Aggression in dogs and cats

My dog growls and shows his teeth. My cat scratches or bites without warning. Why has my dog suddenly become aggressive?

A dog or cat that growls, hisses, shows its teeth or bites never does so without a reason. There are in fact several forms of aggression in animals, with very different origins:

• Fear-related aggression: the animal is trying to drive away what frightens it (ears flattened, body frozen or crouched, growling or hissing, biting or scratching if it can no longer escape).
• Pain- or irritation-related aggression: the animal is in pain or physically uncomfortable, and reacts when handled or stroked in certain ways.
• Resource guarding: it protects what it considers important — its food, a toy, its bed, its litter box, sometimes a person.
• Territorial aggression: particularly common in cats, it occurs when faced with an intruder (another animal, sometimes a person) perceived as a threat to its territory.
• "Sociopathy" (dogs): the dog has gradually taken over certain decisions within the household, and reacts when these habits are challenged.
• Redirected aggression: highly excited or frustrated by something it cannot reach (a cat seen through the window, another dog on the other side of a fence), the animal takes its reaction out on the first person or animal nearby, even though they are not really involved.

Two animals that bite or scratch can therefore have completely different motivations, and warning signals almost always come before the bite. You still need to be able to recognize them in time.

Understanding exactly why your dog or cat reacts this way is the essential first step before any behavioral work. That is precisely the purpose of a behavioral consultation: identifying the real origin of the aggression in order to offer support tailored to your pet, rather than a one-size-fits-all solution that ignores its particular situation.