Aggression in Terriers: They Lick, They Wiggle, They Growl, They Can Bite
by Angelica Steinker, M.Ed.
Aggression is a four-letter word in the dog world. It causes the most experienced terrier owners to wince. Aggression, while completely normal dog behavior, justifies the killing of countless dogs around the world. Aggression is normal dog behavior. That is, in a dog's world biting and growling are important tools of communication. If a person approaches a wild dog with her hand extended it is most natural for the wild dog to either bite the hand or to flee from the hand. When dogs communicate among each other they use growls and their mouths and teeth extensively. When we bring a dog into our homes and demand that this communication stop it is the equivalent of asking a person to take a vow of silence.
As dog owners we condition our dogs to enjoy being touched. They have positive associations with people who are reaching their hands out to say hi; things dogs would not enjoy naturally. In the dog's world, hunting other animals, catching them, ripping them apart and eating them is the normal thing to do. From the terrier's perspective, when we bring them into our homes all the fun stops. The giant hairless dogs (people) do not appreciate the victory when the new furry addition to the household hunts down and kills the sofa chair. We scold the terrier and tell him he is in big trouble. The terrier is confused. What did I do?
So, you bring this little Terminator into your home, into "NO-LAND". "NO-LAND" is a place where dogs find themselves in an environment that looks exactly the same as other places they have been. But now suddenly and inexplicably, NO fun or rough housing is allowed. Now when Terminator growls and rumbles and snaps like he did with his littermates he hears "NO!" Sometimes this "NO!" is followed by a swatting hand. Terminator is confused. He doesn't get it. Why can't he play the same way with these giant hairless dogs as he did with his puppy friends? If Terminator continues to be confused the play aggression may escalate into more dangerous and unacceptable behavior.
So how do we clear up the misunderstanding?
What can we do to help our beloved terriers be happy and yet not biting the giant hairless dogs? First, we must lower our expectations. A puppy just home from the breeders will chew. And he will do it continuously. When he starts to teethe it will get worse. He will mouth even more. But throughout this process we consistently persevere.
We patiently remind our canine friend THAT HE CAN mouth lots of other things, but not us. Mouth on skin is the ultimate NO-NO.
- He is allowed to mouth and destroy his own toys. Toys exist for dogs to play with. Terriers play by destroying/killing the toy. If you do not like this buy cheap toys so the playing/killing will not be so expensive. You must however accept that killing the toy is what makes it fun to the terrier.
- He can mouth towels, wet and twisted then frozen to help him with the teething discomfort.
- He can mouth his canine playmates.
When he mouths things that are unacceptable you can:
Spray Bitter Apple or dishwashing soap mixed with water onto the objects he is chewing (and also on your arms and hands, if he is mouthing you). The nasty taste will help Terminator self-correct and to learn that mouthing the giant hairless dogs is not really fun. They taste really bad! Be sure to give Terminator a substitute activity, like handing him a chew toy that he may mouth and then playing with him. The playtime is Terminator's reward for mouthing the right thing: his toy.
If your Terminator attempts to communicate with you verbally as if you were another dog, a.k.a. growls at you, work on building trust.
4Teach Terminator that nothing bad happens when you gently roll him on his back. As a matter of fact when he rolls on his back he gets little pieces of hot dog or special snack! Smile, be pleasant, and make a happy face when he is silent. Scrunch up your face, snarl, and make an unhappy face when he grumbles. Dogs read our bodies much better than they understand our words.
Teach Terminator that he can trust you by teaching a "leave it" command and then releasing him from the "leave it" with an "OK!" Do this by taking a toy or special treat and telling Terminator "leave it". Gently insist that he not sniff or lick the piece of hot dog. Reward him verbally for when he looks away from the hot dog; GOOD DOG! Then tell him "OK!" and let him have it. This way he learns patience, respect for you, and trust!
In aggression prevention it is important to establish proper communication with your dog. Construct a relationship with him that is built on love, trust and mutual respect. Your Jack Russell does not intuitively know that he can trust you. This is something he will learn and something you must earn. You earn your dog's trust by being honest. Don't wave a treat in front of his face and then not feed it to him. Don't call saying, "cookie" and then not deliver on the promised goods.
Build trust by teaching your dog that anything you might do to him is OK and will not hurt him. Couple undesirable occurrences (like a vet visit) with lots of positive reinforcement Next time you take Terminator to the vet, stop by the park on the way home. Feed Terminator a treat after the injections and praise and reassure him while the vet is examining him. Be sure to reward only confident behavior.
