All types of dogs, including your Affenpinscher, can benefit from dog training. Jumping, aggression, and all types of obedience can be learned by your Affenpinscher. Training courses and products are available at retail stores, while online dog training information can be accessed immediately.

Your Affenpinscher is instinctively aggressive. In the wild, dogs need to be aggressive in order to successfully hunt for food, to continually defend against other creatures, and to protect their food, bed, and mate. Even though this aggressive trait has been minimized over time by selective breeding, we all realize that dogs are instinctively aggressive.

The good news is you can learn to recognize, prevent, and handle dog aggression through appropriate dog training methods.

Dogs most commonly exhibit aggression toward one of 2 groups:

1...strangers
2...family members

Each type of aggression requires different intervention because each stems from a different cause.

If your Affenpinscher is aggressive toward STRANGERS, it might be because he has not had a real opportunity to interact with strangers. Your dog relies on you to help him learn about the world. You need to take your Affenpinscher on plenty of trips outside of your home to help him become comfortable in different surroundings with different animals and people.

This process (called "socialization") helps to prevent aggression toward strangers by allowing your dog to learn through experience that he does not need to be afraid of new sights, sounds, and smells. You'll want to start this process slowly so your Affenpinscher does not become overwhelmed. Over time, both of you will look forward this socialization process, while eliminating or reducing your dog's aggression toward strangers.

The most common cause of aggression toward FAMILY MEMBERS is known as "resource guarding." Your Affenpinscher tries to defend his possessions from someone he perceives as a threat. This overly possessive behavior results from the issue of dominance.

Dogs are inherently pack animals. A pack is a very structured environment. Every dog in a pack is aware of the hierarchy or rank of every other dog in the pack. Your Affenpinscher views the family environment the same as a dog pack environment.

You can change your dog's dominant, aggressive behavior through frequent and consistent obedience training to establish your authority over your Affenpinscher. Try conducting two 15-minute sessions each day to help your dog understand that you are in charge. Simply reward him with treats and praise for following your command ("sit") and briefly punish him for misbehavior.

Do you want more information about socializing and handling the aggressive and dominant behaviors of your Affenpinscher? Do you want lots of detailed information on a variety of other common Affenpinscher behavior problems?