Help with nervous aggressive JRT boy

TheBlackMoth

TheBlackMoth

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Hello

Most of you know that I have two JRTs - brother and sister. Bunny is fine, trainable and well behaved. Mumble - although treated exactly the same is very nervous and can be quite aggressive.

Up to now, this has consisted of a lot of yapping and barking and attempting to chase runners. He hates young children - he's scared of them. What we do is distract him with treats when there are runners and put him back on the lead when there are young children around.

I don't have any enclosed grass space at home - so when I take them out for toiling I put them on an extender lead and go out to the front garden with them. If there is ever anyone walking past Mumble runs at them -but generally I have the lead short so I can keep him close to me.

This week I opened the door to take them out - and he pulled hard and I dropped both leads. Now the leads of course bounce back and hit them. Bunny just crouched down waiting for me to save her but Mumble ran at someone walking past - as he ran the handle of the lead kept hitting him and scaring him and he was all worked up and he 'bit' the back of the man's trousers. Now the man was lovely and didn't complain at all - but I was really shaken as he has never actually gone for anyone - no matter how much he growls and barks and yaps. Generally if he ever has chased anyone - they only have to turn and look at him and he comes running back to me.

He is scared of his own shadow - shakes if he hears a doorbell or a whistle on tv.

Any ideas of what I can do to stop his aggression and calm his nerves? (Oh the vet once put him on valerian to try and help him - only it turned out he was allergic and he came up in massive hives - leading to a £175 emergency vets appointment.)

ETS he is 4 and a half


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Bin the flexis, just get a normal long leather or webbing line. You dropped the leads because you were holding two big lumps of plastic - no control. Done it myself!

There are other calmers on the market, I think Lexi posted about some the other day.

Try a DAP diffuser in the house.

Don't fuss or mollycoddle or rush to reassure him when he is nervous, you'll just reinforce that he was right to be scared. Be brisk, upbeat and positive.

Has he a covered crate or den or cupboard under the stairs, somewhere to go when things get too much?

Do you live in quite a high energy household?
 
CaveCanem said:
Bin the flexis, just get a normal long leather or webbing line. You dropped the leads because you were holding two big lumps of plastic - no control. Done it myself!

There are other calmers on the market, I think Lexi posted about some the other day. I'll look out for that

Try a DAP diffuser in the house.Tried this

Don't fuss or mollycoddle or rush to reassure him when he is nervous, you'll just reinforce that he was right to be scared. Be brisk, upbeat and positive.That's how we are. We ignore him when he shakes - apart from to distract him with a toy

Has he a covered crate or den or cupboard under the stairs, somewhere to go when things get too much?he has a covered crate to go to

Do you live in quite a high energy household? Devil no - It's mostly just me - and my girls are asleep or reading when they are home
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions
 
OMG i get a chance to suggest my best friend "the look at that game"

Seriously get the book control unleashed and start the "look at that" game.

Life saver.
 
http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/MC-Serene...info/SERENEUL/ can get in P@H

http://www.nupafeed.co.uk/dogs.htm?ac=DU5NQ-A

Dex currently has these- seem to work (a bit) combined with training, see object that dog is known to react to, click treat click treat click treat click treat until you pass out- as long as dog is calm and can see object that causes reaction click treat click treat click treat.

Is there no way you can take them out the back for wee wee's.?

and KATIE- that will be another book I shall be ordering then- at this rate I wont have time to walk dex!
 
Its a great book.
It kind of works on the same premise you mentioned above but from a totally different angle and it works much better than only clicking and treating when the dog is calm.

Abe reated to everything. Like a stone on the path 50ft ahead of him or a leaf the fell from a tree a county away :D This basically works on just treat treat treat even when the dog is flipping out and once you finish it all you get a dog that looks at you when you come across a stimulation.

It is a life saver and i will recommend it to everyone for the rest of my life :D
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll have a look at that book. It's made slightly harder by the fact that I have not been well enough to walk them and my daughters have to do this.

I don't think I will be able to persuade them to walk the dogs separately and it's hard to train one when they are distracted by the other. But I will have a read. Thanks again.
 
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