At a complete loss with our rescue, he’s attacking feet aggressively, what on earth do we do?

[HowdoIgetbacktothe80s]

Sorry this may be a bit of a ramble.
I am a life long dog owner but am honestly at a loss right now, I feel so sad and worried as I just don’t know what to do.
6 months ago we rescued a dog. He is a Jack Russell/Yorkshire terrier cross, fairly small (ish), 11kg.
The poor mite hasn’t had the best start in life. He was born in November 2020 and purchased at 7 weeks old (this not only makes him a lockdown dog but probably a Christmas dog too!). The owners (sick bastards from hell!), crated him from just 7 weeks old, for at least 12 hours each daytime (that’s not including night time), every single day. They lived in a flat with no garden and never walked him. He was totally unaware there was an outside world beyond the flat. I also believe he was probably mistreated in other ways.
He suffers from a lot of anxiety due to his past life with these arseholes.
At approx a year old he ended up at a rescue centre (not sure if he was surrendered?) They worked with him and got him to a better place, at first they couldn’t even put a harness or lead on him, that can still be an issue at times, he is scared of many, many things.
A couple adopted him in April 22 but returned him 3 months later because he was too high energy and the anxiety was too much for them (they were an older couple apparently).
He stayed at the rescue for a further 3 months and then we adopted him.
The rescue reassured us that although he had anxiety issues, he had never shown any aggression during his time with them.
So the first 3 months were ok. Of course he was very anxious and nervous but settled in ok, he seemed fine with us all, snoozing on the sofa with 14 year old dd and even sitting on 17 year old ds bed with him at times. Most of the time he is a happy dog and loves a cuddle and dh especially.
He did toilet in the house a lot and is really quite vocal at times. He hates getting into cars and we were working on that and the various other things which scare him. He does get quite frustrated at times and will take it out on cushions and throws etc but we were heading in the right direction giving him times, space and keeping his world small. I spent a small fortune on activity toys, walk him every day and try to keep him occupied and allow him space/ time out etc. He has an open crate (don’t close it because of his history with a crate) in a quiet corner of the kitchen. We’ve done all the things we should and things I’ve learnt to do as a life long dog owner.

But something happened in December and things have not been right since.

Mid December I took him for a walk, he ran and slipped on ice, kind of skidding on his head/side of his face. I checked him over and he seemed fine. 2 hours later, he snapped at my dd, he had never done this to any of us before. An hour later he snapped at my finger and caught it making it bleed.
We took him to the vet and they said it looked like he had a double ear infection. They put a month long lasting ear drop to tackle it. The ear infection cleared in that month. I did mention the incident where he fell into his face/side of head but they didn’t seem interested, I mentioned this several times but they were never interested in that.

But since that time he started to attack my sons feet. Every time ds came downstairs (we have a stair gate preventing the dog from going upstairs as he was constantly peeing on the landing) he would make a beeline for his feet and go crazy.
It is like a frenzied attack, as though something comes over him and he is dead set on attacking his feet. He doesn’t appear to be interested in any other part of him. The problem is this happened a few times over the Christmas period and since then my son won’t go near the dog and the dog is now wary of ds because he hardly comes down anymore and when he does he insists that the dog is shut in another room. Obviously, this is putting quite a bit of distance between ds and the dog and making the dog anxious around ds.

