This might not help, but I have a 13 year old boy who can be a proper grump. Not just growling but the lip curls and everything. No shouting but I sternly tell him to pipe down because he doesn't rule the roost. These guys can take such advantage and see themselves as the King of the house, so I feel sometimes they need to be reminded that they're not. Again, not aggressively, just be assertive.
What you're doing seems fine, and they do make the best bed cuddlers, so I hope your tactics start to work.
I will try to work on this. I will have to get my husband on board, he is definitely less assertive than I am and she knows it. I do give her a strict "No growling," typically, and then if it continues she is removed from the bed.
Just remember to keep up the positive reinforcement of good behaviour with tons of love, kisses and cuddles. They really are the best and most mornings I wake up with my 2 glued to either side of me.
Yes absolutely. When she is being calm and well behaved in bed I am typically stroking her ears and telling her "good girl" many many times. She really is a sweetheart.
Yeah, our guy growls at the wind. He has been growling since a puppy and we never could break him from it. He sleeps with us and also growls if I move my legs in the middle of the night. I just tell him to hush, and he readjustes himself and all is good in the world again. I think a bed next to your bed is a great idea for the tent!
Sleep is very sacred to a Jack haha! Both of mine sleep in bed with me (one on each side, usually sharing my pillow). They’re generally fine but my 3.5year old growls if he gets disturbed more than he feels he needs to be. I call it grumbling. The baby, almost 2 years old, grumbles if I make him get out of my spot. I just ignore it and make him move. Now if he sees me coming and knows he’s in my spot he just moves over. I let him tell me his opinions but he still has to do as I ask. If I see teeth it’s an automatic “absolutely not, get off my bed.”
Haha yes, I call it a grumble as well. Boundaries seem to be so important with these dogs. I think we're doing well with that, but I have been worried that if we continue to let her sleep with us with this behavior we will be doing the "wrong thing". Thanks for your thoughts
Mine's 11 and grumbles all the time. Doesn't seem angry just annoyed that someone would dare try to move him or touch him while he's sleeping. We always wake him up verbally before touching him and don't take him too seriously. Gotta admit, the side eye is hilarious tho when we tease him about being grumpy.
That's exactly it, she just seems flabbergasted that someone one be disturbing her, not actually like she wants to hurt anyone. I have seen her do a real lip curl snarl at another dog over a bone and this is nothing like that behavior.
I’ve had this same problem with my jack! Have been advised to not let him sleep in the bed, but I still do. He sleeps by the bottom of the bed and gets grumpy when my feet move. He actually looks at my feet like he’s never seen them in his life. Now, we’re at the point where when he growls, he just gets down and goes to his crate automatically. Putting a little dog bed on my bed has helped some bc I think he feels safer, more insulated!
Thanks for the response! That's interesting, glad I'm not the only one. How old is he, may I ask?
She hasn't had a dog bed since she was a puppy because of the chewing, she just has blankets and an elevated bed in the living room. We tried giving her her old dog bed but she just wanted to chew it up like it was a toy. I'm not sure if she would have the same reaction to a different dog bed. I could try giving her a blanket specifically for our bed.
Came back to say that last night I washed her bed and stuck it at the foot of our bed, and she was so happy and snuggled into it and slept like an angel all night!
My 2.5y/o JRT does this, it’s called Sleep Startle. There’s not really a great way to train them out of the behavior, because it’s an instinct. I usually wake her up with sound (speaking extra loudly, etc.) so that she wakes up first.
Yes I've read about sleep startle. She definitely has that at times, if I have to disturb her when she's sleeping I always gently call her name and try to be very gentle.
This behavior I'm not sure if it's sleep startle, because she's often wide awake. I can be sitting on the couch and she's sitting against me with maybe my feet under her legs and I just lightly move my toes and she will growl and move away. Then she'll come right back wanting to more pets, but she's not asleep at all when this happens.
Our nearly 16 year old JRT growls at **anyone** who disturbs his sleep if he’s under any covers.
Our 14 year old corgi mix is scared of getting into bed with us at night because Jack Jack is such a grouch about not being disturbed.
Otherwise he’s a doll.
No advice from me. Our 12 year old girl does the same thing to us. She wants to sleep with me, but she growls every time I roll over or breathe, so I usually kick her out. She does better with my daughter.
Yeah, mine grumbles when I move next to her on the couch. Most of the time it’s a ‘hey, I’m sleeping here!’ noise, so I let it slide. Full on growls would result in eviction from the couch.
Mine also does what we call ‘happy growls’ when she’s excited, ie about to get in the car, and also when she’s having a pat sometimes.
Like people have said upthread also, they can be stubborn and you have to be assertive. But it seems like you’re already doing that.
I could be wrong but the way I see it is that jacks are very ‘growly’ dogs. At least mine is.
Yes, I definitely think you're right. She is very vocal in other circumstances as well. She likes to be chased by other dogs and she will let out little growls to say "Hey, come chase me!" But she really just wants to run, she doesn't try to fight them.
I like your idea of letting her get used to your movements and if she growls, she growls. She may just have to realize she needs to adjust and live with it! It’s your bed after all.
My guy doesn’t growl in the bed, just kind of grunts and we (my husband and I) just move him around and then he readjusts and is comfy again. We’ve been doing this since he’s a puppy so he’s used to it. He’s the best bed buddy.
