Dog showing aggression towards me.

MrsNorthman

I have a nearly 1 year old Miniature jack russell, we've had him since he was 8 weeks old.
As I'm a stay at home mum I generally do everything with him, feeding, grooming etc, although we do walks as a family.
Over the past month or two he's been showing aggression towards me, no one else, just me. A few examples are last week when I was walking past his bowl, it was sticking out so I just gave it a nudge with my foot to put it back in place, when I did this the dog shot over to me and lips back, snarling, snapped at my foot, my husband did the same thing the following day and the dog did nothing. Then last night (he has a bed at the bottom of the stairs but spends the night in his crate in the kitchen) as we usually do, I went to let him out before bed and he was on his bed, refusing to move, wouldn't go outside, or to his bed, he can get like this sometimes and my husband will usually give him a nudge and say come on lad and then he does it, I lent over to give him a nudge and he went for me again (lip up, snarling,snapping).

Any ideas why he is being like this with just me, the rest of the time he is fine and will sit next to me if im working at the table or follows me round while I do housework, its just the odd occasion I seem to do something and he snaps at me, but he is fine with everyone else.

pawsies

take him to vet first

we need more details- are you on your own when this happens or is it around other people?

does not sound normal tbh- there is something called ideopathetic aggression where the cause is just not known, might be worth looking up. However that is very rare and it could just be a small trigger that sets him off like a new scent you're wearing or the way you kicked the bowl.
Hard to diagnose without seeing the problem.

I would also advise seeing a pet behaviourist.

MrsNorthman

It was mainly when we were alone, but he did it in front of DH last night. Its not just been those two times, he's done it other times too, there was once he went under the stairs (curtained off, where we keep coats) and I opened the curtain and bent over saying what you doing in here and he did it that time too.
He was actually at the vets yesterday, they said they couldn't see any reason for it and he's perfectly healthy. They said he might grow out of it as he's still a puppy.
I am pregnant at the moment, but I didn't think he would be like he is because of it, our old dog just used to stare at me all the time when we had him and I was pregnant.
I haven't changed any shower gels, shampoos, sprays etc.

The thing I'm worried about is if he does it to someone else, specifically my children, I don't want them to be scared of him or him to actually do anything, as he's not actually made contact yet, I've always moved away quickly.

antw23uk

Firstly i think you should have him checked over by the vet but i dont think there is anything wrong with him other than he is seriously taking the p**s with you.

At some point it seems he has seen you as beneath him and he is now dominant over you. Is he an entire male? You really should be booking him in to have him neutered ASAP.

The bowl incident personally i would have followed through with that foot and landed it straight in his face and shouted VERY loudly that his behaviour is totally unacceptable. (I DO NOT mean kicking him i mean a face full of your slipper and you telling him off LOUDLY and FIRMLY ... there is a huge difference)

With the dog bed i would have put my foot under the bed and launched it in the direction of the door and told him to move his butt quicker than a rat down a pipe .. again totally unacceptabel behaviour. He wouldnt do it a to memeber of the pack higher up than him ... your husband ... so he damn well shouldnt be trying it on with you.

You will need to stay consistent. He must not be allowed to get away with it from NOW or in the future. YOU are family leader and you tell him what to do. Its YOUR bowl and YOUR dog bed and YOU make the rules and enforce them and when his behaviour is acceptable you tell him he is the best dog in the world and praise him accordingly.

You need to nip this in the bud urgently before he actually bites you or someone else. Good luck.

gettingready

Is he neutered?

MrsNorthman

We actually had him neutered last week, hence being at the vets yesterday.
People tend not to believe me when I tell them because he is such a friendly, happy, giddy dog.

trolleyrun

I have to agree with Ant. Tell your dog off next time, in a stern voice, such as "Don't you even dare! That's bad!" Or similar. Your dog needs to be told who the boss is, simple as that. My dog tried it only twice. I told her off and then refused to even look at her for a while (she doesn't like not getting attention). The second time, I told her off again, and I told her to go to her bed, which she did. She hasn't done it again so far, but I wouldn't hesitate in telling her off again. JRs, being terriers can be extremely stubborn, so persistence is the key here. Take charge. Don't wonder why he's like that with you (as you've had him checked by the vet), just make sure the balance is restored. Good luck

MrsNorthman

Oh I do tell him off when he's done it, I don't know if it makes a difference but I refuse to have anything to do with him for the rest of that day, treats etc after he's done it.

antw23uk

MrsNorthman wrote: »

Oh I do tell him off when he's done it, I don't know if it makes a difference but I refuse to have anything to do with him for the rest of that day, treats etc after he's done it.

Then you need to up the anti im afraid as your telling off isnt working

Raksha

Any changes in behaviour should be checked out by full blood tests before any reputable behaviourist will even cinsider taking on the case.
My gut feeling is its more than a coincidence that this change in behaviour has started so soon after surgery and that the rwo are connected. A young dog who doesn't get out of bed full if beans and raring to go would also ring alarm bells, this is not normal behaviour.
Please do NOT go down the 'me man, you dog' route and start getting phyisical and shouting, as this is only reinforcing his belief that you need warning to watch your behaviour around him. Work instead on desensitization to humans around his bowl or bed by tossing small portions of his daily food to him when he doesn't respond, don't put him in the position of feeling he has to warn you asvthis is just practising the behaviour.
Also don't rule out the possibility of your pregnancy affecting his behaviour, all dogs are different and just because your last dog didn't react doesn't mean the current one won't. Remember dogs can smell the slighest changes in the human that are caused by medical conditions and pregnancy us just one medical condition.

trolleyrun

MrsNorthman wrote: »

We actually had him neutered last week, hence being at the vets yesterday.
People tend not to believe me when I tell them because he is such a friendly, happy, giddy dog.

Did he growl/snarl/show teeth at you before being neutered? Or is it a new thing? If it's the former, I reckon he sees you as below him in rank in the house. Or he could just be trying it on, as some dogs do.