I rescued a 16 mo old small terrier mix, that a rescue had a very hard time placing and they were wanting someone who would take a little dog who bites almost every one who comes in contact with him, except his packmembers, hates men, and guards his humans worse than my shepherd.

I am stay at home Mom, and he whines all day long while in the crate. I have a set routine that we do every day, and when it is crate time for daytime crating, he whines like I don't know what.
I have tried to ignore, tried water gun, treats, quite time, and I am just about to take to vet and have meds given.

Does anyone have any suggestions ????

He is crated in my room, with a little yorkie in his crate. I have tried to let them play in a playroom, and the yorkie scratches at the door, the whole time, so that doesnt work. Have also used ex-pen when daytime weather is nice, but not every day can that be done.

He is sharing a crate with another dog? I would really crate them separate.
Also, have you tried covering the crate, and shutting the door? Even if you have to cover both crates and let them tough it out, this should be able to be fixed.

If I can do it with an OCD, separation anxiety Dutchie, I know it can be done.

I don't think you meant they are in the same crate right? The yorkie is in it's own crate I hope.

How much exercise and mental stimulation is the terrier getting before the daytime crating?

A few things stick out at me in your post - you mention his possessiveness over "his humans" - this is a dominant behavior. A lot of seperation anxiety problems also stem from dominance issues as the dog is frustrated about it's pack members leaving without the alpha.

I do not recommend water guns/water bottles. A lot of dogs don't mind water that much and will either get used to it because .. well.. it's just water.. or you create more anxiety and fear problems for the dog by being a direct source of anxiety. This of course isn't so if the dog doesn't see you spray them but it only takes once and the point is for the dog to understand it is a correction and most people make a point of letting the dog know the source of the water terror was them.

This dog needs to be seperated with his own crate and have a lot of pack structure done with him. I've worked with a fair amount of "vicious" small dogs that bite everybody - leather gloves work great if you are really worry about the dog doing damage. This dog needs to understand that it is absolutely not acceptable to show aggression to people, to stop controlling situations with aggression.

Once the dog is taken out of the dominant role of possessive "MY human!!!" type behavior, with it's own crate, things will start to get better. DD collars work for small dogs and big dogs alike, which is what I would recommend for the aggression if you do not have an experienced professional that can deal with the aggression hands on.

That is all said just as a response to the above information about why he was not adopted by anyone else, if you are or already have worked on this, sorry for posting the unnecessary

For the whining, ignore it and leave the room entirely. Break up your routine. LOTS of exercise and mental stimulation. You may also try the DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromones) I have recommended those and they do work to a degree.

I don't know how big the dog is but another thing you can try, that I have done with success on certain dogs. If he is small enough and his crate is not too large, put him in the crate and put the crate in a closet. It is dark, there are interesting smells (usually)

Also - has he ever been crated for punishment? Anything bad ever happen to him in a crate, that you know of? Does he sweat and shake and pant and drool all over the place, or just whine?

Denise,
Don't take this the wrong way ( please! ) but I amazed that a dog with problems like this would be placed by any organization, even a rescue.

If a dog with those problems ended up in almost any shelter or humane society, it would not stand a ghost of a chance of passing any of the temperament tests and would be humanely euthanized - before it bit anyone else.

Sadly, the dog sounds dangerous - if it was a larger breed it would have been put down already. I hope a bite involving you or your family is not in your future....

He is controllable to a certain extent. I think he was never shown what was appropriate and what was not. It is clear he has been abused. He hates men, goes after my feet if in white socks, and when I move certain ways, he gets deffensive.

He is in his own crate, I have covered the crate, although not all the time,the door is closed, I have soft music playing, it is dark. The yorkie is in same room, diff crate. At first he fought to go into crate, he hated being in there due to thinking he would never come out. He is better with that. He whines non stop. no drooling but stands the whole time,,,,takes hours to even get him to lay down....I am in and out of that room, off and on all day. SO he knows I am here on the property. I take him for breaks, and try to keep it all on a schedule. so that he knows what to expect.

This little baby is so darn cute though Will, yes, big dog would be put down, I got one of those too a 110lb white gsd, they said was agressive. He is only protective agressive. so that can be corrected. But this little one and the nasal whining.

Jennifer, I have ignored for weeks now, he still does it?????

