Q: 2 years ago I purchased a male Jack Russell from a breeder in Cheshire.  With hind site I would have been wise to walk away BUT I did not! According to my vet he was only 5 weeks old . The breeder said he was 8 weeks old!! I now own and am very fond of this lively, and toward me loving animal. He is a very nervous dog easily alarmed and becomes aggressive to any person or animal he finds a threat. He will bark and growl and I fear he would bite if the threatening animal or person were within reach. I have been to 2 trainers with him and have him responding to commands like sit, stay etc. In fact he can perform as well as any other dog but once we are in a situation that he is afraid of, he will not respond to commands.

He will also defecate and urinate in the house. I feel that when he does this he is making a statement i.e. he is in control. This will happen infrequently, but too often to ignore. He seems unable to go all night without urinating or defecating, is this normal? My vet says he is still very young and I should persevere with him for a little longer. She would recommend referral to an animal behaviorist in another twelve months. Will his bad behavior be entrenched by then? 

I should also tell you that I have a Jack bitch who is approximately 5 months older than Maxwell. She is a rescue animal that I acquired when Max was 6 months old. (She would have been put down if I hadn't taken her.) She is no problem behaves well and is a very pleasant animal to have. Can you help? Margaret

A: Dear Margaret,

It's wonderful that you are trying so hard with Max! Please check with your trainer and vet before you start any training program (like what I suggest here) as I have not met you and Max and don't have all the details of your situation. 

1) Nervous barking and aggressive behavior
First, please be very careful and do not expose Max to situations where he has the chance to bite someone or their dog. This means keeping him on a leash, and warning people (calmly) when they get to close that "my dog might bite." Even if this hasn't happened yet, it could, especially until you get him trained and more relaxed around strangers.

This type of behavior generally responds very well to training. I'm wondering what kind of exercises the trainers were having you do aside from basic obedience to help Max become less nervous and aggressive. Training needs to be an ongoing (i.e. never ending) process until the dog is behaving as you wish. Did your trainers give you a program to continue with at home? If they didn't, I would ask them for one, and/or discuss what I suggest here with them. 

You are exactly right when you say it's his fear that is causing his barking and aggression. So what you want to do is get a training program to train Max to be less nervous around strangers (both canine and human). Do to do this you need to build up Max's confidence in situations he finds scary. As you slowly get him used to people and dogs and he learns they are not scary, he should stop acting fearfully - and stop barking.

   Step 1: I would re-enroll in a training class right away, not wait a year. Training classes are a great place for Max to be around strange dogs and people, and you are distracting him with the training, so he is not focusing on the scary strangers, and actually that is a great way for him to get used to them. If he barks too   much for a class, try steps 2 & 3 first.

   Step 2: Take him on a lot of walks and expose him to a lot of people and dogs. Does he do ok if they are on the other side of the street? Down the block? If so, the more exposure he gets like this, the better. Gradually work up to getting closer. Take him to quiet area (like in a park) where people and dogs are nearby, but not so close as to make him nervous or bark. Do 20 minutes of training exercises there every day. Every day, move closer and closer to where people are, continuing to do your training. The fancy term for this is "gradual desensitization" kind of like when people have a fear of flying and first they look at model planes, then go to the airport, then walk on to the plane, etc. over an period of time. Works wonders with dogs for every type of behavior.

   Step 3: If people or dogs approach while you are training or too close on your walks, try to distract Max from them by making him sit and look at you. You ignore the people and dogs too, just keep looking at Max and trying to get him to do your command. If he is sitting, he should not be barking! 

You said he ignores you when he is afraid, so this will take some work. It will help Max to follow your lead. You yourself may be tensing up when people/dogs approach, anticipating that Max will start barking. Stay calm and focused. It's true that saying "sit sit sit" while Max is barking wildly will have little effect! If he doesn't obey your second command, wait until he stops, or try walking the other way with him or distracting him otherwise to get him to stop barking. Then retry your command, and give him a huge reward (praise or   treats are the reward I find works best) for listening! 

Gradually as you build up his confidence and desensitize him to dogs and people approaching, he should start listening to you more quickly, and eventually not bark at all. I've seen dogs trained like this, and actually when a person or dog approaches, they automatically sit and look at their owner for a treat. Much better than barking. You can apply this same technique in your home (having friends help out by coming over, you and Max ignore them and do training).

Training can take weeks to months, but Max should start gradually getting better within a few weeks. Let me know how it goes! 

2) Housebreaking
First, if Max isn't neutered, he needs to be neutered if possible. This is a HUGE help as far as housebreaking goes. I assume since you've been to the vet with him recently, the vet ruled out any possible medical reason for him not to be able to hold going throughout the night. At two years old, he should be physically capable of being housebroken and not going to the bathroom for 8 hours at a stretch if he has no medical problems.

I don't think it's a control issue. How would this be trying to control you or a situation? It sounds more like a lack of control over himself. Until he is housebroken, he should not have full run of the house if he is going all over. If he only goes in one area, close off that area. You can help him learn to control of himself by following these suggestions:

   a) If his accidents are only at night, feed him early on in the evening at the exact same time, and taking him out to go to the bathroom before going to bed at exactly the same time every day. A routine is essentially for housebreaking. If his accidents are during the day too, feed him early in the morning, take him out to go to the bathroom 10-20 minutes after, and if he doesn't go, when you bring him inside he'll need to stay in an area where he can have an accident.

   b) Take up his food after you've fed him in the evening, and take up water an hour before bed (check with your vet, but he should be just fine without water for the 8-9 hours he is sleeping)

   c) Have you considered crating him at night? A crate is a wire or plastic dog kennel where Max would go to sleep. You can put the crate right next to your bed if you like, with a soft bed in it and his favorite toys. Dogs try really hard not to soil where they are sleeping. Then first thing in the morning you lift him out of the crate and go straight outside.

   d) depending on your household, a doggie door into a safe area where he can go to the bathroom when he feels the need may be the easiest solution to your problems.

Hope all that helps and let me know if you have any other questions!

If you would like to read more about housetraining, try Penny's Housetraining Program for Adult Dogs.

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