! year old Jack Russell with a unacceptable biting problem?

Question

Piper My Spayed Female Jack Russell ( just shy of 1 year old) Recently has started snapping and biting at small children.. I am unsure of how to correct or help curb this behavior.. Any suggestions

Answer 1

It is possible the children are intimidating Piper. My JR is very sweet and loveable until she feels threatened, when this happens, she will snap at the offending party whether it is animal or human. You should google up "fear biting" as this would appear to be Piper's problem. It isn't that she's mean, she's afraid. Once you resolve her fears, which may entail stronger boundaries on the children in question, the fear biting should cease, or at least be controllable.

Trying watching for cues that Piper is feeling threatened. Are the children too insistant for her attention? near her food? holding her face and insisting on prolonged eye contact? (always perceived by a dog to be threatening, even if the owner does it) Once you pinpoint the nature of the threat, you can correct the problem. And remember that what might not seem threatening to you, may be very threatening to Piper

Answer 2

First off - SOME dogs are allergic to peanut butter - so be careful about that.

Well if you have small children in the house I would suggest getting some professional help for her immediately. The last thing that you want to do is put your children at risk.

I have a friend who has a smaller dog (mini pin) and he is fixed. At about a year he started the same nipping thing. The owners tried to correct him themselves and the bought him new chewing toys. The problem is that he was not chewing, he was biting. He ended up biting my 3 year old daughter. Thank God he did not break the skin but he did leave a nasty bruise. The owners refuse to take him to a professional so we no longer go to their house and it has put a strain on the friendship.

I had some behavior issues with my Yorkiepoo that I tried to correct myself but ultimately a certified dog trainer was the way to go. It really ony took two classes to start seeing a major improvement. So you do not necessarily need to spend a lot of money.

Good luck

Answer 3

Hi. I've got a Jack Russell as well. Children can be unpredictable and often poke fingers and feet at puppies in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable/trapped. First, make sure your dog is well trained. When you tell her no, she should back off. Also, make sure you are nearby and the child isn't threatened and let her get used to being around children. She simply doesn't know how to respond to the situation. Hopefully, she'll grow out of that a bit. Good Luck, and hope you get some sound advice!

Elsa

Answer 4

You've got to curb this behavior right away--choose a consistent correction and stick with it, every time you see her gearing up for a bite.

Establish your position as the pack leader by correcting her behavior firmly, quickly and consistently. Keep her on a leash around small children, which will make it easier to correct her. Teach the children that come into your home to mind the dog and not tease or provoke her, and explain to them the reason she is on a leash. Children sometimes do not understand how important it is to respect animals. Good luck!

Answer 5

Only with great difficulty.

Jack Russell terriers are the dogs that were bred for the fox hunt in the UK. They are by nature a rural and outdoor dog and extremely combative. And all small being, including children, are viewed as adversaries. For that matter, JR terriers won't hesitate to take on a mastiff, a German Sheppard, a lab, etc., and they like to win, all of the time.

Look for the closest Russell Rescue folks and contact them. They will find a good and proper home for your JR terrier. Then you can find another dog, one more suitable to your family.

Answer 6

firstly I applaud you for having the guts to ask this question.....too many people dismiss it or ignore it and it is where problems begin. There are many ways that you might try to help rectify the problem really only you know what kind of training your dog responds to the best, I would however like to add further suggestion for you to consider.
Another approach certainly is to teach dog that kids are fantastic to be around and kid= reward and praise
Consider taking pup to where there are some kids around and allow them to walk close by to pup, while pup sitting and watching you, if pup not biting reward with praise preferably (and lots of it) but treats if that is what you need to help.
if you do this sort of thing only do it for 5 or 10 mins at a time dont overwhelm your dog with full on long time training you will loose attention and not succeed so well
as pup becomes better, allow the kids to walk by closer and closer thru the stages of training, untill you get to the point that the kids can stop and touch and pet your dog, and even give it a treat or two. over time this may allow pup to recognise good things happen when children are around and may help with the nipping and snapping......
Remember you are boss, your dog will behave any way that you accept him or her to behave, and if you dont disipline it dog will continue with this sort of behaviour.
I wish you and your pup luck, patience and perserverence will see you through if you correct this right.

Answer 7

Jack Russel's don't like small children if they haven t been raised around them.
They look at them as rivals for their human affections and just plain don't out up with erratic behavior poking and treated unfairly look at the jrta website that is were I read this I also have a jack that was raised around children and have no problems with her, she even plays with cats hamsters and ferrets with supervision of course.

Answer 8

We too have a Jack Russell Terrier and encountered the same problems when she was young. We were told to buy a Kong at the local pet shop, fill it with cheese or peanut butter and let her spend hours chewing on it.

Within a week, she stopped chewing and biting things she wasn't supposed to and only chewed on her Kong.

Answer 9

Socialize your dog. Introduce your dog to many different types of people so that he or she is not nervous or frightened of the kids

Teach children not to tease or chase dogs.

Train your dog. Participating in puppy socialization and dog training classes is a great way to help you and your dog learn good obedience skills. Training your dog is a family matter, and every member of your household should be involved and use the same training techniques.

Answer 10

not being a dog whisperer i would search out answers. i would bet that if you find a jack russell rescue site, they will have a contact and will be familiar with this behavior and have very good advice how to curb it. good luck.