Our Jack Russell plays very aggressively with other dogs

Question
Hi Carol,

Thanks in advance for your help. My husband and I recently rescued a little Jack Russell, Barney. We have been told he is aged between 1 and 2 years. He has been very sweet with us and our in-laws who we are living with, and enjoys playing with their 7 year-old Border Collie bitch. The games can be quite rough but she is the boss and puts him quickly in his place. My sister-in-law comes over often with her 2 dogs - a male Pomeranian who, after an initial confrontation (that we walked them through) gets on well with Barney. He gives as much as he gets and isn't afraid of Barney's rough play - lips pulled back and lots of growling and nipping around his face. The other dog is a female Sharpei, probably a similar age to Barney. She is VERY placid and sweet, and Barney has started attacking her, unprovoked She is much larger and stronger than he is but doesn't fight back at all.  The past couple of times she has come over, Barney has drawn blood - once on her (very large) jowels and this last time in two places on her body.  

We also can't let him off the lead when at the doggy park because he plays so roughly and ends up almost getting in many fights even when he is on the lead. What is the best thing we can do to curb this very anti-social behaviour?

Warm regards,

Belinda Henderson (in Canberra, Australia)

Answer
Belinda, that was very kind of you to rescue Barney. He sounds like he's a good boy but could definitely use some social and aggression training. I would recommend hiring a professional because he's had a year of being allowed this aggression and it's going to take a lot of work to change that learned behavior. It's crucial because you want to have him for a very long time and no dog is safe around him the way he is right now.  You can start working with him now by simply watching very very closely and correcting him immediately at the onset of the aggression. You have to "snap him out of it" before he has a chance to act out the aggression (curled lip, etc) Your job is to break his concentration with a quick poke to his neck or hind quarter to distract that aggressive thought before he has a chance to act on it. Dogs learn best when corrected at the time, not 5 minutes later. Get him right at the time he's thinking about it and redirect those thoughts. I hope this helps. Good luck with Barney!