jack russell aggression

Question
QUESTION: hi my 6 year old jack russell recently attatcked my father-in-law who he currently lives with.  He never attacks for no reason... my 4 year old son pushed him off the couch on his bad shoulder and he reacted by nipping my son in the leg.  He did not break his skin however my father in law went after him and my dog bit him several times badly. He really is a mushy dog 99% of the time unless provoked.  He is also very protective of the whole family.  My whole family is nervoous to have him around my son now and I'm wondering if you could suggest anything.  I refuse to put him down and that is what a lot of people are telling me to do.  What about shock collars and is training very expensive?  What can I do to save my dogs life??????  Help!
Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Sue,
I'm sorry you're having problems with your dog. A couple of red flags come up as I read your question. "he is mushy UNLESS PROVOKED", and "very protective of my family" tells me that he definitely has an aggressive tendency. Of course you don't want to put him down, he's been a close member of your family for 6 years!
Having said that, are you willing to put your family at risk of being severely bitten for sake of the dog? I know you don't want that either. Shock collars work for teaching dogs perimeters of their yards and/or property and aren't used on aggressive dogs.
It sounds like he was reacting aggressively to PAIN - being pushed on his sore shoulder, and then he reacted out of fear when your father in law went after him.  The first thing you should do is take him to the vet to be checked out and get some pain management for him until completely healed. Then, you DEFINITELY have to get him either into an aggression obedience class, or even better hire a personal dog trainer to come into your home and RE-PROGRAM him!!  He has to be taught that ANY form of aggression will not be tolerated. 6 years is a little old to begin but no case is ever hopeless. The trainer will teach you how to stop aggressive behavior before it escalates into something worse, like injuring your child. The entire family will have to be taught on how to handle this dog, and consistency is crucial in the training. I don't know where you live so I can't answer whether it is expensive or not, but the result in a well trained and trusted dog will be will worth the expense.  Dogs can feel when your nervous and will absolutely use that against you, so make sure he doesn't see or feel you as being nervous or he will actually start to think that HE is the leader of the family (pack) and become even more dominant aggressive. For now, and for safety sake, go out and get him a muzzle until he can be re-directed and taught that he is low man on the totem pole and has to behave and respect his humans.
It's not going to be an easy quick fix, so have faith and be patient and make sure you research trainers who are experienced in teaching aggressive dogs. There is hope!! Don't give up. You obviously love him very much and he's a lucky guy.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello and thank you for your advice it is extremely helpful.  Let me just ask you, we have a muzzle... do we keep it on him all the time?  LEt me also add that my son is only at my in laws house(WHERE THE DOG IS KEPT) three days a week two days for 3 hrs and wed is 6 hrs.  so far thev've kept the dog outside when he's there since the incident.  It's still been in the low 70's.  So my question is muzzle all the time??  and I found shock collars for aggression, you still don't recommend them?
Thanks again.

Answer
Hi Sue,
No he doesn't need to have the muzzle on all the time, but definitely when he is around children. This is only a temporary fix and the aggression training is highly recommended. I'm not too keen on shock collars but other people do use them, so it's really a personal and individual decision of yours whether to try it or not. I have found them to be confusing to the dog and prefer HUMAN correction - which can be done at anytime, anywhere by anyone. Once he learns that PEOPLE are in charge, the training seems to come easier. Shock collars can be undependable. It really is a personal choice. Best of luck with the training, jacks are SMART and he should pick up the training right away.
Take care