Please help with terrier behaviour

GAVO

Hi all,
I need some help and quickly im running out of patience. We have a terrier just over a year old. From the first day we got her she was hyper. We assumed she would calm down. 1 year on and still no joy. She is grand around me, my wife and 2 kids. Nobody else can go near her or she starts snapping barking loudly and jumping at the person. We can not let her on the road as neighbours have been complaining that the minute she gets out kids go into there house crying with fright and fear because of our dog attacking them. Even adult neighbours she snaps at. I have tried punishing her but still no joy. About 3 months ago she ran at a car started snapping and going mad on a busy road and unfortunately got run over, breaking her back. It cost me nearly 1,500 euro to get it fixed with all the ongoing fees. Did she learn her lesson? No chance we now have to either keep her locked in the back garden or in the house with us, she sometimes sneaks out when one of the kids opens the door and all hell breaks out. Our kids cant bring there friends in and im getting so fed up. All recommendations welcome and badly needed. Please help.
p.s. sorry about long posting.

Mikey

Welcome here!!

I'm sorry she got hit! I'm glad she's back on track though-healthwise.

I'm going to highly highly recommend you see a trainer and start doing obedience. She is misbehaving because she is allowed to (even though you don't like her behavior and may punish her, she is getting away with it, and continuing). This is major major major -if she's biting people she needs professional work.

Terriers have high energy levels and need lots of exercise. What does your vet say (since the accident) about exercise? If she's cleared for it, start walking her early am and late pm (because less kids on the streets!) and wear her out. Tired dogs cannot be bad!!

The professional training is a *must*. She needs to learn manners, obedience and most importantly that you and your family are pack leaders and she must obey you!!

Just google your area, plus 'dog training' or 'dog classes' or 'dog obedience' to find trainer near you. Classes are very affordable and very essential

fawkese1

i also recommend a positive based trainer asap...

stop punishing your dog for this behavior, it hasn't worked so far because it really doesn't. it may occasionally suppress it, but it doesn't fix it. this calls for counter conditioning and desensitizing. if she is already biting people you should call in a pro.

i agree with mikey...as terriers are notorious for being little spunky balls of endless energy, they need tons of exercise and tons of training to keep them stimulated and prevent frustration...for both you and your dog.