I have tried to show him, thru clicker training and ob training, that I am boss....You are right, it is like HIS child has left and I am aware of this, not sure how to break. Have taken for pack walks with yorkie, worked on mouthing and biting, but he is one little dominant package, when you alpha roll him, he fights like a wolf. (I did this the first time he went after a male we had stopped to visit. I did it on purpose to see his reaction, I had only heard of it. SO that experience showed me, then on Christmas eve, brotherinlaw the dog trainer, came over, went after him, I was holding him and told him NO, and gave small correction but Steve knew exactly what to do, and it got better.

I have noticed that he becomes more agressive with some corrections, I do believe this is his way of being defensive from the abuse he took earlier, also, it usually gets people away from him. He has never really bitten me, he just mouths, and is still working on that. He does, then he forgets...but nothing bad, so no gloves needed.... LOL

I am trying to do groundwork with him, but there is so much like the agressive crate behaviour, which is fixed now, then the pulling on lead,,,,,running around being too dominant....
I started with the first thing, the crate, and some of the rest will come, maybe some DAP and drug therapy, this little boy is a mess, and he has been in 6 different placements since July or so. I am his 6th. So I took that into consideration too...

you sound like you are on the right track.

I would say to keep doing what you are doing, working on pack structure and making feel secure in his surroundings.

If you are his 6th placement he has been through some serious trauma and will need time to settle in and feel safe.

I know it sounds silly and out there, but I had great results with Reiki to deal with some chronic anxiety and agression in a mess of a rescue. Such good results I have been having the lady work on my shoulder injury that wont go away.
That along with the diffuser thingy, lots of massages,and slowly working on letting me roll him over to give belly rubs helped him relax and accept my role as leader.

the NILIF regime is always a good thing as is basic OB work to build bond and confidence.

 Quote: denise rinker

At first he fought to go into crate, he hated being in there due to thinking he would never come out. ... Jennifer, I have ignored for weeks now, he still does it?????

.... I was holding him and told him NO, and gave small correction but Steve knew exactly what to do, and it got better. .... I do believe this is his way of being defensive from the abuse he took earlier, also, it usually gets people away from him.
I am trying to do groundwork with him, but there is so much like the agressive crate behaviour, which is fixed now, then the pulling on lead,,,,,running around being too dominant......

I'd try to stop interpreting his behavior in terms of what he "thinks."

I suspect that he is somehow being rewarded for the whining. Are you really really ignoring it 100%?

What was it that Steve did?

Are you jumping back or retreating when he mouths/nips/bites you?

Like Will, I wonder why this lil guy was placed by any rescue org at all.

Jennifer: I too have two terrior rescuses and they can be very determined and stubborn so do not give up. I would however not go in and out of the room you have him crated in. Perhaps he is excited because he is thinking you have come to let him out.
with terriors,as you know, need lots of consistency. Sometimes rescue dogs have not been abused, they are just dominant. And I have heard about my jack russell mix, that jack russels do not take to rough handling at all. So, depending on the type of corrections, they can loose their temper easily. What type of terriors do they think your dogs are mixed with?
You can go on line and read all about terriors and they type your dog may be mixed with. They are extremely smart, and tenacious, remember they are hunters of vermon.
ANyway, how is he around your kids?
I hope things go well.
How long have you had him? (sorry if i missed this in a previous response.)

Thanks all...

I have only had him about 3 weeks, If i could post a photo I would,,,he is a fawn dog with long long leggs, and looks like a baby lamb. He is good with my daughter, and only mouths on me, I am teaching NO BITE, and he is working on that. He does not really aggressively bite me, only mouth, so I fold his lip in, tell him NO BITE or nicely grab his snout and hold and tell him same. He now gives kisses and does this nibbling thing when he forgets , He is just so used to biting and mouthing,,,and other people scared away.....I am not in the least bit concerend about a vicious bite from him. He is not like that with the one or two people he bonds with, just outsiders.
The reason I have him, was the rescue was reaching out for someone to help retrain him. I have done well on things so far, but he is really messed up in many ways, and has to be taught EVERYTHING again, the right way. He is soooo very very cute, he won my heart, along with the fact of him being unstable and just not fair to have gone thru so much so young....he is 16ms old. Weighs about 8 lbs and has floppy ears like lamb ears.
I would venture to say, he looks similar to a jrt, but fawn colored. He does not look like any particular terrier really, just like a baby lamb that was born two days ago.

I guess I will continue with pack structure, and get the dap thing and give it more time. Maybe some Bach remedy from Foster and Smith........Thanks everyone