go see the other dog. Or is it sometimes both? These questions are essential!

Simply stopping how your dog is expressing itself is suppression. Our goal should seek to change your dog’s mind.

This isn't about spending the rest of your dog's life clicking and feeding treats whenever a trigger appears, scattering food to keep him distracted, or constantly asking for obedience so he doesn't react. Food, obedience, management, and even medication all have their place. But distraction isn't rehabilitation.

If your dog is afraid of men, I'm not satisfied simply because we've taught him to look at you for a treat while a man walks past. I want to see whether we can help him reach a different conclusion: "That person isn't a threat. I don't need to make him go away." And sometimes we can go further: We now get your dog thinking "Maybe now I actually like men! Because some of them know how to play my favorite game."

That's a genuine change in how the dog perceives the thing he once feared.

He doesn't need to love men. A dog-aggressive dog doesn't need to love other dogs. Neutrality can be the goal: I see you. I'm safe. I don't need to interact with you, and I don't need to make you leave.

That's very different from a dog who still desperately wants the trigger to disappear but has simply learned not to show it.

This distinction becomes especially important when the stakes are high. Some dogs I work with have bitten people or attacked other dogs. Their families may be rearranging their entire lives to prevent another incident, and some are facing the heartbreaking possibility of euthanasia.

There are no magic fixes, and no responsible trainer should promise that every aggressive dog can become completely safe in every situation. But before giving up on a dog, I believe we owe it to them to understand what's driving the aggression—not just silence the symptoms.