We bought my 3 year old jack russel believing she was a sweet dog and I love her very much but towards people that come to our home she is very aggressive. I am a very protective person and can't stand it when the dog bites people but the rest of my family just let it go and don't take any actions. I am not sure if my dog bites because she is scared or possesive. I want and need her to stop being aggressive towards our guests. I am not always home when this happens and my family won't commit to train her, How can I get my dog to stop biting with only me training her?

Perhaps this dog had some abuse issues in his short life, you have to think about that. Was he adopted, and did not the adoption centre let you know his background. He is just becoming mature now at 3, so you can still get him some help in the way of lessons to curb his bad habits. Until you do this, and it is hard for you to do it yourself and anyone else, he will continue to be aggressive. I have known jack russells to be like this and their attitude has to be curbed.

Let us know what the outcome is, if you choose to have him trained, and I do suggest private training in your home.

Tick

Well most dogs do attack out of fear. Unfortunately with aggression like that, it's going to take everyone's cooperation to fix it.

It's almost better if no one else is on board, for her to be re homed. I know that sounds harsh, but that is an awful accident/law suit waiting to happen.

Are you able to get your dog into obedience or to see a behaviorist?

There are simple things you can do at home to stop her from attacking people.
Such as when someone comes to the house, put your dog on a leash. Do not allow the dog to greet or go over to the people. Don't let the people acknowledge your dog.Wait until your dog has settled as well as your guest, and walk over with your dog to the guests. If your lunges at them aggressively, bring your dog back over to where you are sitting and make him sit and wait for your next command. Make sure to reward good behavior with treats and praise. Slowly wean off the treats, and only reward with praise.

Your dog is aggressive to other people because he thinks he is the alpha leader, he is in protect mode, and is fearful of your guests. You need to take the pressure off him and become the pack leader.

Thank you for your reply! Our Jack russell came from a beautiful farm where they bread Jack russells. I think that the real problem is that my family is really inconsistent. We had some one who came to our home and we were told to train her to sit and stay in the hall while people came into the house. I try and tell my parents that we have to keep up with that but we never can and I can't do it on my own. Could it be possible that the dog is confused with our expectations because of our inconsistancy and any ideas of how to become more consistent as a family because I can not watch any one get hurt by my dog because I know she is the sweetest jack russell? Thank you!

Yes absolutely definitely she could be confused due to the inconsistency.

The only tips of how to work together as a family that I could think of is seriously sitting them down and explaining the repercussions of dog bites, be it, death, law suite, your dog being put down etc. If I were in your shoes (and I have been) I would research as much as I could on aggression, and dog bites and go to your family with facts and proof. (Does that make sense? )

That is a very good idea about making your dog sit and wait in the hallway while guests are there, but if you are around you could use the leash, that way you wouldn't have to rely on their co-operation. I say it all the time, but protocols for relaxation and deference Will give you a great start. It's about training your dogs mind frame. They are very boring, but it's a good start if you want to see improvement in your dog.

Thank you very much! Although my family is not to concerned about this issue I think that by finding some facts and showing more of a concern I could get them to contribute as well. I am definitely going to use the leash technique. Once again thank you very much!

Hey no problem! Come back and keep up updated, I'm sure more people will come and post to give you some more ideas and tips as well! Keep checking back!
Good luck!

First off.. all aggression is fear based.

Your dog is biting people? That's death waiting to happen. You need to get that under control NOW before someone decides to complain. Once your dog has a bite history, the likeliness of your dog being put down due to a bite is extremely high.

What you can do... Put your dog away when people arrive. Why set your dog up for failure? If she doesn't like people, if strangers freak her out, don't put her through the stress of it.

Sit down with your family. Make it clear what you want from them. Tell them that if she continues to bite, she is signing her own death warrant and everyone who is allowing her to do this might as well inject the needle themselves. Explain to them that this IS a serious issue.

You may want to contact a trainer who specializes in fear biting and aggression towards strangers. You need professional help. The main reason, is because no matter how hard you try to describe her reactions on here, the advise given will not be good enough to help you fix the problem. An in-home dog trainer will be able to witness everything and work with the dog from there.

But you need to get your family on board.. otherwise any type of training or behavior modification will be a complete waste.

Hello 7:

First off, I know NOTHING about how to train dogs. What I know about is the law and people... Let's talk about people first. If nothing is done, you have a mauling WAITING to happen. What if it's a child? What if your dog rips her face off?

Yeah, I know. You're appalled at that suggestion.

Let's now talk about the law. If your dog rips anybody's face off, since you have been put on notice, they'll OWN your house.

excon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello 7:

Let's now talk about the law. If your dog rips anybody's face off, since you have been put on notice, they'll OWN your house.

excon

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Yes, it does happen. That's why the old saying 'you don't do your dog (or you) any favours by not training properly'.

Tick

Thank you all for your help. My Jack Russell is probably not as bad as I have made her seem. I will be taking your advice towards preventing her aggressive behaviour and after looking at the issue again, I believe that my parents will help in this process if I show my concern to them and figure out a plan
Thank You !

Thank you all for your help. After reading some of the posts I realized that my Jack Russell is probably not as bad as I have made her seem. I will be taking your advice towards preventing her aggressive behaviour and after looking at the issue again, I believe that my parents will help in this process if I show my concern to them and figure out a plan
Thank You Very Much !

Good luck 7! Keep us posted! :)