My dog is aggressive, lunges, and bites. How can I stop this?

Question

We got our dog 6 weeks ago and the big problem with him is that he often lunges at us and tries to bite. We have tried everything including; turning away, putting him in his kennel, holding his mouth shut, mimicking the sound of a hurt puppy, classes, and distracting the aggression with a toy. None of these things have worked for more than a day, and the attacks keep happening. It comes at random times with no triggers. We want to keep him, but we can't spend our lives getting bit. Please help! Pet's info: Dog | Jack Russell Terrier | Male | neutered | 2 years and 9 months old | 44 lbs

David Darvishian · Accepted Answer

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Mickey. Sounds like you have tried almost about everything. Unfortunately, some dogs never make good pets due to underlying problems that lead to bad behaviors. I would advise working one on one with a certified canine behaviorist or trainer and placing Mickey on a drug trial. There are many drugs to try to affect his abnormal behavior while working with a trainer to modify his behavior. I would advise taking him to your vet. Your vet can gather a history, perform an exam and then advise you on any diagnostics/treatments that they feel is appropriate. Some bad behaviors could be caused or made worse by medical problems so ruling them out is important. A minimum database would be fecal/blood/urine tests and possibly some imaging studies such as x-ray. Once a medical problem is ruled out, a sound treatment plan can be implemented with drugs and effective training. Good luck with Mickey.

My dog is aggressive, lunges, and bites. How can I stop this?

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