Dog aggression becoming worse

[Ginger1982]

We have a 3 year old JRT who I've posted about before. Up until he was about 6 months old he was a lovely pup who was happy to see everyone. Then something suddenly changed and his behaviour deteriorated. We reached a point where people he previously had no difficulty with couldn't come into the house without us shutting him away to avoid the barking, growling and snapping. He will only tolerate certain close family.

We hired a behaviourist who gave us techniques to try but these involved having different people being willing to come to our house to be barked and growled at in an attempt at counter conditioning. Needless to say, few wanted to do this and it tapered off, so we now live with a scenario or either meticulously planning visitors so that the dog can go and stay with relatives or shutting him in another room and leaving him to bark.

He will bark at the slightest noise outside. He will run the fence in our garden if he sees any other people or dogs. He goes crazy at the doorbell. He is aggressive on lead when walking to other people and animals. He can be aggressive when disturbed on the couch or if we are above him, try to groom him, pat him etc and this manifests itself by him flying at us, teeth bared. This has increased recently however to him literally flying at us when we barely move on the couch. He is obviously now banned from the couch.

If someone sneezes or drops cutlery or makes a sudden noise, he runs away.

He is out with a dog walker 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with doggy pals and he loves it, so it cant be a lack of exercise (though they have been on holiday)

We now have an almost 2 year old toddler and I'm finding myself very stressed at the prospect of something happening.

I want to have him fully health checked by a vet in the new year (which will be difficult unless they knock him out as he doesn't tolerate the vet) but I honestly don't know what to do if they say there is nothing physically wrong. There's no way he could be rehomed and I couldn't put him in a shelter. The only other thing I can do is have him euthanised and that breaks my heart.

Can dogs have mental problems??

I couldn’t live like this either. My mum has a dog like this and it’s only got worse as it’s got older. I would have to either try to rehome to an older couple with a much quieter household and no grandchildren or pts. It’s not the right dog at all for a family with a 2 year old, or children at all.

It’s not the right dog for anyone!

I have sent you a message. What I wrote is quite identifying so didn't want to post it here.

Thanks everyone, a lot to think about.

When we initially got him, my husband took him to work with him until he was about 7 months old (he works agriculturally) which was one of the points of getting him. We would never have got a dog if he was meant to be at home all day alone. But his behaviour, as described, at DH's work meant his boss saying that he couldn't bring him any more so we had to find another solution. I wish we'd gone straight to day care. I accept my mistake in him being alone in the house after that.

I think I'm going to cut his daycare and see if that makes any difference before doing anything drastic. I'm a SAHM so he won't be left alone anytime soon, only if I take DS out during the day (and he's not at daycare)

Adaline yes of course I play with him during the hours he's at home and of course at weekends. We both do. We don't get many visitors and usually it's the people he likes! He's not routinely shut away.

Poor dog sounds utterly miserable.
An adult home in the country with someone who can be at home with him most of the time and keep him well exercised, mentally stimulated and also well rested would be the ideal.
So many JRTs in our village, including one myself. She thrives on mental stimulation - so hiding food for her to find in the garden, snuffle mats, hiding treats and toys in sand to dig for, agility and trick training. She has a good run in the fields daily and limited time walking in busy places on a lead as she finds that over arrousing. They are clever, active but often sensitive dogs who need thoughtful management.

Keeping a dog in a crate for 8 hours a day is awful. You should never have got a puppy while working full time. Hindsight is 20/20 of course but also neutering before adulthood can harm a young male dog behaviourally as they actually use the testosterone for confidence and the procedure seems to be st the time his behaviour changed.
I feel so sad for your dog.
I feel dogs trust or jack Russell rescue is your best bet. Your dog doesn’t seem dangerously aggressive (good bite inhabition - he doesn’t bite and cause harm is a good sign) and in the right hands he could be rehabbed and live a happy life.
Do not sell him privately/ on gum tree or the like - PTS is a better final resort than that fate.

Maybe I have misunderstood but daycare is the only place he seems secure, so why cut back on that? If the dog was unsettled at your DH's work and at home and the only place he is settled is daycare, cutting back on this could be a mistake and may increase his stress levels.

I'd be really weary of trying random stuff with this dog. He doesn't sound like an overstimulated dog that could easily chill out. From what you say he is resource guarding the sofa, has lead aggression, reactive to loud noises and to invasions of his space. He has very complex needs. Please get more professional help or rehome or PTS.

Ticcinalong honestly please check before you give advice. IF a dog is already aggressive with some types of fear aggression, mainly dog to dog aggression, THEN neutering may be a bad idea. In almost all other cases neutering before adulthoood avoids behavioural problems that are linked to aggression. And the dog sounds quite dangerous with multiple triggers.