The problem is that in the last few days has started to do the same with dd, twice in this week he has done this same ‘attack’ but on dd’s feet, again in a frenzied kind of way. He doesn’t appear to be interested in any other part of the body, just feet and trying to tear at and pull at their socks. The first time dh pulled him off and his teeth caught dd foot bruising it. He has just done it again this evening (when he’d been fine with dd since she got home at 3.30pm). Luckily, we were there again and pulled him away. He seems to then come to and goes and sits in his crate like he knows he’s done wrong. It really is like something has come over him.
We had a behaviourist come to us in January, she gave us tips and exercises to do for other things we are working on but wasn’t really able to offer much help with this frenzied sock/feet attacking.
I just don’t know what to do. The rescue is of no help at all. I have contacted them several times since we have adopted him but each time they just put me onto their behaviourist. She is lovely but is 400 miles away from us so any contact is over the phone. She mainly suggests herbal anti anxiety meds but I’ve tried so many and they all make him vomit and give him diarrhoea. Plug ins and calming collars do very little either. The vet is hesitant to prescribe anything and has basically suggested we get rid of him. I am planning on taking him to another vet soon although vets are a huge trigger, so too is travelling in a car so it’s no mean feat getting him there and then he’ll scream like a banshee when we get there.
I am feeling so low about this. I knew that getting a rescue would be hard work but it’s turned into a nightmare with our 2 dc now not warming to the dog at all and scared they’ll be attacked and I am now on constant edge worrying that the feet attacking may progress into something more.
We have spent almost £1000 on him in these last 6 months, I can’t afford much more as money is now a bit tight.
He really is a lovely dog who has been greatly let down by horrible humans and didn’t deserve to be abused as a little puppy, I don’t want to let him down as well.
Although he obviously has this past and has many issues he is fine with dh and I and we do love him but obviously our dc have to come first although they say they don’t want him to go. Returning him to the rescue would be heartbreaking as it is a 6 hour round trip and was a very noisy/loud place and the thought of him going back there makes me weep. He would very much regress if he went back and who would want to rehome a dog who has been retuned twice?
I am feeling heartbroken as we lost our beloved little 10 year dog last summer. We just wanted to give a dog a loving forever home and although I have had dogs all my life I am having constant worries that we have taken on so much more than we can deal with, that he the dc will never be ok with him.
I just don’t know how to deal with this as it comes out of nowhere and we just can not see what triggers it. Obviously if we knew the trigger, like a reactive dog on his walk for instance, we could work on that. How can we stop this attacking behaviour if we don’t know what triggers it as it’s not all the time.
He is currently snoozing in front of the log burner like nothing has happened.
Any suggestions? Anyone experienced anything like this? We are at such a loss.

You need in person behavioural support. Aggression isn’t something that can be advised on online. Do the rescue have this support?

Biting feet is very very very common with many breeds and lots of yorkies do it. They put their heads down bum up and make scary growly noises as they pounce and jump/bite onto the feet and trousers.

It is usually over excitement and often even a play invitation. Although not not an invitation that people like to get!

I would go back to the vet just to check the ear is all cleared up and there are no health issues that are adding to your dogs stress levels.

It does not surprise me that this behaviour is happening now when your dog is actually settling in and probably feeling happier in its surroundings. In a way your dog is still acting like a puppy due to not being able to grow up in the normal way a puppy would.

I would have your dog on a lead when your dc come downstairs if this is a trigger for your dog to start the behaviour. Reward your dog for calm behaviour and ignoring your DC. I expect your dog is more likely to go into bitey mode when your DC move around so again at these times have your dog near your on lead and reward for ignoring the DC.

A general positive trainer in a 121 session should be able to help you get past this stage.

Newpeep the rescue is a 6 hour round trip from us. The behaviourist lives 5 hours away from us. We are using a local behaviourist but can’t afford any more sessions atm.

Thanks IngGenius, I have contacted our behaviourist again. I am just concerned that the going for the feet thing appears very aggressive and out of nowhere and worry it will escalate to something a lot more serious. I will try the lead suggestion.

It can look and sound aggressive and be pretty worrying if it is the first time you have seen it.

Your dog will be overaroused and removing from the situation is the best thing or preventing it from happening. The less chance the dog has to do it the quicker it will stop.

Look at chew toys and increasing quiet time so your dog can decompress and not get quite so hyper and it will happen less.

How do the dc react when he starts on their feet? My dog does this occasionally, though only when I'm wear slippers I think. It's never bothered me apart from irritation because I know he's not being mean, just excitable.
I stand still and ignore him. He discovers my feet are actually quite tedious. I start to move, he tries again. After a few attempts he realises it's not working and gives up. If someone was on hand to call him excitedly away to treat and play, he may stop.

It's hand in hand with one of his other old games, nipping kids on the bum. It's like herding. He's trying to be bossy.

Can the DC have indoor shoes to protect their feet in the meantime?

My dog is a similar mix although we aren't too sure what she is as she's a rescue too. She does feet menacing now and we've had her five years. Not all the time! But like Ing says when she is excited or she wants to play. She very annoyingly sleeps right under where you sit on a sofa and then menaces your feet if you dare to move a muscle.

I can't give you any advice as I'm no dog expert but I wanted you to know that it doesn't necessarily mean your dog is a lunatic.

