What Is The Difference?
This is a very good but complicated question. Both are very similar but they are quite different and can become confusing if you are not knowledgeable in the canine behavior field.
Let’s keep it simple.
Territorial Aggression:
Any space a canine considers being their own. Their home, car, fenced in backyard or front yard.
-Your canine will bark constantly when someone new comes over or walks passed your house.
-Your dog will lunge at someone new coming in your home or try to bite them.
-They will try to lunge at someone approaching you on a routine walk.
-When you are in your car and you approach a toll, gas station or someone walking by at a red light, they react uncontrollably.
-Your friend that has been in your home for 1 hour decides to get up…your canine reacts to him/her.
-Fenced in backyard…they go bonkers when another canine or a human passes.
Protective Aggression:
Their owner is the number one object that the canine feels they need to protect, but they will also protect the crate/car or react when on a leash, not in a fenced in backyard. They are actually very insecure. They need an object to protect that is close or enclosed (crate).
-Dog is fine when the owner they are bonded with is not there. No issues. Nothing to protect. You can have a party with people coming in and out of your home and everything is fine, the canine does not react. Canine reacts when the owner returns and starts to snarl/lunge/bite to “protect” their owner from anyone who is approaching them.
-Their crate. The family can hang out with the dog all day in the backyard or within their home. The moment you put the canine back into the crate, they will turn around and try to bite you. Same scenario with the car. The canine will not let you back in even though you were playing with them prior and have given them all of their resources (food/water).
When a dog bites their owner when it is not food/guarding aggression related…something is very wrong and certain decisions have to be made that are not always pleasant. Most of the time, that is when I come into play. I deal with the final outcome.
Personally I feel that Protective Aggression is worse than Territorial Aggression. Reason being, with Territorial Aggression it is not geared towards anyone in the household or the person watching him or her. Only outsiders entering your household/fenced in backyard or approaching the car. Protective Aggression is different. You could be playing with your dog for hours with your family outside or in the home but the moment the canine comes near the crate, they change into their “protective” mode. If it is not the crate, they will find a chair/pillow/blanket to protect. They will find some object. It is what they are “programmed” to do. Many of my cases with protective aggression are genetic. It is due to their parents and their genetic issues. Studies have been shown to prove this.
Can you back track?
Depending on the age of the dog, you can. As they get older and it becomes more “embedded”, then you cannot. You need a firm and assertive owner to be “on top” of it.
Many owners call me to rehabilitate their dogs. Sometimes I cannot change the “mind set”. The canines age, what they have been rewarded to do up until that point and history play the part. But most of the time I can make a difference and I am very honest with my decision-making whether it be what the owner wants to hear or does not want to hear. “It is what it is” and the dog at that point is who they are.
The biggest problem with dogs that have territorial or protective issues are the owners. You CANNOT be “mushy” with these types of dogs. All of my dogs are “guard” dogs. They have territorial tendencies. BUT…it is MY job to be on top of them. Teaching them what is appropriate and what is not appropriate both inside and outside of the house. Most canine owners just want to “love them up”. That is not what the dog needs. Like children, canines are all different and their needs are different. We need to treat them as such. One dog’s needs are completely different from another. Just like if you had 2 children. They are different and their needs are different. In many situations with protective aggression the owner has completely rewarded and promoted the behavior not realizing it. When it comes to a point where the dog bites someone, then the owner and/or the family need to change. It is about them. The canine will follow their lead.
Dogs with Protective Aggression should not be put into situations where they feel they have to protect. Easier said than done depending on the household.
I hope you enjoyed.
