Puppy gets aggressive at puppy training

[racmac]

I have a Jack Russell puppy who is about 5 months old. We started dog training and have been to about 4 sessions, he has learnt to sit, down, stay and a few other things.

BUT when he is there he tuens quite aggressive - the trainer called it aggressive displacement. He has not turned aggressive at home and i have 3 young children so am very careful.

Can anyone give me some more advice on this? He is friendly to other people and apart from the normal puppy biting is ok.

Training is a bit slow - how often should i do "training" each day ? How long does it take for a puppy to be fully trained?

If you are worried you should really consult your vet and arrange for a behaviour referral. If you have pet insurance for him then it is likely to cover this. Also talk to your vet about having him neutered too - it may help.

How long to train...how long is a piece of string and how much do you want to teach him?! They are like kids and all different how long they take to learn things, but patience does pay, and lots of rewards when he gets it right.

If he is showing aggression at training stop going. Do not stop training however.

Alternatives are and I am surprised that your trainer has not recommended this is a one to one training session. Some dogs in fact a lot of dogs find the class situation really stressful and aggression can be a sign of this.

Also if your dog continues to show aggression all you are really teaching him is how to be agressive.

He does need to be socialised though and the more socialisation he gets hopefully the agression will get better but you do need expert advice on this as beautifulgirls has said and the sooner the better.

Re how long to train I generally train my puppies for about 5 minutes at a time but several times during the day. My older dogs who I still train daily will get much longer about 15 mins at a time but they love it and are used to it.

Has your trainer offered any advice re your pups behaviour?

My JR had 'little big dog syndrome' and would attempt to attack any dog in sight, rotties, staffies, GSDs you name it, she thought she could take them on!!! JR's are not good with other dogs.

Ask the trainer if she is experienced enough to give specialist one on one help with this. You can train them out of it.

Don't consider neutering to deal with this. Neutering will address behaviours which are sexually motivated; unlikely in this instance. Removing testosterone only causes reduced confidence; aggresion which has become learned (i.e. repeated succesfully) in a dog with reduced confidence will increase. Vet will advise neutering so seek advice from a qualified behaviourist (APBC) when you want to discuss neutering (not before 6 months).

The trainer has just basically said he is getting cross and he needs to be shown who is boss and that his behaviour is not acceptable. They generally take him away from me when he does this because i have 2 yr old with me who clings to me.

The lady then takes him away and tells him off but if he is being good gives him lots of praise

It doesnt feel right though and I am concerned about going - he is not like this at any other time - he seems to get over excited/upset/cross at the other dogs - he wants to play with them not look at them having fun doing agility stuff.

I did take him out of last weeks lesson and he had some 1 to 1 time and he was ok - as soon as we rejoined the group he was the same

WHAT?! [horrified emoticon] Run run, from the trainer of prehistoric times. Poor dog is stressed and not coping and gets threatened by stranger as a result. go with your instincts, would you let your child be treated like this (I know you wouldn't btw, rhetorical !

Is your trainer Cesar Millan, btw?

LOL Bella, could be. Bastard.

Am getting a mental image of Cesar in drag, trying to pass himself off as a Home Counties dog trainer.

Pretty disturbing...

Ah ok i thought i was over reacting - i should stop going then?

Had to look up Cesar Milan - is he not good then?

CAn anyone recommend any good training books then - i havent found any other calsses so wondering if i could di it at home

Yes take him out your gut feeling was spot on. Cesar Milan awful awful dog trainer who uses electric shock collars and pronged collars and alpha rolls!!!! Do not get his books.

Gwen Baily books are great

The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson is not exactly a training book byt discussed hw dogs learn in a more acadmenic way I find it fascinating.

Look on the APDT wedbsite and see if there is a trainer near you. You could have a totally different experience with a different style of training. Maybe have a few one to one sessions with an APDT trainer would give you training methods that you could reinforce yourself at home. The correct treatment of your dogs problems now will mean a well trained dogs for years to come. If the problem is left to linger on it can get much harder to reverse.

Good luck!

Was going to say pretty much what Minimu has said!

Bruce Fogle's books are good too, and he does a little Pocket Dog Training book which has a surprising amount crammed into it.

I'd definitely try to get to a class if you can, though - the socialisation with other dogs can be especially beneficial for JRT's.

Best of luck

He shouldnt be getting shouted at for getting stressed, thats going to make him more stressed and more aggressive

Stop taking him, find another class or just teach him at home. You do need to make sure he's socialised but I'm pretty sure you can do this by taking him to a dog park (or whatever the british equivalent is) and letting him meet friendly dogs without getting shouted at.

The training class I take my pup to is ace, the dogs are allowed to behave as they do and other dogs correct the behaviour. The only time we step in is if it become aggressive but while they're playing and being told to back off etc it's left alone.

Hmmm - just re-read that back and I'm sure it doesn't sound good. LOL. But it is.! lol