Post by OwnedbyJRT on Feb 19, 2005 3:04:18 GMT -5
Hi all, we have a Jack Russell, we've had him about 6 months now. He's good w/ my kids at home, we had some food stealing issues but we're doing ok there now. We now have had 3 incidents of him snapping/biting the kids during what we seem to want to call " displaced aggression" i.e. air hockey, my 6 year old quick moves playing air hockey and bam our JRT bit his arm (yes the arm that was moving), another time was when the kids were running up and down the halls like banshees... dog was grabbing their clothing and at one point got skin. Oh, and the other was when he did in fact, steal food and my 8 year old went to pick him up to move him away from the food and BAM - bite.. He also seems to "charge" kids that come into our home that are not our own.. of course as he comes running, the kids go running and a chase happens and he grabs clothing and pant legs.. All NOT GOOD when kids need to be welcomed into our home.. we c an't have him biting and I'd welcome opinions. Obviously he has a tremendous prey drive (I guess most terriers do), but how do we control it when keyed onto humans? I suppose I can just settle down and realize I have a dog I may just always have to "manage" around children... can desensitizing work? How can I introduce him to "strangers" in his home so that he feels comfortable.. how do I get him to not "guard" the home - I am in charge, so that is my job right? I do think he sees me as dominant, but he still wants to protect. I am starting BACK on the NILIF stuff, keeping him on a drag leash and kind of going back to basics.. but I'd welcome input on how to manage this or is this just not the right dog for young kids? I've grown quite attached .. and I'd like to keep him.