Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 10/16/2008

Question
My dog, Bailey is a Jack Russell terrier, male, neutered will be 5 in Dec.  We adopted him at 13mos.  He use to sleep with us but if my husband would get out of the bed, he would growl and show teeth and not let him back in bed.  We then let him sleep in his bed in the bedroom, he would move his bed under ours, and if the husband got of of bed would charge him and not let him back in.  We have now put him in the kitchen and shut the doors.  He scratches at the door, separation anxiety?  He also gets aggressive around food, if we are eating.  The other night after we ate, we gave him some scraps, my husband had him in his lap at the table (I know we should no do this) and the dog wanted to get on the table, my husband said no and turned him around, the dog growled and snapped at him.  Aside from us, doing the things we should not, Bailey is really sweet and a good dog.  Should I try to find a dog trainer or what do you suggest on helping with the aggression?  We appreciate any feed back!  Thanks Diane Paul and Bailey

Answer
You are setting this dog up to fail, and the worst part is, you know it.

No dog demonstrating aggression toward humans should be fed table scraps at any time, for any reason.  By literally sharing your food, you are giving the dog mixed signals about its place in your household.  The JRT is a strong candidate for aggression, both male and female, which is why breeding these dogs requires a very vigilant attitude toward temperament, into adulthood.  Age 5 is a threshold of adult behavior in the domestic dog (the last one) and it's not uncommon to see (certain breeds) dogs obtaining dominance related aggression.  From your description, it appears that is what your JRT is experiencing; however, this could also be a fear aggression problem regarding your husband and it's impossible for me to tell that from here.  A "dog trainer" is the LAST thing you need.  VERY FEW such persons understand aggression and even fewer know how to deal with it.  What you need is a certified applied animal behaviorist; the wrong "trainer" can turn this developing problem into a nightmare that can result in the dog's death.  I suggest you call around to the better veterinarians in your area and the veterinary college in your geographical area to attempt to locate a certified specialist.

Meanwhile, it is not separation anxiety (per se) for your dog to be scratching at the door.  He is attempting to get out and/or solicit your response to his attempt.  IGNORE it.  Don't even go NEAR the door when he's scratching.  He belongs in the kitchen!  You've done the right thing, and that's where this dog needs to sleep for a very long time.  DO NOT FEED HIM FROM THE TABLE FOR ANY REASON.  If he makes a commotion around your dinner time, do not allow him in the room with you while you are eating.  Further, you need to obtain knowledge regarding positive reinforcement training and give this dog one strong behavior he can always, 100% of the time, succeed at.  Once this is obtained, you need to ask this dog to earn everything.  This is called Nothing in Life Is Free (NILIF) and it works; it successfully reduces psychological rank.  Since your dog is not demonstrating any other sort of dominance related behaviors (such as guarding doorways, front door vigilance, trophying objects, guarding his own food, etc.), the NILIF regimen should be sufficient.  But any active dog to human aggression needs the in person evaluation of a specialist.  A growl is a bite waiting to happen; your dog has already snapped at your husband (on several occasions).  He's losing bite inhibition and you need professional help.