Introduction

• Aggression under little, if any, autonomic influence.
• Exhibited towards prey by predatory animals.
• Usually involves one or more components of predation.
• Moving objects may trigger it in an animal which does not frequently hunt.
• Behavior tends to be rewarding → self-reinforcing.

Pathogenesis

Etiology

• Normal predatory behavior but in inappropriate circumstances.
• Predatory aggression associated with stalking is always potentially more dangerous than predatory behavior associated with barking at and chasing moving objects or people.

Predisposing factors

• Presence of prey or perceived victim.

Pathophysiology

• Species relying on killing other animals for food → evolution of modern dog with retention of some ancestral behavior → predatory aggression.

• Predatory aggression is physiologically a non-autonomic type of aggression.

Diagnosis

Treatment

Prevention

Outcomes