We have a 4 year old Jack Russell Terrier who we've had since he was a puppy. We were not too diligent with his basic training and now its looks like we are paying for it. His little quirks that were annoying but tolerable are no longer tolerable as a whole.

My wife and I really have no idea where to start or what to do first with regards to the follwoing "problems" as we see it. Any help and/or direction would be greatly appreciated.

1. His most recent episodes have escalated. When one of us picks up his toy or tries to take something away from him he shouldn't have, he snaps at us. This is a new behavior for him and we are not sure if our 2 month old being brought into the home has anything to do with it. He will growl, bare his teeth, bark, cackles up, and charges us sometimes. He also tries to nip us when we kneel down or he'll jump and nip. Its quite an ordeal along with our 4 year old son and 2 month old daughter. When we yell and say no...there is no effect. We've tried using compressed air to thwart certain habits but it seems only to agitate him while in this state. This particular issue is the reason for this post altho there are a number of other things that we're having difficulty with as well. Again, the above is brand new but all of these below having been going on for some time now.

2. Much less frequent (5 times in 3 years) he has shown the same behavior towards me when I get into bed late at night. Along with all of his antics listed aboive, he tends to urinate as well. Which is why I usually back down and let my wife get him outta room so I can get in bed....since he is on our bed when it starts...I dont want him to urinate on the bed.

3. He's also starting to get excited and bark and nip when I kiss my wife or try to take our newborn daughter from her arms...when she is on the bed or couch.

4. EVERYTIME we take our so to bed, the dog gets very excited, barking, yelping, running around our feet, nipping at my wife, my son, and myself...all th way up the steps until my son is settled in his room. Once we get to his room, the dog will "shake the stuffing" out of a stuffed animal is my son's room when we get there. Then it all stops suddenly.

5. He jumps on people when they come in the front door. He also gets very excited when they leave...similar to the episodes when we put our son to bed. If one of the family leaves (or he realizes someone is going to leave, liek when we grab the keys) he'll do everything listed in #4 but will also bark vigorously and loudly up to and after we closed the door. Then he will stop after we take 3 steps away from house.

6. He's also been having accidents when we leave the house, even for a short period of time. I realized he's upset we've left and does it out of anxiety (or spite!) but many times if he knows he's to be crated....he will hide and many times we give up and let him roam til we get back.

7. He's also started pooping around our home vs closer to the woods. Mainly in moderatley high traffic areas for our son or guests.

8. He also gets up on the furniture, like the top of a couch or chair to be around people's heads, horrifying for guests.

9. On the plus side, he seems to do very well with all kids and is very good at returning when called if he's chasing something, which actually surprises us since we haven't had much luck with the other issues.

We just do not know where to start and feel terrible that we've let it get this bad. He definitely has added to our stress.

Any help is appreciated.

Tim

Start by reading these first:

http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/packstructure.pdf
http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/dealingwithdominantdog.pdf
http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/introducingdogsandbabies.pdf

You should also order and watch these DVD's
http://www.leerburg.com/301.htm
http://www.leerburg.com/302.htm

This dog is totally controlling your lives. You need to become it's leader beginning immediately with everything you do with him. If you have never watched Ceaser Milans' show on TV, try to find it and watch them.

This is a lot to address, and you have a lot of work to do, but I hope you understand that this dog can have ZERO access to your baby.

Also, a couple of those list items just scream out "drag line" and "leash."

When I first came to this site I spent my first 20 hours reading the articles on it. This is the best place on the web for free dog training information. Please check out the links they will answer most of your questions.

 Quote: Kelly Hardy

When I first came to this site I spent my first 20 hours reading the articles on it. This is the best place on the web for free dog training information. Please check out the links they will answer most of your questions.

I agree. And Keith has started the O.P. out very well.

Do you exercise the dog any?

If I miss exercise for more than 1/2 a day my JRT turns in to a complete idiot.

Wow...

You certainly came to the right place Tim. You're doing so many things wrong right now (I don't mean this in a mean way at all, I made the same mistakes with my first dog - this site taught me everything I know now).

I hope you have some time to sit down and really read Ed's articles on how to live with a dog and how to give it basic training. It will most likely take many hours to read through it all, but you'll be glad you did.

I can guarantee you that if you follow Ed's advice you'll solve all the problems you're having with this dog in no time.