We were advised by the vet to neuter.

I thought people were suggesting he was too overstimulated at daycare, hence me saying I could cut it back?

@booboostwo I disagree, you are incorrect. That is not what the research says at all. Also, most aggression is rooted in fear, including reactivity.
Neutering harms behaviour in the majority of cases, thinking it helps it is very outdated.

@booboosttwo I suggest you check out some current peer reviewed studies before suggesting I am incorrect. Neutering a young dog increases incidences of aggressive behaviour.

journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0196284

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5834763/

Sorry for derailing OP. A lot of vets still rush puppies in at 6 months for neutering without a thought to growth plate closure or behavioural development. The only benefits for early male neuter are less urine marking and population reduction where the risk of the dog mating can not be controlled. It causes harm in all other areas. I hope more vets are now becoming aware of the latest studies.

Ticcinalong if you mean this widely discussed and even more widely misrepresented study, I suggest you read it again more carefully.
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0196284

In technical terms no not all behaviour is rooted in fear, look at the tables of the study above that categorize different types of behaviour. Early neutering only affects some types of dog to dog fear related aggression, which tend to manifest early anyway and would have been excluded from the study.

Ginger1982 yes I understand people are advising you cut back on daycare but this is the internet and you have no idea of the qualifications of anyone giving advice. Your dog has multiple triggers and is very reactive. This makes him a very dangerous dog. The only sensible options are to get more professional help, rehome to someone more experienced or PTS. While you wait for more help/rehoming don't make changes that may make things even worse. If daycare is where he behaves the best it is risky to change this aspect of his life.

I should also mention that usually when he comes home from daycare he'll take himself off up to our room for a long snooze. I find his behaviour manifests itself more at night, as if he gets grumpier as the night goes on.

That would seem to back up the idea that he is therefore over tired/over stimulated...

May I ask why you are refusing to consider rehoming? I really do think because of the small child, less time at day care or not, this is a very dangerous situation. But rehoming should always be the option before pts.

I beg you to urgently consider talking to the breed rescue.
www.jackrussellterrierrescueuk.org
They are used to jacks coming in who need some work and some time to find the right home for them. I beg you to work with them to find him a forever home and not putting him down.

It's good that he takes himself away from what winds him up, make sure he always has a clear path to retreat.

He could be going upstairs because of the daycare or he could be going upstairs because he is now home and cannot cope with the home environment. You really need a professional to assess this complex little dog - I knew you've had someone out already but you need someone better or a reassessment in light of the new problems.

Because I hate the idea of him thinking we've abandoned him. The thought of him sitting in some shelter like you see in adverts just kills me. We promised him a forever home and I suppose I feel we can't just palm him off when things get difficult. Maybe that's just silly, selfish human emotion but I can't help it.

I know Boob but then we return to the problem of him not letting strangers over the door. The last behaviourist tried to work with us on that issue. Unless we solve that, I don't see how we can move on to the next issue, if you see what I mean.

He doesn't need to go to a shelter. Talk to breed specific rehoming charities and he could go to a foster family or directly to his new home from yours.

I am sorry to say he has multiple issues. He seems to be resource guarding the sofa, to be touch sensitive even with people he knows, lead aggressive and reactive to noises as well as reactive to visitors. These will all need different training approaches but you also need to discount a physical issue. A dog which is in constant pain can develop multiple behavioural problems. Also worth trying fluexetine as it might calm everything down enough for the behavioural modification to help.

You may also find that if you reduce his stress levels by dealing with the noise fear, the resource guarding, etc. he becomes more manageable with strangers visiting. BUT he sounds like a very complex dog and he needs to be assessed in person by an experienced professional. What did the behaviourist say about all his other issues?

But why would a new couple be any more likely to appreciate being attacked?

No one will want that, will they? I love dogs, I really do, but I couldn’t live like this.

We never really got beyond his tolerance of strangers!

I'm going to speak to the vet after the holidays and see about a full health check and perhaps medication.

He's current lying on my knee on our bed enjoying a nice scratch with his eyes drooping. I do love this boy so much, I would hate anyone to think I don't.

We're off for a nice New Year's Day walk in the sun, then a rest, then to my family for dinner (whom he loves).

winterin the dog seems to be happy and settled in daycare. It is worth trying to identify why things go well in that environment and seeing if there is a new home which can replicate it.

Hope you have a relaxing day and the new year brings some new ideas and help for your doggie.

Thanks everyone. I also realise that I've probably neglected mentally stimulating him a bit since DS came along so will be playing some treat games with him later. I'm not giving up on him yet by a long shot.