Aggression (especially towards strangers) is the number one behavior problem we hear about from cattledog owners.  Usually this begins when the dog reaches adolescence (8 months to 2 years).  If not addressed, this behavior will get worse and worse as the dog learns to practice it to make unwanted people go away.

A considerable amount of this behavior is inherited.  Cattledogs were bred to control large herds and to protect animals and property from thieves, so working dogs are supposed to be suspicious of strangers and to protect territory.  Dogs who are friendly to strangers are not much good at their jobs.  The problem arises when "pet" cattledogs decide who is and isn't a threat, instead of their owners making that decision.  
 
Pet cattledogs should be socialized to all sorts of strangers from a very young age, and that is where most of the problems lie – people don’t realize that this is not a Lab or a golden retriever that will just learn to love everyone without any special effort on the owner’s part.  “Socializing” means exposing the puppy in a positive way only to whatever people, situations and places you expect the adult dog to be comfortable in.  Socializing does not mean taking a puppy to a soccer game and having ten thousand kids crowd around it – that would be called “flooding” and could very well teach the puppy to be afraid of crowds of children!  Socialization, done properly and slowly, teaches the puppy that the human is a good leader, capable of making decisions that the puppy can count on, and that the puppy should look to the human for direction when in a stressful situation.  Basic training from a young age is also imperative with this breed, so the pup can feel secure in being able to communicate with its human owners.  Entire chapters of books have been written on socialization, and it has been the topic of several studies on dogs.  We can recommend two excellent books, “The Culture Clash” by Jean Donaldson and "Perfect Puppy in Seven days" by Sophia Yin.
 
The majority of cattledogs with aggression issues probably were not given enough positive exposure to enough strangers, or were “flooded” and began to dislike at least some strangers some of the time.  If you have been punishing your dog for growling or showing fear towards strangers, you may have accidentally set him up to use more severe forms of aggression (ironically).  If you punish a dog for trying to communicate how it is feeling (scared/threatened/growling/cowering), or you force it into situations it clearly is fearful of (“sit and let the nice man pet you”) then all the dog has left is its teeth to try to communicate with.

Most owners with aggressive cattledogs probably did not realize what it takes to be a "benevolent leader" to their dogs and also the intense amount of training, direction, and exercise these dogs truly need, every day.

Other forms of aggression common in cattledogs are resource guarding, food guarding, and guarding spaces from people, other dogs, or both. These problems, too, can and should be prevented from an early age -- not by giving the puppy something and then snatching it away, but by hand feeding, practicing object exchanges, and doing food bowl training exercises, among other things.

Last updated on November 18, 2011 by Marianne Ahern