dog growling when disciplined and snapping at people

Question
why does my dog growl when my family discipline him? he's a Parkinson jack Russell terrier cross and the other day he went for my sister and mom but we're completely baffled by this? why did he go for them but not me? and how do i stop him whining all the time?

Answer
Hi Hayley,

Thank you for writing to me about your JR mix.  If your dog is whining all the time then he's either unhappy, in pain, but suffering in some way emotionally or physically or both.  He may also not be getting enough exercise.  A tired dog is a good dog. JR's are high energy dogs that require a great deal of exercise and mental stimulation.

How are you disciplining your dog?  If you are hitting him or scaring him, then you are causing his aggression.  Aggression begets aggression!  That is the rule.  Do not discipline your dog..rather teach him in a positive way exactly what you want from him.  It is your responsibility to educate yourself or to hire a professional trainer who uses positive reinforcement methods to show you how to train your dog.  You can also take a class.

There are so many books and tapes avabilable these days that show you how to use reward as a motivation to get your dog to follow your lead.  There is a great website that sells books and tapes for this purpose called www.dogwise.com/  There are also some programs that can help such as Victoria Stillwells, It's me or the Dog.

I would like to recommend contacting the behavorists on all experts that specialize in behavior and aggression.  They are best suited to guiding you in how to get your dog to do what you want without punishment, which is not the approach that is working anyway.  So stop punishing and start learning the skills and language that your dog will understand.  If you continue in this punishment mode you are going to ruin a good dog for life.

Here are the people I recommend you contact:

Anne Springer, B.S., Dip., CAPCT
Jill Connor, Ph.D.
Jody Epstein, APDT
Kathie Compton, BA, CDBC, CPDT-KA
Lee Charles Kelley

Best of luck,
Shelley Davis