Noises

Question
I live with my boyfriend who has a wire hair fox terrier.
He is 11 years old.
He has not been trained at all.
He hides behind the television and barks or growls.
Also, when a person is eating he will sit infront of them and bark/growl.
Is it possible to fix this behavior or is it too late to train him properly?
What I'm really concerned with is his reaction to certain sounds.
In particular a hissing type noise.
For example, we were watching a movie and in the movie they used a spray paint can.
No movie goes undisturbed by the dogs reaction.
He gets very vicious and savage.
It's hard to explain.
It is a temperamental dog but I have never seen him worse than when he hears that sound.
Almost as if he's ready to kill!
I was wondering if this is common in dogs.

Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Courtney;
No dog ius too old to train, unless it is so crippled up it can't walk well enough t be put through any exercises at all.
This dog has been spoiled and allowed to have his own way too long.
If this dog is in good health, and still lively and active, he may live another 5 or 6 years. You never can tell.
I have a 9 year old Australian Shepherd mnix that has grey hair, but that is the only sign that he is not a young dog. He is as active as he was when he was 1 year old, and can still jump the fence if he wants to. He runs and romps like a young pup.
I expect to have him for a long time yet, and he should be nearing the end of his life span, but he is not showing any signs of slowing down.
Petsmart and Petco have weekend obedience classes, and it would help you bond with the dog, and make him respect you if you took him and handled him through the class.
Those clases are group classes. The owner handles the dog, and the trainer teaches you how to train your dog.
He may have been laughd at for growling at movies, or it may be that hios hearing is so keen, it hurts his ears.
They hear everything louder than we do anyway, and maybe turning down the sound, and correcting him would help that situation.
The hissing noise.
maybe at one time he ran afoul of a snake and it hissed.
Dogs recover from snake bites very well, and if there was not an extreme amount of swelling, it may have gone un-noticed. He would associate the sound with the snake.
Or, maybe someone thought it was funny to come up to the yard, if it is fenced, and torment him through the fence, and hissed at him.
For some reason, some people, and a lot of teenage boys, think it is really cute to pester a dog inside a fence.
Another thing that would help, if it is a case of nerves, from being tormented, would be massages.
Go to this website and read about what can be done with the Tellington-Touch method of animal massage.
I have used it for many things for years, and have had great success with it.
I have cured dogs of aggressive bahavior, fears, excessive barking, pain of Arthritis and post surgery recovery.
It is great.
You can order a video from there to learn to do the massages.

   www.lindatellington-jones.com

Charlotte