aggressive boy - advice please

TheBlackMoth

TheBlackMoth

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As some of you know I have two Jack Russells - a boy and a girl who are brother and sister. They are not quite one yet. The little boy has become very aggressive when faced with other dogs. He is at his worst on the lead - he tenses and growls and barks and crouches and if he gets close enough he tries to snap at them.

This has been going on for a couple of months now. Given this level of aggressiveness I decided to get him chopped. He was done about two weeks ago but if anything he has got worse. Now we were told that it could be at least four months until the testosterone is out of his system.

In the meantime what can I do to try and stop him. It has got to the point where I am worried about him being off his lead if there are going to be other dogs around. He hasn't done anything yet and on the whole he is more of coward when of his lead and rather than approaching other dogs he comes running back to me and hides. But it does worry me - and of course when he is on his lead he is quite frightening for other people who think he is about to attack their dogs.

Any advice greatfully received.
 
It sounds like your boy is attacking before he thinks they will attack him, I have a JRT bitch who can be a little snappy when on lead. You have to be calm yourself and try to associate him with other dogs till he gets confident. maybe take him out with a freind with an older quiet dog who will show him the correct way to behave as well as find a local dog training club where you can take him and get him to mix with other dogs in a controlled enviroment. Good luck I know teriers think they are big dogs with short legs!.
 
Sounds like he is quite protective of you, hence more aggressive when on a lead. Are there any good dog training classes near you??? That way he can met other dogs whilst on a lead and in a controled enviroment. Rattle bottles and other training aids can be good at diverting their attention before they get to the lunging stage (but need to be used with precise timing). Cesar Millan is fantastic - http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/tips/basics_masteringwalk.php
 
My JRT was like this but when i managed to get him under control by treat and squeaky toy method, when we approach a dog i start squeak the toy to distract him from the other dog. once passed praise and treat. He doesn't do it anymore now, always greeting nicely.

Now when we are in park he's not interested in other dogs and plays with his sqeaky ball most of time. He plays off lead safely. He does go up to dogs but if i said leave he'll come back. sometimes i let him play and he loves it.

Dannylandrover is right, JRT's are known to think they are big in little bodies!! Mine thinks so!.
 
My lurcher is like this and castrating him didn't make any difference but the advice I was given by the behaviourist attached to the rescue where I got him was this, and it worked. Get a 'gentle leader', which is like a halti but kinder, when another dog (or men in fluorescent jackets in our case!)approaches turn round and walk the other way. This isn't always practical or possible so I duck into a driveway and stand between him and the other dog. It can make a walk last ages at first but it gets easier and the difference is amazing. It will let him know that you have control, understand his nervousness and are keeping him safe.
 
Does he like balls or sticks??
When P is out on a walk and we have her tennis ball thrower or a stick with us she completely ignores all other dogs. Her entire attention is focussed on the ball/stick. I think JRTs are a bit obsessive/compulsive!
She has growled at another dog only when on my knee or in the car on my knee (so def possessiveness) and has immediately been told off/neck shake/nose smack. Is a lot harder though when they are on the ground or off the lead.

Good luck.

Fiona
 
I would suggest you find a good training class locally and take him there. It sounds to me as if he actually isn't very confident with other dogs, and gets his bravery from you when he is on the lead. H needs to be doing loads of socialisation exercises. Distracting him with a toy or treat is a good idea, but make sure he doesn't gt the reward if he has shown any sign of aggression. He is only young and I am sure you will be able to sort it out, although as has been side JRs do think they are huge dogs in little bodies. And at a slight tangent, please everyone be very careful if you throw sticks for your dogs, I have heard of horrific injuries where dogs have impaled themselves.
 
One of our rescued lurcher bitches (spayed) does this when on the lead. It is because she is scared of the other dog and wants to warn them off before they do something to her. We tried allsorts to stop her but will think something in her past has caused this so now we just don't let other dogs come up to her, even when the owners say 'oh he/she is friendly' we just say ours isn't when on the lead and take her away from them. It doesn't matter if our other lurcher is with her or not she still does it. Off the lead she is fine as she knows she can run away (often a lot faster than the other dog) if she needs to.
 
My boy used to do what your JRT used to do. We had him chopped and like someone has said above he was quite protective of me. I basically re established myself as above him in the pecking order. Small things like you eat before you feed him (Pack leader always eats first) Walking through doors first and I went to do training classes and boot camped him with obedience! He learnt to listen to me instead of watching everyone else. He is now 9 years old, he was used as a demo dog in my dog training (Used to demonstrate recalls, walking to heel on and off the lead and was used to "put down" agressive dogs as we then trusted him to just tell a dog where to go but not hurt them). To me it just sounds like you need to re establish the head of the pack. We can now take him anywhere with any dogs on and off the lead and we know that he will do nothing more than growl to say "oi get away!". Hope this helps!
 
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