Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I have a jack russel terrier Mix for over a year now.
Since a couple of week now all of a sudden whenever he jumps on the bed he snarls and growls at my wife and sometimes even snaps at her while she isnt even paying attention to the dog at all. She can all of a sudden also no longer hug or pet the dog without being bitten. He is not aggressive at all towards me, only to my wife. I can even touch him, pet him and lift him up when he is growing while at the same time he is growing and snapping at my wife! I usually throw him on the paddio whenever he does this or muzzle him. But it just doesnt help. The second he is back in the house he starts growling and snarling again to my wife. I can punish him 100x in a row it still doesnt help. Can anyone think of a reason why he all of a sudden has this aggressive behaviour towards my wife? He didnt had this behaviour towards her for months and now all of a sudden he does this?

>>Hi,
>>
>>I have a jack russel terrier Mix for over a year now.
>>Since a couple of week now all of a sudden whenever he jumps on the bed he snarls and growls at my wife and sometimes even snaps at her while she isnt even paying attention to the dog at all. She can all of a sudden also no longer hug or pet the dog without being bitten. He is not aggressive at all towards me, only to my wife. I can even touch him, pet him and lift him up when he is growing while at the same time he is growing and snapping at my wife! I usually throw him on the paddio whenever he does this or muzzle him. But it just doesnt help. The second he is back in the house he starts growling and snarling again to my wife. I can punish him 100x in a row it still doesnt help. Can anyone think of a reason why he all of a sudden has this aggressive behaviour towards my wife? He didnt had this behaviour towards her for months and now all of a sudden he does this?

>>>>>>>>>>

Stop the punishment. As you have discovered, it will not work, and it will create more problems. Ask your veterinarian to help you find a veterinary behavior specialist who can work with the dog and the two of you in person. This is the kind of help you need for aggression toward a family member.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I noticed last week, my dog got an open wound above his head somehow and we took care of it. The wound is now almost healed. But could this be a reason for him to become aggressive?
I rub him more on the head then my wife however and he never growls or snarls at me. It could also be that he tries to take over the bed as his new territorium. He seems to guard it. Or perhaps he is protecting me from my wife?(how strange that may sound). Because when he becomes aggressive he will stand between me and my wife and pushing/pressing his ass to me, like he is protecting me. Perhaps I should stand between him and my wife and see how he reacts? Now I take good care of my dog(he is even a bit too fat actually) and I took him to the vet when he was sick and he got a big needle in his ass Lol. I assume a behaviour specialist is not cheap, especially when you need multiple sessions to get your dogs behaviour back under control. Anyways I will go and talk to my veterinarian and see what he says.