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.

LifeunderMarrs we definitely need something like that, thanks.
Suzi888 it does constantly play on my mind that he may have something going on with his brain especially as it all started from that tumble on the ice. We are going to try him at another vets. He is insured but I imagine an mri would cost a fortune even with the insurance. Ds has definitely not touched him in anyway which may have turned him but I wonder if he reminds him of someone from his past/first home. Ds is very tall with a deep voice, maybe it triggers him?
tabulahrasa Sadly it doesn’t.
QueenOfToast I think I’ve been ‘spoilt’ by my previous terrier as he was the most placid and laid back little dog, he was even a Pets as Therapy dog.
crew2022 and IngGenius do you mean to put a short lead on him a all times around the house so I can grab it when necessary?
Dumpruntime he does only appear to do this with slippers although there was an occasion when he did it with ds shoes. I totally agree, I can’t let him down as everyone else has, it’s heartbreaking.
backinthebox I am certainly not putting my dc before the dog and take umbrage at anyone suggesting so. I have sat them down and asked them what they would like dh and I to do, they both agree that we need to help him and if, after we have exhausted all efforts then we will need to make a tough decision then but they insist they we are all on the same page of thinking.
Please can some people stop suggesting I am putting my dog before my dc!
Thank you Quveas I will look into CBD for dogs

Our terrierist still does this a bit at 5. I think it is “play” for them, remembering that their play is practising for the work they were bred for, and it’s not what humans enjoy! He was wild for it as a puppy.

Now that he’s older, he still goes for feet when he’s overexcited, but much less often. So it may not be related to illness or his previous home.

Indoor shoes, keep him separate from kids until he calms down a bit.

Does he enjoy fetch with squeaky toys, or a flirt pole? Games like this can meet the same need, I think.

inamarina it must be his JR characteristics showing. I will read up all I can about JRs.

I think if the children understand it's not an attack, he's not turning on them, he just thinks their feet are too tempting to resist, they may feel less intimidated.

When it happens, don't get all excitable "oh no, stand still, careful, Spot! Stop that! Come here! Bad boy", while your DC panic. Stay calm remind them he isn't attacking them he's just playing with their socks. Maybe make them sit down if he starts on the stairs.
Have a toy and some treats at the top of the stairs as a reminder to them to prepare!

It's something to be bored and irritated by, rather than anxious about!

Slight note of caution- mine continued to be tempted by flappy laces on shoes, and the fluorescent orange trainers of joggers. There was a jogger in our local park who had loose strings at the knee of her trousers and floppy bows on her laces. It was a nightmare. You need to get good at spotting the triggers and engineer them out.

We have a border collie, so a herding dog who does this. I used to spray my ankles with deodorant and this stopped him. Good luck, it seems you’ve a way to go with him, but thank you for taking him on, you seem to know what you are doing, but the poor thing was obviously never shown how to play and what’s acceptable. As someone said you could try tether training him. I wouldn’t spend any more money on behaviourists. I also had to put my boy in crate while hoovering, he’s ok now, but we still cannot use a dustpan and brush or broom and he’s nearly 5 years old.

Very true @picklemewalnuts - joggers are big trouble! Once or twice I took him to a jogging path and gave him a treat for looking at me every time a runner went by. I think someone on here suggested it. That helped a bit, but mostly we avoid them where possible. Our main problem now is the doorbell.

If this is a sudden change following his fall, I would be concerned about a head injury and neurological damage. Brain injuries can cause behavioural changes in humans, so I guess it's the same for dogs? I'm not a vet so certainly no expert, but if behavioural advice isn't working maybe there's something else going on?

My dog who is 3/4 daschund and a 1/4 Jack Russell had a horrendous phase of this. And he came straight from a lovely breeder to us. He's also obsessed with socks.

It was nipped very quickly in the bud with me as he knows I'm in charge and just told him no then ignored him. It really upset my wife (who he is also not certain is in charge) and it became a massive thing. He thought they were playing however she was highly distressed, jumping around and squealing.

We had to resort to either hard shoes or welly boots in the end, not reacting and a new distraction routine and I'd actually forgotten about it till I read it but at the time it was awful.

