What causes agression in dogs?

Depends on what kind of aggression you're talking about and, well, what caused it... reasons for aggression can range from bad breeding (inherited temperament) to poor socialization to trauma or abuse to physical/mental illness, etc.

Well as a pit bull owner I am faced with a lot of inherant aggression. It is built in temperment that is passed down. This is the same for a lot of breeds and breeders can work to improve the temperment. One thing to keep in mind is that the temperment cannot be changed but it can be managed a great deal it just depends on how much time you are able to put into your dog. Here is a greatr article that explains the different types of aggression. It is written for the APBT but has taught me a lot.....
[linkhttp://www.apbt.info/tiki-index.php?page=Aggression]http://www.apbt.info/tiki-index.php?page=Aggression[/link]

I don't know but to me anyway if a dog is allowed to be aggressive it almost always comes down to one of the things jones pointed out which are always traced back to bad breeders and/or bad owners. 

ORIGINAL: willowchow

I don't know but to me anyway if a dog is allowed to be aggressive it almost always comes down to one of the things jones pointed out which are always traced back to bad breeders and/or bad owners. 

 
Well not exactly. Think about Presa Canarios and Fila's. They are supposed to be aggressive, they are called human stoppers and was at one time a sought out behavior of the dog. Obviously not aggressive to the owner but one would have to pose a STRONG leadership role with such a dog. Breeds such as these and even more mellow ones such as a lot of terrier and bully breeds have inerhent aggression that takes generations to breed out of a dog. Unfortonatly that isnt being practiced by breeders as much as it should be and that is why we are having problems fitting these dogs into modern day society. I mean that huge case in SF where the Presa's killed that lady or whatever they were living in a apartement.....that is ridiculous!!
There are also game dogs whom have extreme drive and if not expelled properly turn towards aggression

Depends on what kind of aggression you're talking about and, well, what caused it... reasons for aggression can range from bad breeding (inherited temperament) to poor socialization to trauma or abuse to physical/mental illness, etc.

 
Definately...greyhounds are not known for being an aggressive breed, but JJ has some fear aggression issues that I believe stem from a severe tail injury. For about 2 years his tail was rebandaged almost daily and he dealt with constant infections, bleeding and pain in that area until he was surrendered from a a second home back to the greyhound rescue and they chose to amputate it.  Now that he is in a comfortable and caring home,  he trusts his owners and now we have the issues relating to his pain dealt with, his aggression toward anyone touching his hind end (especially strangers) is under much better control.
 
I think there are a wide range of reasons for aggression in dogs.   

Unfortonatly that isnt being practiced by breeders as much as it should be and that is why we are having problems fitting these dogs into modern day society. I mean that huge case in SF where the Presa's killed that lady or whatever they were living in a apartement.....that is ridiculous!!

Right, bad breeder/bad owner.  Chows are an aggressive breed too.  But, it can be controlled well with good breeding.  A lot of the chows on my forum live very nicely with other animals, kids, etc. just like any other breed of dog.  Willow was poorly bred and her temperment is an issue.  So, then comes me, the owner, who needs to control it if (to use your words) she's going to fit into modern day society.

Agression is a strong word. I feel like dogs with more dominant behaviors would turn that way with the wrong type of handling ( like instead of "positive" training with hitting and yelling) and a more calm behavior would turn into a shaky scared dog. It's knowing how to stay away from going beyond the line of making that dog mad. A Great Pry. would most likely not get upset with a toddler pulling on the ear..just the same with a Cane Corso may not be to happy with that situation.(but it's also how the individual  dog reacts to the situation.) I think that agression comes when the dog had it's breakpoint. I don't know if I explained what I am trying to say here.

ok.. Dogs have feelings like us right? A dog can not say hey stop that, and it reacts...with it's only way to get the message out is to bite. And I'm sure after that the dog holds a hot grudge just like people do. And I bet the way the person or animal reacts the first time the dog brings out his message..the reaction is pleasingt to that dog.Maybe I exlpained better?

Biting isn't the only way to get their message across, there is walking away or growling. . .

yes any body language is the only way they can let it be known how they feel. biting walking running jumping barking growling etc. they can't speak or write it down

Biting isn't the only way to get their message across, there is walking away or growling. . .

 
exactly Lori...JJ doesn't bite when he is aggressive (although he could if he was unhappy enough), but he will snarl and snap at strangers if he is unhappy or feels threatened. After working with him and him learning to trust us, he will now not snarl and snap as his first responce, but instead will turn his head away from the person...that is our cue to have the person back off. This was NOT his first reaction 7 months ago and at the rate he was going it was only going to be a matter of time before he did bite someone.   

ok.. Dogs have feelings like us right? A dog can not say hey stop that, and it reacts...with it's only way to get the message out is to bite. And I'm sure after that the dog holds a hot grudge just like people do. And I bet the way the person or animal reacts the first time the dog brings out his message..the reaction is pleasingt to that dog.Maybe I exlpained better?

 
Eclipse, I agree with your posts. Aggression is a really loaded word, you're right, but it doesn't have to be so... it may be more useful and accurate to say that "aggressive" describes a behavior rather than a dog. (Hm, see the Labels thread in Training! []) An "aggressive dog" is not like "a blue-eyed girl" - it's not a fixed trait in most cases. A dog may show aggression once in its whole because a vet tries to set his broken leg... or many times but only in the specific context of interacting with intact males... it's really a pretty broad term. However, there are some instances where a dog may be inherently dog aggressive or human aggressive because of its breeding stock - I'd venture to guess that's relatively rare.

What causes aggression?

If we follow the wolf of thinking, dogs should exhibit stranger aggression.  That aggression serves to protect the pack and preserve the territory.  Since dogs have been living with humans and humans are very social creatures, we have tried to minimize those aggressive behaviors and have been very successful at it. 

This is not to say that we don't want our dogs to bark at strangers, or "protect" our property, but we don't want our dogs to attack everything that is strange to them.  It is hard to change instinctual behavior, however early socialization and exposure to changine circumstances and events is crucial to limiting aggressive behaviours in our dogs.

So in my opinion, yes there are certain genetic qualities that can lead to aggressive behaviours but a determining factor leading to aggression (both dog aggression and human aggression) is lack of early socialization or too little socialization with too little exposure to differing stimuli.

If you consider small animal interest to the point of chasing, killing and possibly consuming...to be aggression, then many breeds and individual dogs have this.
 
Aggression is basic...it is what makes the dog a predator and not a prey species. It is a facet of everything they do. Even the most tender of relations...that between mother and pups, and that between dog and bitch contain aggression at appropriate times. Growls, pinning, snarling, biting, etc.
 
Do you refer to INAPPROPRIATE aggression? Aggression which is "overkill" or out of the norm in a given set of circumstances?