Re: Agression and Biting

In Reply to: Agression and Biting
Category:   Aggression
Posted by:  Teresa
Posted on:  March 28, 2002 at 15:17:46

: We have a 2 year old male JRT. He is a VERY smart dog and we love him dearly, however, he is VERY aggressive. When I take him walking and someone walks by, he charges them immediately. He has also bitten everyone in our family! The only time he bites, however, is when we pet him. He does not allow you to pet him anywhere on his body. He loves to cuddle, play games and can be loving, however, we are all scared to pet him. We have learned to watch for what we call "the look" which means we can tell by his body language when he is getting ready to bite. We are probably to blame for a lot of his behavior due to not being firm with our dicipline. Is it too late to get him and us some help? We love him and would never get rid of him but I am afraid he will hurt someone badly if we don't get help. How do we go about finding a good personal trainer that we can trust?

Response:

Hi Teresa,

First of all if your dog is not neutered get him in ASAP to be neutered. Neutering should help to lessen aggression but remember too it will take several months for the male hormones to dissipate.

My suggestion is you talk to your vet and find a behaviorist. Your dog will be better off with a behaviorist at this point rather than a trainer. First you should work with a behavorist to address his low tolerance for physical contact and then think about obedience training.