If Terminator cowers, turns into a wimp, not a word from your lips and no physical touch.
Either of these could be misunderstood as praise or acceptance of the cowardly behavior. Cowardly behavior can lead to fear. Fear leads to aggression. The next rung of the ladder is fear biting.
If you fire him up, help him cool down
What we view as aggression can be brought on by many common occurrences in a dog's life. Consider, for example, the high adrenaline activities Terriers enjoy; racing, go-to-ground, agility, bike riding, Frisbee. Even as puppies we fire them up and send them into the earth. We pull Terminator out of his safe crate into an unfamiliar environment, lead him over to this dark hole, fire him up and "boom" like lightening he is off to find the rats or whatever other monsters might inhabit the earth. Terminator is having a grand time. This is his element! He is home! All his primal instincts kick in. The adrenaline is pumping, his heart racing, and he is ready to kill. He gets to the caged rats and his little body explodes with barking and snarling. The killing machine is armed and dangerous.
Yes, Terminator, our little love machine that loves to cuddle and get rubbed behind his ears is now dangerous. He is a loaded gun. What happens next is really tough on Terminator. The giant hairless dogs grab him and take him away from his potential kill. And, it gets worse. They shove him in a crate. Terminator has not cooled down. He is still wired, and now he is trapped in the crate. The emotional roller coaster is intense. "I want out of here soooooo bad!!!"
Terminator has gone from being crated in an unfamiliar place, which is only moderately exciting, to being completely fired up, ready for the kill. Then he is just smashed back into the crate, waiting. "OK hairless ones, now what?" Nothing happens. Nobody comes back for him. He is stuck in his crate with nothing to do and his adrenaline exploding. It gets even worse. Now he can hear that other dogs are being given a shot at killing those rats that he was taken from. The adrenaline is not settling. Terminator is only six months old. He does not understand that this is a game. He has not learned to enjoy it. Terminator is frustrated and confused.
Help Terminator be less upset, angry and confused.
- Take him to several practice meets before entering him in a trial. Make sure you praise him IMMENSELY for leaving the rats and give him something special (like a piece of hot dog, favorite rawhide, or a bear hug.
- When you take Terminator to a trial, warm him up after you take him out of his crate. This could be done with an exercise he likes, like playing ball or tug.
- Carry Terminator over to the go-to-ground area. Let him watch other dogs go into the hole. Let him see that they are taken away from the rats. Be happy and encouraging during the entire process. Remember you are communicating to him that this is FUN, not torture.
- After Terminator performs, walk him for maybe ten minutes or more before crating him again. Jog him around, play tug with him, help him burn off that adrenaline. Allow him to return to his normal state, to no longer be loaded, cocked and ready to fire.
- When you do crate him, put a toy in the crate with him. This toy should be something he really likes. Kong, Rhino, or another toy that allows you to jam a cookie or peanut butter inside of it works well. Now the crate time is not so unpleasant. Terminator can lick the peanut butter and work on wedging free that precious cookie!
There are many other games that we play with our terriers that can spark an adrenaline response and cause Terminator to become dangerous.
Not just racing, but agility and even regular play. Keep your eyes peeled for dilated pupils and pounding heart. When your Terrier gets that "cocked and loaded look" he is ready to fire. However unacceptable to us, a Terrier that bites under those circumstances is being a very normal dog. Use the guidelines above to find an aggression prevention strategy for your dog.
There are many more reasons that a dog might be aggressive other than a surge of adrenaline or canine play targeted toward humans. An important consideration, in terms of dog aggression, is having your Terrier checked medically for thyroid, or other disorders that might be causing him pain or discomfort. After all, if you did not feel well you would be grumpy too.
No matter what causes a Terrier to be aggressive, we, the giant hairless people, bear the responsibility to teach our dogs alternative behaviors. Any aggression problem is our responsibility to fix. Even if it is not our dog, we all bear the responsibility to stop unacceptable aggression. After all, we live in a crazy world where normal dog behavior is penalized with capital punishment. There is no second chance. Make a difference now!
© Copyright 1998 Angelica Steinker, M.Ed. Author gives permission to print out and distribute this article for educational purposes providing both the author and this website (www.courteouscanine.com) are cited.