I have a 4 year old fox terrier. I got him as a puppy from a refuge here in France and he was about 8 weeks old. One of a litter of 4. The tails of each pup and been cut off leaving a tiny stump. I think that is the reason why they were handed over by the farmer who bred them - mistake made and I assume that made them worthless. I have had both Cairns and Westies - angels in comparison.
Most terriers are feisty and strong willed but he is more so than most. He has an aversion to many things and his response his to attack. The first was to scissors. I used to be in the habit of grooming my other dog whilst listening to the radio but the first time he saw scissors he went for me. I tried various brushes - same thing - attack and tried one of those rubber mitts. It was OK the first time I used it but thereafter he hated it. I can scratch his back with quite a lot of force and he doestn't mind that. The upshot is that he has to go to the vet occasionally to be knocked out and have his hair cut.
The second aversion is to certain noises. When I need to re-fill my printer he comes running at the sound of the cellophane paper being opened. We have clerestory windows along one side of our house which are operated with a lever and he will appear as soon as the lever is lifted.
Both these operations are now done when he is not in the room but he still hears and comes running to the door.
The third aversion is to rolls of kitchen paper and other white things. Recently I was dressing my husband's arm using a strip of fabric to cover the dressing. He didn't attack because we disappeared into the bathroom to finish the task.
On a couple of occasions when he's been sleeping on the settee next to me I've got up and he's leaped at me. Same thing if I'm in a chair and he's sleeping on the floor.
He's recently started having a go at my husband too.
Whenever this happens its hands and arms that he goes for and I have been bitten. I make him go outside to remove him from the scene and let him back in after about 10 minutes. He seems to be aware that he's done something wrong because he will go off to his bed. I've only hit once and that was when I got him outside and he continued to attack me and I wacked him with a washing up bowl which happened to be handy.
He was neutered as a puppy but he mounts our sheepdog bitch everyday, usually after their dinner whilst she is lying on the floor grooming herself. He also wants to play with her and she is usually reluctant. She does occasionally flatten him when she is fed up but she is pretty tolerant.
I took him to our local vet recently who said that he wasn't aggressive because he would be attacking him or his assistant and he is friendly towards visitors to the house and also to other dogs. It's just us two that he attacks. The vet made an appointment to see another vet who specialized in behaviour but the appointment was cancelled because it turned out that the vet only did work on aggressive dogs for the courts.
Various people have come up with different theories as to how to deal with him but to my mind there is an element of cruelty involved.
He is not always like this. He'll sit between my feet or next to me or on my lap to be stroked.
I took him to our local vet recently who said that he wasn't aggressive because he would be attacking him or his assistant and he is friendly towards visitors to the house and also to other dogs. It's just us two that he attacks. The vet made an appointment to see another vet who specialized in behaviour but the appointment was cancelled because it turned out that the vet only did work on aggressive dogs for the courts.
I watched the recent Channel 4 series about dog training and he is not as bad as a lot of those. I have looked on line to try to find a behavourist who will do telephone consultations but those who do, aren't doing so at the moment. I think that some of it is because he remembers having his tail cut - scissors, paper towels and cloth but the noises?
I shall be extremely grateful for any advice you can give me.
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