The Men/Women Hater

Whether you have just rescued an aggressive dog from the shelter, or your family dog has just started showing aggression toward other people, it’s important to understand why dogs act this way, even when there is no need for such a behavior.

Although dogs have been domesticated by humans for hundreds of years, this does not mean that they can be treated like a human being. Dogs still have the genetics of the dog species. Dogs think and behave as a dog would, even if they have never been exposed to other dogs. In fact, because of these unique abilities, humans in the past would use dogs to carry out tasks that were out of the power and capability of a human being.

Today, we adopt dogs for a variety of reasons other than guarding and hunting. We use them in the police force and the military, for cancer detection, and as service and therapy dogs to help people with disabilities. Depending on the task that a dog was trained to perform, service dogs have the ability to detect changes in physical and mental health of their humans and alert them within 15-20 minutes before it happens. Knowing that dogs can detect our body chemical changes and analyze our mental pattern can help us understand why dogs behave the way they do.

Now you might be asking yourself, “What does a dog’s ability to sense things have to do with my dog’s aggression?” Trust me, I’m getting there…

Although in some cases it is true that dogs show aggression to a specific gender because they have been abused by a specific gender, it is not always the case. I have trained many dogs who displayed aggression towards men with absolutely no reason at all – they were never in an abusive household, never entered an animal shelter, and were raised by a loving family since puppyhood.

Dog Aggression Toward Men:

A dog can show aggression towards men for many reasons:

Men have testosterone hormones than a dog can smell. They have a stronger physique, more muscle mass, and stronger tone of voice than a women and, therefore, are more dominant in nature. They do not think and act with their emotions as females do and tend to be more aggressive.
A dominant-aggressive dog will sense all of this about a man and considers him to be a challenge. As we know, two dominant males can not be in one space because of this.
A fear-aggressive dog will become anxious about this level of authority, feeling intimidated and threatened.
They might have been abused by a man or multiple men. The past abuse and the trauma of the incident has made them fearful.
There might be a lack of leadership in the family where the dog lives. A dog with no pack leader will see the need to challenge everyone they come in contact with to assert their dominance.

The opposite can also happen: An aggressive dog might feel safer with a man than a woman. They see men as shelter and view them as strong protectors.

Dog Aggression Toward Women:

There are many reasons why a dog will only show aggression towards women:

Some dogs hate the high-pitched voice than some women have. It can remind them of an injured animal whimpering which is a sign of weakness. The dog senses this and sees an opportunity to attack.
They sense the lower energy and dominance level and think that women are an easy target.
They might have been abused by a female in the past.
There is a lack of leadership in the family they live with.

Dog aggression is a very serious problem. Always consult a certified dog behaviorist to find out how you can stop dog aggression. An inexperienced dog trainer with no knowledge of the dog’s behavior can do more damage than good.