Aggressive JR - need help

[peasontoast]

Posted this in AIBU but been directed here (new to this, bumble bumble) I got our JR terrier at 9 weeks and he's now 14 months. I bought him as company for DD but all the family have fallen in love with his friendliness and playfulness. At 7 months he started to chase livestock and it has been a nightmare keeping under control and away from flashpoints but he was still perfectly friendly with people and other dogs. Apart from the chasing he is generally well-behaved with good recall and will sit and stay etc Over the last few weeks he seems to be showing worrying signs of aggresion to people - growling at strangers in the street, snarling and snapping at the vet and today trying to bite a little girl who was gently stroking him. I am worried about this trend - does anyone know if this is a common trait in JR's?

I'd probably think about getting a behaviourist. I know JRTs can have a bit of a reputation but this doesn't sound usual. I find this site useful www.jack-russell-terrier.co.uk/index.htm.

I answered on your other thread, but to add, it can be common in JRTs (my friend had 2 which were not good with children at all- very snappy), but that doesn't mean it can't be managed. Lots of JRTs can make good pets with children, provided you iron out any behavioural problems, so definitely worth seeing a vet/ behaviouralist.

But is it usual for them to start friendly and then change? That is what's troubling me most, the unpredictable element and the fact that he has quite a 'fan club' of kids round here - how can I face telling them to steer clear of him and what will it do to the dog?

The "fan club" may actually be part of the problem! Children can be a bit of a worry to dogs- to dogs, children are unpredictable. Adult human body language is fairly easy for dogs to read and understand, but kids have a very different body language- they jerk, run about, move suddenly, shout suddenly..all in all a bit overwhelming eve for the best natured dog in the world. So put a whole crowd of them together and you can actually have a pretty stressful situation for the dog, even though it may not be apparent to you that the dog is stressed.

My dogs are very soft and child-friendly, but I still take their feelings into consideration if a whole crowd of children (or even just one or two) try to pet them. I usually advise the children to stand quietly and see if the dogs want to come to them, rather than encouraging them to pat the dog. i know it's nice to think of your dog as "popular" and great with kids, with you need to take his feelings into account too- ad it seems to me he is telling you he's not that keen!

You're right Jooly (shall we agree to stay on Pets?!) except that he's had crowds of girls round him since he was tiny and never batted a whisker even when they're all shrieking 'he's soooo cute!!' but today with the little girl she wasn't making any noise and it was before the others came out so the atmosphere was quite calm. Really appreciating your advice btw, I have been feeling miserable about this since it happened, dread to think what effect on DD if I had to rehome him

Sorry to abandon you there, peasontoast- had to do the bedtime stories!

Yes, prob better to stay here rather than AIBU, you'll get more constructive replies, IME!

I appreciate that he has had lots of kids around him, but it may be that he has been getting fed up with it and has just snapped (literally!) The problem is that children want to touch, and dogs don't always want to touched if they feel in any way threatening. Even though this little girl wasn't being noisy or threatening, it may be that previous experience of children has left him a bit nervous of what they might do rather than what they actually do, IYSWIM

IME, a lot of small dogs can have a bit of a small-dog complex. They do quite often strive to be further up the pack than they actually are, or should be. I know the pack and dominance theories have gone out of fashion at the moment, but I still think a lot of the theory has merit. What you were saying about him being demoted from the sofa could play a role, but I think it's probably best if he is kept off the furniture while you work with him. I do think there are lots of things still to try before you realistically need to think about rehoming. He is still young, and this is an early warning, so it's feasible to think that his behaviour can be managed. I'm happy to advise as best I can, but bear in mind that without actually seeing the dog it's not always easy to know what the real problem is.

As a behaviourist myself definately get your vet to refer you to one asap. I would make a vet appointment and rule out any physical reason for the reaction. He is still young but is reaching maturity and this is a time that behaviour can change.

The chasing would worry me and does need some training to stop this or at least give your strategies to deal with it. Obviously the growling and nipping needs to be dealt with. It will not go away on its own and if not handled correctly will only get worse. You do need expert advice and the sooner the better.

I would think you are a long way off rehoming yet but you will need to seek the advice of a qualified behaviourist.

yes, just had some barbed comments from DD about me sitting on the computer all evening and ignoring her so I'd better shove off in a mo'...
not sure I buy the 'pack' stuff actually but there is definitely some fear element to it indicated by the sudden turn and snap and I've remembered how ages ago he snapped at a man who was fussing over him and he said 'he's protecting you' so perhaps there's that to it as well? Also, although he has never minded a lot of commotion he has not really been the type to sit around and be cuddled except for a select few people (usually the ones with treats!) or if he's tired. I will try to think harder about this and see if I can dredge up any more clues.

minimu, are you a dog behaviourist? How do you personaly deal with aggression against people?