In the meantime, try to change the way you think of your relationship with the dog. YOU are in charge, and you MAKE the dog do what YOU want it to do, WHEN you want it. Don't let him push you around and certainly don't ever "back down" from him. EVER!!!

Growling at you or your family is beyond unacceptable. You really have to change the way you live with your dog so that it starts to respect you. Any hint of aggression directed towards you or your family should result in a VERY VERY HARD and IMMEDIATE correction.
Get a prong collar, fit it tightly high up on the dog's neck and jerk it off its feet if it so much as growls or lifts its lip at you (or your wife or ESPECIALLY YOUR CHILDREN!!!)

Have this dog LIVE in the crate when you can't watch it. When you have it out in the house, put a leash on him, tie the leash to yourself (belt or whatever) and keep the dog tethered to you at all times. MAKE it go wherever you go. Your wife can do this as well.

When neither of you are around or when you're tired of having him tied to you, he immediately goes back into his crate.
DRAG him into the crate if you have to; this hiding from you is ridiculous.

When he's tethered to you in the home or outside, go about your business and ignore the dog. If you go in one direction and the dog lags behind or resists following you, don't talk to him, just keep walking purposefully and DRAG him along.

He needs to see that you and/or your wife control EVERY SINGLE MINUTE of his life. This alone should dramatically improve his respect for you.

Force this dog to stay out of the bedroom (NEVER allow it in the kids' bedroom) and to stay off furniture.

If you can get this dog to accept you and your wife as his leaders, life will be so much better for all of you. You'll be surprised at just how much you'll improve your bond with him once you earn his respect. He'll become much closer to you, he'll be more affectionate, every single one of his annoying and nasty habits that you listed will vanish and he will become so much more obedient.

Good luck... it's really not that hard, it just takes a sincere change in attitude. Trust Ed's advice on this, he knows what he's talking about, you can't go wrong following his words TO THE LETTER

Yuko,

Do you think he should try the cream cheese on the Kong before the forced drag into the crate? Starbuck will do ANYTHING for the kong and cream cheese

Tim, do read the Introducing Dogs and Babies article that was posted (link).

1. If he started doing this about the time you brought home your new baby, then the behavior probably does have to do with the baby. Don't yell, don't use compressed air. Agitating an already agitated dog will give you the opposite reaction you're working toward, which is calmness.

2. Can't figure out the urinating on the bed thing. But make sure he gets a potty break just before you turn in for the night.

3. Probably has to do with #1 above. He's trying to take control over what he doesn't like.

4. Probably has to do with #1 above.

5. Since you're aware that some of these things you've listed has been due to not enough training and letting some things go, it's escalating because of the baby, IMO.

6. Get him used to going in the crate off and on while you're going to be home, using treats, always use treats when he goes in.

7. Don't know, maybe something scared him in the woods?

8. Probably has to do with #1 above. He needs to have a leash on when people come in, with you at the other end of it to control what he does.

9. Good!

Some insecurity is rearing it's head in your dog and may have a lot to do with the new baby and your dog doesn't know how to deal with it. That's where you come in. A leash and collar when around the house will give you the control you need as you work to calm him down. Leash, leash, and leash.

Don't let him in the same room with the baby, and definitely never unsupervised around the baby or your son. Don't ever allow him to get hold of any of your baby daughter's or son's toys or stuffed animals, clothes, etc, ever. You now have to be vigilant. He will learn the new rules if you calmly and firmly teach him.

It sounds like it's all dominance-related stuff, or most of it anyway. The urinating on the bed is a big red-flag in that direction. This dog is trying to control all that goes on the house with his obnoxious behaviour. I'm tending to agree with Yuko about putting your foot down. And this means calmly, sternly and without raising your voice. Yelling never makes it better, it just shows your dog that you've lost control. If you were in charge and your dog knew it, these behaviors would stop. There may be some insecurity, but it's probably around him not having strong leadership to help him to figure out his place in your family. There are some great articles on the Leerburg site that adress this, as well as a DVD: Dealing with the Dominant Dog. Hope is not lost, you just need to restructure and learn how to live with your dog. The tether and crate are beautiful things. No bedrooms, no furniture and no access to the kids for this guy. I would really try to firm up the basic obedience as well. Not only does it set some very clear expectations, but it gives you the opportunity to strengthen your bond with your dog and reward for good behaviour. I really like the Basic Obedience DVD sold here at Leerburg, too. It's very clear, to the point and effective. Congratulations on recognizing the problem, and for being willing to work on them, btw.