To keep or not to keep rescue dog?

[Apulina]

Hello, desperately needing advice. We have a 6yo JRT on trial from his owner before we decide whether to take him on.

Unfortunately he has gone for several dogs - including our landlord's! We understand he is under stress, guarding his territory (2 of the dogs wandered into our garden separately) or food bowl, plus he has ripped his dewclaw and in some pain - so lots of stressors. I think he is probably defence attacking. He went for 3/4 dogs without any warning growls and chose to approach them. One was on the lead in the street and both wanted to say hello, but ours literally snapped straight at the other's face as a first greeting! One of the dogs (a very placid chap) he grabbed straight by the neck - no warning growls or snapping - and it was very upsetting.

We have been told that he is usually good with other dogs and does not rise to provocation (apparently his owner's baby poked him in the eye and he didn't react. We are planning a baby of our own and whilst we know no dog is risk free, don't want one that is high risk. Should we give him time to heal and see if he improves once he settles / heals, or are we living in false hope? Our plot is part of our landlord's estate, so difficult to prevent visiting pooches.

He is otherwise a very friendly and amenable chap, though he did get a bit growly when we told him to get off the bed. He has growled at me when I wanted to see what was hurting him, but apologised straight away.

Any advice gratefully received. We are feeling very upset at the moment. I have had dogs before and never seen such a high reactivity.

I think you've seen enough. He may not be like this "usually" but from what you have seen of him, he is like this with you. I wouldn't, OP.

I almost took on a JRT cross who I had an extremely soft spot for - who had similar issues, but not as bad. In the end, the right thing for the dog was not my home.

You know he's reactive to other dogs and guarding resources (you've seen it, despite what the current owner says) and you cannot prevent other dogs coming onto your property. It's not the right fit for him.

He may be fine with humans, but he's only going to get older and a bit grumpier, in my opinion. By the time you have a baby he could be 8+ and the adjustment would be hard on him again. And he appears to get easily stressed.

Suggest the owner contacts a reputable local rescue, if they cannot keep him. Although divorce does not automatically mean the dog needs to be rehomed, tbh.

Having a dog with relatively minor issues (as I do) is, on occasion, stressful enough. Having a dog like yours would be far more stressful. I don't believe for a second that this is the first time the dog has behaved like this - it's not the sort of behaviour that suddenly emerges in an otherwise lovely dog just because of a change of scenery and owners - think about what (doesn't) happen when people board their dogs.

I'd also be concerned about your tenancy if you keep this dog. If I was a landlord and a tenant bought a dog that attacked mine and there was no realistic plan to 100% prevent a repeat, I would be evicting the tenants to protect my own dog.

Sadly I don't think you can offer this dog what he needs. Best to return him now before he gets settled and you get attached. There will be other dogs out there that will work better for you and your family.