Growls at husband after 7 yrs OK

[NanceePang]

My Jack Russell, Rollo, was fine with my husband and me, for 7 years. My husband walked Rollo cleaned him, all was OK. Last October 2019, he started to growl at Hal when he tried to put on his harness... We've been to so many trainers and behaviorist at Tufft's University, No help at all... Rollo is fearful, does not like to go out but is OK once outside, he  likes some dogs and gets aggressive with others.  He is a very smart dog. 

[Adrienne]

Hello, 

Welcome to the forums!

Any time there is a dog with a history of acting normally, and then, out of the blue, there are incidents of aggression (growling, snapping, biting),  I feel it's important to firstly rule out medical problems. There can be several medical conditions in dogs that may trigger behavior changes.

 

For example, hypothyroidism, which occurs when the dog suffers from a low count of thyroid hormones can cause increased weight gain, hair loss, lethargy, low tolerance of cold, and behavior changes such as anxiety, fear and aggression. Jack Russell are listed as a breed predisposed to this. 

 

Other conditions that come to mind are painful conditions such as arthritis or other orthopedic problems,  ear problems, muscle sprains  etc. which can cause uncharacteristic reactions. Loss of hearing or loss or loss of eye sight can too trigger unusual reactions. If you saw a board-certified veterinary behaviorist (DACVB), I assume that they must have run several tests to rule out medical problems, however, it can happen at times that something may have been missed. If something medical was missed, it is difficult to treat the behavior if the underlying root cause is not addressed. 

 

If medical reasons have been ruled out through a thorough battery of tests, then we must consider triggers or situations at an emotional level. Here are a few ideas as to what may have happened:

 

-Perhaps your husband accidentally pinched his skin when he snapped the harness clip? Maybe your dog experienced some type of pain or something frightened him that day and this left a strong impression. "Single event learning" refers to a single episode of something fearful occurring that has an everlasting impact. 

-Another possibility is that your dog has associated having the harness being put on with going outside. You mention that he doesn't like to go out but is fine once out, but dogs are more likely to make connections between closer events so if he dreads going out even though it's only initially, he may associate the harness with that and this may have triggered some defensive aggression. It would be important therefore evaluating exactly why it is that he doesn't like to go outside. Is he afraid of noises? Are there dogs barking in the neighborhood? Does he not like the sound of his tags making sounds? At what point of the walk does he seem to tolerate it more? 

 

Working on this issue may involve the use of desensitization and counterconditioning in hopes of changing the emotional response.  

 

Here is how desensitization works:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

 

And here is counterconditioning:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

 

And this is the importance of keeping the dog under threshold:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

Please let me know what type of work the trainers and behaviorists have done so far on your dog, how he responded and for how long the behavior modification suggested was applied for. Did you have a professional guide your through behavior modification to ensure it's implemented correctly? Did they offer follow-ups?  I would like to do some further troubleshooting on what may have gone wrong. 

 

Looking forward to more information.

Adrienne