Re: aggressive

In Reply to: aggressive
Posted by:  Jennifer
Posted on:  September 27, 2001 at 10:55:35

: I have a one year old JRT and she is normally well-behaved. Anyway, this morning she was playing in the backyard as usual while I was getting ready for work. I went out to get her and for some reason she started growling and snapping at me..she acted this way one other time when I was trying to clip her nails. She finally bit my thumb this morning but not bad enough to draw blood. However, I did kick her and she knew right away that she had done wrong. I took her in the house and put her in her crate and told her she was a bad girl..Before I left for work I went in there and put my hand in there to see what she would do and she licked it. I felt bad, I know I shouldn't kick her but I have a baby on the way and can't be having this. Why would she have done this and what do you suggest for the future?

------------------ Response Area -------------------
Hi Jennifer,

You are right kicking your dog will not help in dealing with any type of aggression. Using aggression yourself will only escalate and make this type of situation worse. On top of that you can really injure a small dog by kicking it.

First of all you should be taking this dog in to the vet to rule out any type of medical problem that could have caused this reaction in her. If medical problems are ruled out, I would highly suggest enrolling your terrier in a good obedience school.

I would have to say 98% of the aggression problems we deal with on this board are caused by an owners lack of control of their terrier and the fact they don't take the time and effort to go through obedience school.

Almost all aggression problems can be solved by getting a handle on your dog and the best way to do that is through obedience work.

This is a high maintenance breed that requires MUCH human interaction and this is one breed that really needs obedience school in order for you to maintain your status as "top dog" in your home. JRTs are always ready, willing and able to take over that position if there is nobody around to do it.

Kicking, hitting, screaming and any type of aggression on your part is NOT going to make this situation any better.

Please, find a good obedience school and get your dog enrolled and stick with the program and take the time to work your dog every day. It only requires 15-20 minutes out of your day broken into 5 minute sessions to work your dog. This will be especially important in your situation with a baby on the way.

As far as the nail clipping, many dogs absolutely hate it, especially if anyone has clipped the quick. Your best bet with this is to either take the dog to a groomer or vet to have them clip the dog's nails, or get a muzzle when trying to clip. You might even want to look into a Dremel so you can sand the nails down instead of clipping them.