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 think talking to a Jack Russell specific rescue would be very helpful to you. As said - if done properly rehoming could be the absolute best thing for this boy. In the right home he will be very happy and they will help you find the right home. That would be the best thing for him and would be putting his best interests first - which you clearly want to do.

I don’t know much about dogs. But honestly in your position with a snappy unpredictable dog I would prioritise my toddler. The dog might run away from him at the moment but I expect there will come a day when doggo has a go at him or one of his tiny pals. Someone will be able to manage him better and that person could be you if you didn’t have a toddler but it’s too risky for you.

I knew a dog like this once (also a JRT). The dog in question was also owned by a vet, so not someone who was clueless.

Anyway, this dog was the most aggressive, anxious and unpredictable animal I have ever come across. She was also fairly young, had not been mistreated in any way.

I am certain that her issues all stemmed from fear (of everything) and that was just her temperament. I definitely believe that some dogs, like people, are more predisposed to mental problems.

I am a very experienced dog owner and I've never seen anything as extreme as this dog. Rarely does a dog put me on edge but this one really did because she was just so unpredictable in every way.

I think you would either need to find an exceptional behaviourist who has the experience needed to attempt to work through this, or have the dog euthanised because it is going to be a long and stressful road for you.

I have had thirty years of terrier ownership, and all but one of the JRT’s i have known have had the potential to be like your little dog.
Yes, he is overtired after the long day at the walkers, he is grumpy because he has had enough , wants quiet and needs to switch off. I had the gentlest and loveliest fox terrier, but once i took him out, when he was about eighteen months, for a walk which ended up being much longer than normal, over four hours with a lot of other dogs. He curled up to sleep after it and growled when i tried to move him. The only time he ever growled at me his whole life. He was exhausted, and needed peace and quiet.
Puppies in particular need time to switch off, as they are absorbing everything around them. It is like taking a very sensitive, hyperactive and highly strung small child to an eight hour party and expecting them to be even tempered when they come home.
I do think that this was the wrong breed for you, from the start. Is he a first dog ? I know someone locally who is utterly defeated by her JRT, who has much the same behaviours as yours, and she is baffled by him. Terriers are a very different dog to something like a gun dog for instance, or a sight hound.
I also agree re the neutering. Neutering should only be done once bone growth and maturity have been reached, from 18 months on. Six months is too early and some of the problem terriers i have known have also been neutered as young puppies.
I don’t think you have a dangerous dog, I think you have a highly strung breed, who has spent his whole life in situations which exacerbate that temperement, and who needs a huge shift in handling to help him change.
Dogs like this need
1.Routine and consistency.
2. Exercise that involves play, rather than lead walks.
3. Mental stimulation .
4. A strong bond with someone.
5. Plenty of rest breaks.
6. A good diet.
A JRT is not a million miles away from a border collie in terms of temper, they can be very difficult dogs, which look deceptively small and cute .
I do think you can improve things, it will take time and commitment though. Speak to terrier rescue, www.terrierrescue.co.uk/
They can probably suggest someone to give you some help, who understands terriers specifically, as you need a breed knowlegable person, not just a general behaviourist.
Then, even if you do need to rehome him, he will be in a better position to find an owner who can cope with him, but hopefully he will calm down enough for you to keep him and for his life and yours to be a bit easier.

Thanks Sir. Yes he is a furst dog for us as a family, but DH grew up with JRTs but he lived on a farm. I grew up with labradors which is what we were initially going to get then decide led our house (at that time) was too small so figured a smaller dog would be better.

I think he does have a good routine and is off lead with the walker, but I agree he needs some quiet time after and unless he goes upstairs, he won't get it as my DS is obviously romping around. His favourite activity is probably hanging off a tree branch!

Case in point!

I agree with others who say that he sounds massively over stimulated. I have one lazy dog and one very energetic one but they both like loads of sleep. One long walk or two shorter walks a day is all they need and one is a collie.

I don't think you've done enough to try and solve this to be considering having him PTS at this point. Take him to the vets, some surgeries have behaviourists or can recommend someone. Medication might help, even for a short time whilst other work is done.

He probably needs quite a bit of 1-2-1 work and training him to use a muzzle might be helpful too but I'd take advice first.

You do need to make sure your toddler is safe so if you can't keep them apart them maybe rehoming is the best thing.

In your situation, I'd be inclined to try and rehome him myself, being very clear about his issues.

My concern is that big organisations might not take him/will have him PTS but others might not be honest with potential adopters about his history. My MIL was caught out by a breed rescue rehoming a dog with severe behavioural issues.

Good luck!

Very different life for a farm terrier. My friend’s JR had the potential to be a very neurotic dog, but as she lives on a farm, the dog mooched around the fields all day, chased rabbits, and then snoozed somewhere quiet when she’d worn herself out. Also farm dogs are not normally only dogs, and most JRTs benefit from being with an older, more laid back dog, such as a gun dog.( Another friends very neurotic , snappy rescue JRT was only really calm around her solid, reliable, gentle, older staffie-cross and labrador).
Jack russels are not a great breed for small children though full stop. Older children who will play ball with them etc, are fine but little ones , no. So you do need to think long and hard about how his life will pan out if you have another baby or two. Your house will be full of very small people for a few years yet, and although i think he will be snappy rather than bitey, he will need to be kept crated in another room while you have small visitors. My dd was snapped at by the neurotic JR mentioned above, he was guarding some food at a party and she came up behind him, he clearly thought she was another dog and snapped before he saw her, but he nicked her just next to her eye . My brother’s Patterdale spent a few years occasionally lunging at my dds, and had to be shut away when they visited until they grew older. My friend’s mother has an unpredictably snappy JRT who has to be shut away when she visits with small children. So if you keep him you will need to be extremely careful, as although his behaviour could improve no end, he is highly unlikely to ever turn into a bomb proof dog.

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.

Seriously? So you’d rather consider having him put to sleep or having things escalate to the point where you have to have him pts?! Swallow your pride. Go to the breed rescue I linked to. They have foster families and networks in place that can help find the dog find a loving and happy forever home. He’s not happy, you’re not happy and your child is possibly not safe. Do the right thing and do it soon before you run out of options. You’ve let this go on for 2.5 years longer than it should have. Im sorry if that sounds blunt, but i think you need to face up to tha painful reality here and do the right thing for your family and for this little dog who is obviously deeply unhappy.