Why Do Dogs Turn Against Their Owners?

There are multiple reasons that a dog may exhibit aggression toward family members. The most common causes include conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, status related aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression and redirected aggression.

What does it mean when your dog turns against you?

Territory or Resource Guarding (Or Both)

Dogs are highly territorial creatures, and while some dogs may welcome visitors, others are quite such gracious hosts. When new people or animals are introduced to the home, the dog might feel that his territory or the possessions within his territory are being threatened.

Why do dogs suddenly attack their owners?

"The motivation for lots of dog bites is fear," he says. "Others are territorial - if they're guarding something that they highly value, or defending their favourite resting place, their bed... Or if they've learned to defend, say, a dog bowl - that can result in aggression."