Oh, she also does it with the hoover.

It does seems more than excitement, it seems aggressive but also like something has come over him but maybe because it all happens in seconds it’s appears more aggressive than it is, he could just sink his teeth in but he doesn’t, he seems to be tearing at their socks. I have started to wonder though if he was kicked when he was a puppy and seeing socked feet walking across the room triggers him? . The first few times he done this ds was wearing white socks so we thought it was a white sock thing but it seems to be all kinds of colours now but it’s definitely a feet thing, he has no interest in the legs, he doesn’t jump up and attack it’s purely feet level.
picklemewalnuts the dc get quite upset when it happens and start shouting for him to get off which obviously exacerbates the issue. I’ve tried telling them to stand their ground but it scares them as he is making aggressive sounds and seems all teeth, they are scared to get bitten.

QuillBill he doesn’t it with the hoover too. I have to shut him outside to vacuum if not he goes crazy, trying to attack it.

I'm with pps, it's a thing for some dogs, if you make it uninteresting it will stop sooner. I found distracting with a toy a better move, like here play with this tug toy, not my feet. But that relies on remembering to carry a toy everywhere.
Maybe solid shoes for now until you fix this? If they have solid shoes on there is no way they can be bitten and they can stand still, make it boring.

I had to wear wellies around my dog for the first year 🙄 sock obsessed. No advice, just sympathy

It is highly highly unlikely to be aggression.

Are they any local trainers that could help you and reassure you- this behaviour does not need a behaviourist (or their prices).

Have you got a tuggy toy? If you play with this you will get the same behaviour the bouncing the biting the high energy - it is just play but inappropriate play

I have a 7 month old jrt, he does this. He did it from when we brought him home and did stop for a while. I would suggest getting the dc to wear shoes. When he goes for feet, keep their feet on the floor and don’t make a fuss. A firm “no” and grab him by the scruff of the neck. Dont lift your feet up as it makes it a game. And yes to keeping him on a long lead at home. You can get a cheap one and cut the handle so it doesn’t catch on things. Then you can get him under control quickly.

I agree with the others that this is his attempt to play - albeit it's not great for you to be on the receiving end of it.

I know it sounds and looks aggressive but terriers are bred to pounce and attack small moving things - hence why he's going for your feet and not your legs.

I have the same terrier cross, we sometimes call him the ankle biter and he does sometimes play with dds feet, it's very much play though and he never hurts her.

I wonder if this started when he was feeling ill/ in pain and now is a habit. You need to get the teens on board with training, they need to come down calmly and stand stock still if he starts on their feet. When he is calm they reward him.

Is he food motivated? These are normally clever little dogs so they could do some basic training/tricks with him to build on trust.

I really feel for you OP, you are really being tested.
try having the children smear some Vicks vapo run on the feet, the smell should deter the physical attacks and allow the children to reconnect with the dog under less intense condition.

dogs gain an affinity for feet due to heightened smell of their owner embedded in the feet sweat glands.

there is obviously some trigger for your puppy with feet, or maybe he has been kicked or pushed away with feet unexpectedly?

Put to sleep. This is not a safe animal. It's not supposed to be like this.

Our pug does the feet thing (to anyone) and I find it infuriating, but she only does it to socks or soft slippers. If the person has shoes on or bare feet it’s not an issue. It irritates me that I can’t wear socks when she’s around but it’s just the best way to manage it. Does your DDog only go for socked feet?

Thank you everyone, that has out my mind at ease a bit.
UnfinishedUserna I did say to dh that we may need to wear wellies or waders!
Shamoo it does seem to be socks only

WatermelonFlamingo really!!?? Of course it’s not meant to be this way but locking him up in a crate for a year wasn’t meant to be that way either. The poor mite has been let down by people so we should just end his life because of that?

Find a vet who is prepared to prescribe you some anxiety meds, just to get you over this blip.
Sounds like you are doing a great job

karmalama thank you. I think that is something we really need to do.

Ddog is a terrier without the troubled background. Anyone with brown shoes on has to take them off before they come in the house. He has an issue with brown shoes. Even had an issue with the firemen who had to come in through our house to put out a fire next door.

He also attacks the hoover.

I wouldn't put it down to aggression automatically.

cocksstrideintheevening that's good to know, thank you