# Active Aggression and Reactive aggression



## GSDOwner2008 (Jan 19, 2008)

Wasn't sure where to post this, so if this is the wrong spot, I apologize mods.

So, I was reading another post and it got me to thinking, what is the difference between the postures of active aggression (protection?) and reactive aggression (fear?). I am very interested, so if you guys could educate me, and others who are interested, that would be great!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I personally think this would be really hard for us to describe here.

I DO know that real 'protection' comes from a confident and thinking dog that's got a good temperment, had training, and has been socialized. 

If you are lucky enough to have had the puppy at a young age, and participated in the socialization and training, then you'll have been able to watch and learn and see how your pup reacts and changes over time.

Here's some really helpful sites:

http://www.k9aggression.com/Aggression/aggression_main.html

http://www.siriusdog.com/articles/article298.htm

http://www.wonderpuppy.net/canwehelp/1dbaggression.php


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Active aggression (often called fight drive) stems from a desire to confront, defeat, dominate an opponent. There is no fear component involved. These type of dogs are bold, confident, pushy, dominant, very assertive "Type A" personalities. It is what is desired in protection dogs, police dogs, SchH dogs, etc.. 

Reactive aggression (often called defense drive) stems from an animal's fight/flight response. The dog sees a threat, and can choose to flee or to fight. Some choose flight as an initial reaction, and will only fight if cornered. Others will choose fight initially, but if that doesn't work and make the threat go away, usually they will switch to flight out of self preservation. Both responses are typically preceeded by defensive posturing... barking, snarling, hackles raised (to make the dog appear larger and more imposing)... designed to scare the threat away. If those don't work, the dog must choose fight or flight.

Both types of aggression involve what we typically consider aggressive displays.. barking and biting. But the body posture is very different, reflecting the very different emotions between the dogs. 

The body posture of a dog in reactive aggression shows a lack of confidence. Ears back, tail low or tucked. Body is tense but rarely forward because this dog isn't committed to his attack... he's also bracing himself to run if the fight doesn't work. Hackles are up, lots of growling and snarling and showing lots of teeth. All intended to make the dog look scary, so the threat goes away without the dog actually having to fight. His posturing will often be interspersed with lip licking, eyes darting back and forth, and other signs of nervousness and stress. Actual bites are usually low, from behind or the side, quick and shallow (using just the front teeth).

The posture of a dog in active aggression is bold and confident, ears up, tail straight out or straight up. The whole body is tense but forward. No hackles, no growling, little if any snarling or teeth showing. The dog is confident, and in most cases looking forward to an altercation, so no need to scare the threat away. Actual bites are frontal, full and hard.


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## scannergirl (Feb 17, 2008)

GREAT TOPIC! Thanks for starting this discussion. Everybody weigh in because I intend to learn a lot from it. Thanks again, GSDOwner2008, and MRL- I visited the links you posted. GREAT info!
Thanks Chris! That helps understand the difference.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Another thing I forgot to mention.

EVERY dog, cat, human... animal of every kind has reactive aggression. We will all fight if we must defend ourselves. Much fighting to protect resources, territory, pack, offspring is also rooted in reactive aggression. Since those things are important to the survival of the animal and/or the species, they are worth fighting for because the animal's self preservation is also contingent upon them. In rare cases, most notably offspring, defense of that is even more important than the animals preservation of self... but still, it is primarily fear based. Fear of death, fear of loss, fear of death as a result of loss of resources, etc.... 

Not every one has active aggression though. Some do, some don't. It takes a certain set of somewhat uncommon personality traits to come together to give a dog the temperament to have active aggression. These types of dogs like to challenge and prove themselves and fight essentially just for the fun of it.... sort of a barroom brawler type mentality. It is also something that comes about with maturity. Reactive aggression can be seen even in young animals, but not active aggression.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

> Quote:The posture of a dog in active aggression is bold and confident, ears up, tail straight out or straight up. The whole body is tense but forward. No hackles, no growling, little if any snarling or teeth showing. The dog is confident, and in most cases looking forward to an altercation, so no need to scare the threat away. Actual bites are frontal, full and hard.


So what if you have that but with hackling over the shoulder/neck (never the back/butt), some barking, some growling, then running over to one of us with a fast-paced whine and running back to check the threat if inside, attempts to face/confront the threat when outside?

Great thread.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: DianaM
> 
> 
> > Quote:The posture of a dog in active aggression is bold and confident, ears up, tail straight out or straight up. The whole body is tense but forward. No hackles, no growling, little if any snarling or teeth showing. The dog is confident, and in most cases looking forward to an altercation, so no need to scare the threat away. Actual bites are frontal, full and hard.
> ...



The examples I gave were all the signs that *could* be present in terms of body language. Not all are present in any individual dog, and how many are displayed and to what degree they are displayed depends on the situation. A dog who is mildly threatened is going to show fewer signs and more subtle signs than a dog who is petrified. A dog who feels his resources, territory, etc.. are threatened also typically shows more subtle signs because the stress and threat he feels are much less than if he himself were directly threatened.

Hackling, growling, whining, running back and forth would indicate reactive aggression, likely coupled with excitement as well. Not all drives and instincts are mutually exclusive. A dog can be experiencing multiple ones at once, such as prey drive and defense drive, stress and excitement. This sort of conflict between drives/instincts is actually quite common and happens all the time with most dogs, for a variety of reasons.

Just because a dog attempts to confront the threat doesn't mean he's not afraid. That is what reactive aggression/defense drive is.. a FIGHT response in respect to the treat, rather than a flight response. Many dogs will choose fight as their first option.. many won't. But just because a dog will choose fight even if flight is an option, doesn't mean that aggression aren't fear based.

Just as different dogs have different thresholds for threat, they have different hardwiring that determines what their Plan A is, and also different levels of sustainability, IOW how much pressure they'll take after employing Plan A (fight) before they will abandon it in favor of Plan B (flight).


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Thank you. Again, excellent information. Do you have a publisher for that book yet?


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## GSDOwner2008 (Jan 19, 2008)

Wow, I'm so glad I started this thread, I've really learned a lot, both from the links and from Chris too! Thanks guys!


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