Jack Russell behaviour problem

the dee

My mother has a three year old male Jack Russell, apparently he's been doing this for some time but it's started to really annoy her.

In the evenings after his dinner and walk she brings him into the living room with her and my sister. They play with him and give him a chewy bone and he's fine for an hour or two while they watch tv. After a few hours he gets up and stands in front of my mother's arm chair and stares at her and growls, louder and louder. If she does nothing he barks and bites her shoe laces and pulls at them. She tells him to stop, invites him to sit next to her, scolds him etc. We can't figure out what he wants or why he does this. He doesn't stop until she stands up, but as soon as she sits down he starts again. She ends up just putting him to bed, even though he could stay in with them for another hour or two before they go to bed.

He only does this to her, never to my sister and never to me when I'm there. I've suggested she ignore him, not to reward his bad behaviour with attention. She doesn't have the patience to ignore him though and when I made her ignore him one time, he kept it up for about an hour, getting louder and louder and more annoying until she gave up and put him out.

Does anyone have any idea why he does this and what he wants and how to get him to stop?

the dee

Anyone?

fits

I think he's looking for attention.. Actually he's demanding it..

I'd deal with it by stopping for 5 minutes before he starts this behaviour and doing a little training or playing with him. Then go back to watching the television, and if he starts at this again, tell him no in an assertive voice. If he continues, I'd put him out in the hall until he is quiet.

He must learn that his owner decides when it is playtime, not him.

the dee

I've tried distracting him with a toy when he starts, not before he starts though. He's completely uninterested in anything but my mother.

She's the one who feeds and walks him most of the time. Could it be a dominance issue?

fits

the dee wrote: »

I've tried distracting him with a toy when he starts, not before he starts though. He's completely uninterested in anything but my mother.

She's the one who feeds and walks him most of the time. Could it be a dominance issue?

Well then she's the one who needs to try what I said. You say he'll stay quiet for three hours... now assuming that he doesnt need to pee or go to bed, she should get up and actually play with him an hour before this behaviour would normally occur. It will only take a few minutes of mental stimulation. He can sit, play ball, roll over etc....

Then she goes back to watching the television. I'm pretty sure he wont try the usual behaviour. If he does, he needs to be told its not acceptable (Again, I'm assuming he doesnt need to go to the loo). Dont make a game out of it, just a firm no and if it continues he's put outside (the hall is perfect) until he stays quiet, and then he can be let back in. Repeat as necessary.

Ideally this should all come from your mum.

echosound

Sounds like he's demanding attention, and the fact he's only going for your mother, in my experience JR dogs tend to be a one person dog, IYKWIM? once they decide who is their "human" this is the only person they'll listen to and will get very territorial if they feel a need to "protect" this human.

He sounds like he's trying to get your mother to get up and play with him or to give him attention, could she try to wear him out more before sitting down for the night, longer walks, longer/more strenuous playtime, etc? If he still tries this after you try the "more exercise" thing, your mother will have to get a bit harder and tell him "NO" and do the "pointing/wagging finger" thing (if the dog learns when you point your finger it means no, it can reinforce the spoken "no" too, our dogs know they're in trouble when I point the finger at them if they do something bold and will automatically sit) when he starts up, and do her utmost to not lavish attention on the dog, as he is learning that by pulling the laces etc he gets rewarded with attention.

Has he learned commands like Sit etc yet? Your mother should try ignoring him except for "sit" when he does this, and if he does indeed stop and sit quietly, re-inforce this "good" behaviour with a little treat or praise. He will soon learn the best way to get attention is to sit rather than barking and pulling laces.

HOpe some of this helps

the dee

Thanks for the advice.

He's not very well trained I must say. He can sit, give paw and roll over, but only in that order and when you have a treat for him in your hand. I'll pass that advice onto her. Cheers.

echosound

Ok, this might not be the best most technical way of training, but it worked for me - your JR already knows he will get a treat, and is aware of the sit command, so get your mum to get a store of tiny treats (eg dog nuts, as she can give him quite a few of these without making him sick) to keep in her pocket etc when she's sitting down.

