Bites when woke suddenly

Question
Hi, we have a Jack Russel, 8years old who we have been very loving towards all her life, when she sleeps next to me on settee and i move she goes to bite my leg on her being woke up, she does not do this with my hubby, i have tried to keep her off settee but she gets nasty if i push her down she has bit me a few times but not drawn blood , i love her so much but am at wits end as how to stop this behavior its only when woke suddenly it happens, no other time does she attemp to bite me. thank you

Answer
Jeanie

A couple of questions:
1.  Is this something new ??
2.  Does she do it if you say her name loud enough to rouse her from a deep sleep before you move ?

Now, as to her being demanding about being on the setee, she is being a major snot and that must stop right away. Neither you nor your husband should let her up on any furniture until you can trust her not to act like this.

The settee is **yours** and it's up to you who sits there and who does not.

I am not advocating that you hit her, but rather that you go father back in her training and rebuild the correct order of things in your household.  This is a lifetime challenge with terriers, and you are seeing the results of you getting used to not having to train now that she is an adult dog.

I would recommend that you go through the Nothing in Life Is Free document at this link. I think you will see how re-establishing who is who in your household is important.

http://www.cairnrescue.com/docs/NILIF.pdf

Obviously it will be vital that your husband expect the same things from her as you and that you both move through the process as a team - In other words, you do not give her X privilege until she is performing the precursor one very reliably for **both** of you.

I also recommend that you be the only source of food and treats - and that you only treat when training and require a quiet sit with an easy mouth.  No ifs ands or buts.

This makes it sound like I am a mean doggie mommy, but every dog I have ever known needs to step back a couple of steps from time to time to remember how they are expected to act.

I would also recommend that you use a crate for timing her out every time she's naughty. 20 minutes in a crate while being completely ignored (like she does not even exist) is probably the worst thing you can do to a terrier.

Good luck and keep me informed !

-Beth