Border Terriers can be frustrating to deal with when they start exhibiting aggressive behaviors. It’s good to always remember that border terriers are not aggressive by nature and this is the best starting point when dealing with border terrier aggression.
For most border terriers, aggression is the way of communicating that they are going through difficulty. Although, this is not true for all breeds, especially the ones that were well-trained as puppies. Spotting signs of aggression early on is very important in managing dog aggression.
Signs of Aggression In Border Terriers
Even though aggression is not a trait commonly associated with border terriers, there are signs you can look out for that would help you nip the buds of their aggression early. These signs include:
i. A stern and fixed gaze
ii. Alert ears
iii. Teeth exposure or baring the teeth
iv. Standing hair
v. Straightened tail
Also Read: How to Train Your Border Terrier Dog
Border Terrier Aggressive Behaviour Signs
A stern or fixed gaze is often a sign of aggression for border terriers. They tend to do this when they are staring at their targets or who they plan to attack. It’s not quite clear why border terriers do this but it could be that they are assessing their potential target and their ability to take them down. This is one of the earliest signs that your border terrier is about to become aggressive.
Borders also keep their ears either standing or relaxed in preparation for aggression. Regardless of how their ears are positioned, they seem to be very sensitive to sound during this period and the wrong signal from their target may spring them into violent behavior.
At this point, the aggression can still be stopped if noticed. Another thing you can do to try and stop the aggression is to take it away from the area when this alertness is spotted, especially if its target is acting in ways that could trigger violence. For instance, if the target is another dog and it is barking at your border terrier.
Teeth exposure or bared teeth is more or less a late sign of aggression. At this point, it could be difficult to stop your dog’s aggression but not impossible. This sign is often displayed in combination with other signs like a fixed or stern gaze. You may find your dog exposing its teeth while staring directly at its target. Your border may also be barking at this stage.
Usually, when the pili muscles around the hair contract, it leads to the hair on your dog standing out. This is often done as a warning to a target. When this happens, the dog appears bigger than usual as a way of scaring away the target.
It is also a sign that your dog is more than ready to fight. Any slight perceived at this point from the target is enough to trigger a full-blown fight. If you see your dog acting this way, especially towards other humans or dogs, step in as quickly as possible and try to pacify it because the moment it becomes violent, there will be very little that can be done.
One of the ways that a border terrier signals that it’s about to become aggressive is by keeping a straight tail. Based on research and opinions shared by skilled dog training experts, the position of a border terrier’s tail tells a lot about what it plans to do.
When their tail is straightened, it raises the tail’s position high. The higher the tail, the higher the dog’s desire to become aggressive. Borders terriers do this as a way of asserting themselves and showing that they are very capable of dominance.
Also Read: Border Terrier Personality And Characteristics You Should Know
Why Is My Border Terrier So Aggressive?
When border terriers become aggressive, they can attack other humans including children and seniors as well as other dogs. But border terriers do not become aggressive for no reason. Either they have picked up aggressive behavior from their owners or they are responding to some form of aggression present in the environment.
When owners do not treat their border terriers fairly, they risk dealing with their aggression. This could be constantly putting your border down, ignoring its needs, forcing it to comply with commands and doing things against its will, or punishing it for simply being itself.
Border terriers are highly energetic and can be a handful, sometimes difficult to tame. They expect that you would convince them to see the benefits in a command like rewarding them before they would follow commands. If owners grow impatient and treat this breed wrongly, they could eventually become the object of their aggression.
Border terriers can also become aggressive when they are being bullied by bigger dogs. This breed is not one to cower and shrink in the face of mistreatment. They would put up a fight and demand respectful treatment when they are treated wrongly by other dogs.
It is advisable to properly monitor your border when you are out and when they mingle with other dogs. It may help to assess the temperament of the other dogs that they would be spending time with.
Just like borders would fight bigger dogs that do not accord them the respect they deserve, they also become aggressive with smaller dogs that treat them wrongly. For borders, aggression is their way of communicating their dislikes.
So if you are wondering why your border terrier has become abusive all of a sudden, you may want to carefully look into the environment to understand what could have planted the seeds of aggression. It may be helpful to remove it from the environment or limit its interaction with other dogs if its aggressive behavior worsens.
Paying attention to your border terrier may also help. It could be possible that certain actions of yours are hurting your border and egging its aggression.
Can Border Terriers Attack a Child or Seniors?
Border terriers can attack anyone, the young and the old, the fit and the unfit, the abled and the differently abled as well as children and infants. The aggression displayed by border terriers can sometimes be non-directional and targeted at anyone.
This is why constantly assessing your border terrier, especially the ones that serve as family pets is necessary to ensure signs of aggression are spotted early and curtailed.
As a safety measure, you may want to put your dog on-leash when on walks in new environments especially when you are unsure of how it would react. Also, they should not be left with very little children or children with little to no orientation on how to handle dogs particularly when the dog was not efficiently trained as a puppy.
Also Read: Border Terrier Behaviour Problems
What To Do When Border Terrier Has Become Aggressive
Border Terriers may not be the biggest and scariest of dogs but their aggression should not be condoned. Even though its bite may be not as invasive as that of a mastiff or rottweiler, it’s something that must be prevented from occurring.
The best way to manage border terrier aggression is to prevent it from happening. A lot of times, borders become aggressive because that’s the only way they know how to communicate. Just like other dogs, violence or attempts at violence signal seriousness in the desire to assert dominance.
Border Terriers should be trained properly in their formative or puppy days. The training they receive at this phase sticks and they live within the given guidelines for all the days of their life. Based on the level of aggression displayed, you can tell a dog that got sufficient training from one that did not.
You can approach border terrier training by learning about what it entails from books, videos, and courses by experts. Joining forums either online or offline where other border terrier owners can share their experiences will also be helpful.
In addition, you can try registering your border terrier at dog school or you can use the help of an expert for the complete training so you do not have to stress yourself.
Nothing is a guarantee but effective training would go a long way. When at a later stage, you notice your border is becoming aggressive, you can teach it how to channel its anger more appropriately. Because aggression can be difficult to manage, you may want to hire a seasoned expert with experience in managing dog aggression early.
The expert would teach your dog behavior modification techniques that would help it approach differences less violently. Note that behavior modification training still would not make your dog a pushover when they are treated unfairly. It would only equip your border with skills to communicate less violently.
Another thing you can do when you notice your border terrier has become aggressive is to take it away from environments that trigger its aggression. You can as well choose to be more intentional about your behavior around your border.
Conclusion
Most vets would tell you the border terrier is your best choice for a family pet because they are friendly and nonviolent on average. Yet, aggression levels still vary from breed to breed and some borders can be a little aggressive.
Protecting your border from situations that may induce its aggression is a great practice but whenever you have to deal with your border terrier’s aggression, seek the help of a professional so things do not escalate beyond what can be conveniently handled.
