My six year old Jack Russel Terrier, Tia, hates men!

Hello all,
I'm new to this site and really need some help! I have a lively Jack Russel Terrier, she's called Tia. I have had her since she was one, taken from an old man that couldn't look after her but treated her well (we assume.) She is a fantastic dog, lovely natures, everyone that meets her thinks she is lovely. She lives with my Nan, because my family are out too much and though it would be cruel to leave her at home alone all day. So the only people that see her are my Nan, my Mum, my sister, and me. All female. The only male she sees is my Nans brother, but she has known him since we had her. Recently, I took my boyfriend to see her and I was holding her. She started growling and snarling at him, and tried to get out of my arms. We put her on the floor and she did the same thing. We took her to the vets today, and realising the Vet was male, warned him that Tia seemed to not like men. He put a muzzle on her but Tia got it off and tried to attack the Vet! She couldn't have her nails clipped. So it seems my dog doesn't seem to like strange men for no apparent reason. I wanted to know if anyone has had the same problem and were able to resolve it or knows someone that could help!? It would be much appreciated, thank you.

I will be watching this thread with interest as my youngest bullie doesn't always like strange men.
She will bark at them, but she has a waggy tail

I was told if she barks at them, to ignore it and just carry on walking, taking her away from the situation.

I have a similar problem - my dog hates men. She is nervous of most strangers though so it is not quite the same case.

You need to introduce her to them carefully.

Find a distance she is happy with seein men at. Treat her and move away. Continue until she can get closer and closer with no reaction. Hopefully if she is friendly and confident she should soon be able to take food, or engage in play with or near strange men. If you see men on walks call her away from them. Make sure she is not put in a situation where she feels she has to bark. If she barks, you have gone too far - walk futher back from the man and find her safe point.

You may find it useful to look over some of my previous threads.
Also the book 'click to calm' is good, as is 'The Cautious Canine' - a cheap 30 page-ish handbook about dealing with fear based aggression.

You may need to watch your dog or contact a behaviorist to find the reason behind her reactions to men, and a behavior/training program to follow

Thanks for the advice, I will look into getting the handbooks and see if I can do something! I think it's more of a protective agression with Tia, rather than fear of men. I don't understand why it's only strange men and not women but who knows what they are thinking! I'm going to try something this weekend as me and my boyfriend plan on taking her to Delemere forest! Just have to keep hold of her I guess..!

Remember tail wagging in dogs just means an emotionally agitated dog, but not necessarily a happy or friendly one.

You need to encourage a positive association with calm behaviour around men which involves working outside the edge of her critical distance, so she is aware but not reactive beyond the arousal level that you can control and refocus to an enjoyable experience.

IMO you need to start with good basic control outside the problem situation then build from there, increasing control/influence and decreasing distance, while maintaining positive associations.

You need to gradually accustom her to happily wearing a muzzle, away from problem situations, when she is calm and happy.

That would also provide some protection for your boyfriend, while she is getting used to him.

With my male GSD mix, he hated everything, strangers, dogs, bikes, lorries, kids and even me.. I always went to my OH's house (he's my OH's) bearing treats and as soon as I went in the door I would wait for the barking to stop and throw a treat on the floor and walk straight through.. after 3 months (I only went at weekends, results would've been quicker if I went every day) he allowed me straight in - I still got the barking, but it was excitement not fear..

We did the same with everything else (except bikes, strangers and dogs) - everytime something went past that he disliked we threw a treat on the ground..

We are still working on dogs but have discovered that if he meets a dog outside our house and garden he is more likely to go at them in an aggressive manner, however if they pay him no attention and we walk with them - he will settle down.. Not many dogs would put up with barking in their face and his dominating stances and acts though.. He allows dogs onto our property (ours not his) and then will walk with them and I haven't tried it but I guess he would recognise them outside - may have to give it a try..

With the bikes - the treats didn't work - so I used a method of flooding him with it.. I simply cycled with him next to me - he was barking at the wheels for a while but he soon got tired and focused on the exercise.. that took about half an hour and after our 3 hour run - he didn't want to know us But as I knew his personality I knew he would give it up quickly.. He now is trusted (with me and OH) offlead around cyclists as he will not even bat an eyelid.

Strangers we tackled in a mixture of both methods, first everyone we invited round was told to ignore him and then when he'd sniffed them or was quiet - to throw a treat for him, then in May this year we had a huge gathering - I completely forgot about Benjie - but he behaved, he barked at them but he was told to be quiet and he kept himself to himself - despite some bringing their own dogs with them..

What you can do with Tia is to make men the most fantastic people she will ever meet because they have yummy treats.. and all you need is some willing participants and an empty street and chicken - all they have to do is stand 10 or so feet away from each other and throw her chicken as you walk past.. then when she is OK with that, then you can stop and talk to each of them, and they can still throw her chicken.. then after that they can walk with you and build on it that way..

In no circumstance should they touch her.. she has to get to trust men from a distance first.. touching her comes later..

I think that makes sense, others may have different methods but this is the one I used for my dog.. of course not all methods suit all dogs and you may find this one doesn't work for you..

Good luck.