The other thing our puppy class teacher said was to put him straight in the crate with treats and a toy to calm down which he hated but ultimately helped. I know there are reasons you don't want to shut his crate door but surely it's better than rehoming him?

This isn't that unusual a behaviour so I am surprised the behaviourist can't help. I would see if there is anyone else locally. Or can the rescue not support via video call?

I had a Jack Russel cross for 15 years, they are so clever as a breed and can be fun to teach tricks. High smell treats to distract.

Can you keep a harness on so he can be picked up and removed from the situation, you have to use sharp one command words. Standing still helps although very difficult if scared! Agree with shoes.

He is also at the ‘teenage’ phase and pushing boundaries, it is a thing. They are also territory dogs and will protect their gang but tend to have respect for one person over others.

You asked about the house leash- there's two ways.
You tether them to your waist so they don't run off and get into mischief. Maybe in the morning while DCs are getting ready for school? He learns to stay near you and stay calm.
Or keep a longish soft lead on him so you can grab him and keep him away from the DCs when you hear them coming.

Either way, lots of positive reward for staying near you and ignoring the tempting flappy, fluffy feet.

Can you divert him onto an appropriate plaything?

Put an empty Kong on some rope, a long tuggee etc to really get his terrier chase n kill instincts going?

Our cocker mouths still when asking for play, which is irritating . He barks, play bows and grabs at hands/clothes but we know he's just asking for play. Just asking with poor manners. It could look aggressive but the play bow and wagging tell us he just wants some rough play.

We are working on when we say 'get your toy' to fetch something appropriate to play with. He now fetches his rope or tug and then we have a good play session.

Terriers want to chase and kill vermin so anything which stimulates this will float your dogs boat. Try the Kong on a rope.

We have tried diverting/distracting him when it happens but he seems to go into some sort of frenzy when this happens and it doesn’t appear to be until we have managed to get dd or ds away from the situation that he then seems to come out of it.
It just concerns me that it appears to come from nowhere and the very sight of the socks or feet or whatever it’s is which has triggered him automatically sets him off. It is literally as though a red mist comes over him.
I have contacted the behaviourist and they are so helpful and have added some more educational videos for me to watch on our account with them. I will have to get them back in if need be but at £150 a time it’s not something I can afford to keep doing right now.
Maybe it’s the Jack Russell in him as there seems to be a few on here who do a similar thing but I really do worry that it is aggressiveness but maybe it just feels that way in the heat of the moment.

They're highly focused little things. When they are in prey drive mode, they aren't easily distracted. It's like a collie with a ball- obsessive behaviour.

Try a few planned runs at the situation for training purposes, rather than responding in the heat of the unexpected moment.

So have a training session. Have the dog on the lead downstairs, the dc comes partway down while you distract the dog, then goes upstairs again. The idea is to do it repeatedly, with the dog being called to you and rewarded, and not getting as far as attacking the feet. The DC gets further and further down the stairs until eventually the dog stays with you being treated while DC comes all the way in.

The more often you succeed in training, the more 'wins' you have, the more likely the behaviour is to stick.

It's important to remember that both Jack Russells and Yorkshire Terriers are working dogs - so a combination of both is pound to have a high prey drive - hence the behaviour you're seeing.

A lot of working dogs can become very obsessive about their behaviour - collies and herding, Labradors and retrieving, beagles and scenting - it's just their nature and when they come from working parents it's often even worse.

How are you trying to distract him at the moment and does anyone play any games with him to channel his prey instincts?

That is absolutely heartbreaking! I follow loads of rescues on facebook and there was a poor lab recently who had a similar experience locked in a crate for its first year. People are insane.
You are clearly doing your absolute best and sound very experienced. My only suggestion - apologies if it has already been said - is crocs or those little wellibobs for the whole family.
Whatever you decide to do, your DC should come first, and if after every effort and giving it time, the dog is just not working out, don't beat yourself up.

Possibly a trigger OP, poor dog. You sound like you’re doing everything you can and I hope he stops the biting.
I saw someone mention ‘Animal Trust’ on social media. If you are close by, they offer treatments at way more affordable prices than a vet practice. Worth looking into for anyone struggling with vet bills/surgery.