Repeat the sit command while holding the dog nut firmly in her hand in front of him, letting the dog see it. When he sits, give him the nut and praise. After he gets used to this, ease up on the actual treats (your mum doesn't want to have to carry dog nuts everywhere at all times with her forever!), but use the same hand motion - ie hold her hand out in front of him like she's got the dog nut between her thumb and finger and say "sit", when he sits, lavish him with praise and rubs to make sure he knows he's done good.

I did this with our pup - started off by having a teeny treat every time to get her into the habit of sitting, then gradually eased off, replacing it with lavish praise (lots of head petting and enthusiastic "good dog!!!!"), but still using the motion of holding the hand out, and now when I hold my hand out and say "sit" the pup will automatically sit and be delighted with the pets and praise, and forget that there used to be a nut at the end of her efforts

peasant

In short ..the dog is a cute little bastard and has your mum well under his paw.

I bet you, there are a few more behavioral issues besides this really obvious one

He only does "tricks" when the reward is certain, he only is quiet while he has a bone to chew on and whe he's bored, he demands attention ...and he gets it.

As this behaviour is by now well established, trying to ignore him while wanting to watch telly will be a long and unnerving process, as you've already found out. Unless your mom is prepared to sit through hours on end of annoying dog, I would suggest to forget about the ignoring. Because if the dog "wins" ...even if it is after 12 or more hours , it wins ...and that's all that counts in his mind.

The only thing that will help in this case is a radical routine and regime change.
Basically you change everything. Times for his feeds and walks, places where he is allowed to sit and where he isn't, the location of his bed, his favourite toys ...everything. Nothing should be predictable for him any more.

And then YOU (or rather your mom) take command.

You call him for his feed, you make him "sit" and only then does he get his bowl. If he doesn't obey ...the food disappears. (don't worry , he can go hungry for a day or two if needs be)
You call him for walks, make him sit to attach the lead ...if he doesn't obey, the walk doesn't happen.
On the walk, take a totally different route than usual, make him pay attention.
Whatever it is he wants or needs, make him do something (sit really is the easiest) to earn it. If he doesn't "work" for it, he doesn't get it.

If he kicks up a stink, throw him out. That means: scoop him up and push him through the door into the next room or the hall or whatever is convenient ...as long as it is away from "the action". Let him back in after a few minutes (but only if he's quiet) and repeat if necessary.

All of the above "regime change" has to happen quietly, sternly, decisively, without much fuss, without aggression but also without hidden smiles or any "watering down" of the measures.

(It would help for your mother to think this through before she starts ...after all she wants to make the dogs life difficult and unpredictable for a few days, not her own. So it's good to have a plan beforehand and introduce changes that are obvious and confusing to the dog while still allowing oneself to get through the day in a reasonably "normal" fashion. Also, it is a good idea to include the rest of the family in "the plan" and make sure they stick to it as well)

You the boss ...or rather your mum should be.

If she manages to pull this through and stick with it, she should see results fairly quickly. Then she has the opportunity to re-introduce the word "no"

At the moment the dog doesn't understand "no" ...it's just another form of attention to him.

But once he starts taking notice of you mother's "power" again (and whoever controls the resources has the power ), "no" can be re-introduced as a command and should regain its original meaning.


Good luck !

coisaille

Hi, my 7 month old pup started doing a version of this for a while - jumping up on me and barking (for attention) I agree with peasant, its all to do with routine and habit - he's probably got used to doing this every night now and until something changes he'll keep going!

You need to put him straight out of the room as soon as he starts - dont make eye contact or anything, just lead him out and leave him for a couple of minutes - bring him back in and repeat the process if he starts again- he'll soon get the idea...

I found it helped not to give kongs/chewy treats etc as soon you go into the room(I used to do this to keep mine occupied) as they will learn to expect it - if you want to give one wait until some random time during the evening when doggy is lying down + relaxed or else give it to him in the kitchen before you go in there...

I don't know if this would work for everyone but I keep the sitting room as a sort of chill out zone different from other rooms in the house - ie no energetic games etc that will get em hyped up - keep that for the outdoors and kitchen, works for me but maybe thats because I'm dealing with a high energy pup! Also, do your own thing when you go in there first, ignore him and only give him pets etc when he's quiet.

Best of luck, it might take a week or two but persevere and be patient and he'll be grand