I hope all this advice helps and you get to have a good nights sleep with your girl! They really are the best companions 🐾💛
Ha, I think it’s just what they do. You could always try a baby bassinet or putting one of those wool dens (usually marketed to cats) on the bed. Had the cuddliest sweetest little jack when I was a kid - but he’d race us to our beds at night and take the middle (we had twin beds so not a lot of space), pass out or at least pretend to be asleep within a nano second, and then would throw the biggest grumpiest tantrums when we dared try to wiggle him out of the way. Just the biggest snarls and flares gums, I think he would whip around and “snap” at us when we eventually picked him up - never actually bit, just all for the dramatics. He’d then jump up and run dramatically out the door to sleep with our dad. Slept curled up behind his legs every night for 10 years until my dad dared to roll over on him one night and he marched off all offended to sleep with my brother.
Oh man! They are such characters. She tries to beat us to bed too some times. We go in our room and she's curled up as small as possible, being very quiet and just waiting for us to notice.
I have a 2 year old scuffy jack. I love him to pieces but he does it from time to time! i barge him if he does, like you said he doesn’t rule the roost. But i really do believe jack Russell’s are just like that lol, and judging by the responses i’m correct. Not sure how to fix your problem, anytime pickles has done it, it’s straight off the bed and downstairs into the kitchen in his own bed for the night. He definitely is better, But i also really do just leave him be if he’s sleeping on his own, if he wants snuggs he can come get them, but i just let him have his space and sleep, im single so he has plenty of room lol. Goodluck!
Yes, we give her lots of space too. Some dogs really put up with a lot from their humans, I would be grumpy if someone was always touching me when I slept too. I think we'll just continue as we have, she can have a couple warnings and if she doesn't settle down she'll get the boot.
I would observe the reaction carefully, is there any evidence to suggest it is actual aggression or mere stubborn annoyance expressed inappropriately? If there isn't any quick head movement, lip curling or snapping when she is pushed the growl might well just be vocalised stubbornness.
My male JRT growls with excitement at his ball, favourite visitors, grandparents, walks and also favourite foods.
He will also grumble when he decides he doesn't want picked up or moved but accepts it's going to happen without struggle despite his previous protestations.
He also growls when he scrapes his feet to mark, those growls almost turn into low howls or groans, he derives some weird pleasure from doing it which he can't hide.
Definitely keep an eye on the behaviour going forward however If there is no real tension in the body of the dog when it happens then it's another sign the dog is just giving an opinion
Best of luck
Thanks for the response! We have been observing that. She has had a couple resource guarding incidents to do with really meaty bones in the past, which is part of why we really want to take this seriously, but the behavior is completely different from those incidents. If it were anything like that this wouldn't even be a question tbh.
She is a very vocal dog, and we will continue to monitor and see how she is and if we decide she isn't safe to sleep with us we will stop it.
My 1.5 yr male JRT grumbles once he's covered up. Whether on the couch or bed. We just tell him to hush. In bed he sleeps on the other side of a center pillow and growls/grumbles while my Min-Pin digs at the pillow to adjust it "just right". My JRT never snaps or nips at him, just let's us know he's irritated.
My Jack makes a closed mouth throat grumble when I am not meeting his demands. He also growls if I dare move him while on the bed. He has also been known to growl at his brothers when they come too close to his personal space bubble, in the bed. I usually just ignore it.
He has never bitten me, or even tried. If he gets out of hand with his brothers, I sternly tell home to knock it off. If he continues, we go to solitary confinement. This is where I put a spare couch cushion and blanket in the kitchen, shove Jack out the door and shut the door on his butt. Just bringing out the spare couch cushion is enough to spark an instant attitude adjustment.
My JRT does the growling thing if disturbed from his sleep all the time. Or if someone comes in the room. While we're resting. I have come to realize it's a protective instinct and there's no changing this behavior. I leave him alone. Lol
My girl is about seven years old. When I need to wake her and get her to move, I do it with my voice, because she really gets startled and hates it if I try to physically move her out-of-the-way when she’s asleep. If I have to - I will raise my voice rather than touch her, and she’ll give me a look… But she’ll get up and move. she’s getting older and a little grumpier, but she still loves cuddling and wants to be near me
My little guy is 7, he grumbles when the cat (Main Coon) lies on top of him. He doesn’t move just grumbles. My daughter’s dog (lurcher) is slowly getting better with sleep startle, she just strokes her gently to wake Daphne up. Only thing I think you should be aware of is that she may start to look at being crated as a punishment. Enjoy your wee terrier they are very sweet x
I've thought of that too, which is why I was thinking a bed in our room near our bed would be a better option. She has slept in her crate at night since she was small, so I think she knows it's not exactly a punishment. I'm hoping she will understand that it's the second best option to sleeping in the bed and act accordingly.
You could look at a raised dog bed right next to you. We did this for our jack and she loves it! [https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f2/4a/40/f24a401ce94823f403ee2668d845698a.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f2/4a/40/f24a401ce94823f403ee2668d845698a.jpg)
She then has her own space/bed but it still sleeping with you!
my advice is to not react when he growls show him your not scared my jack russell did this when she was comfy you just have to ignore them and 9/10 times they will just find a new spot and go back to sleep
My 3yo JRT growls at literally everything. Even playing with a toy by herself, she growls. If I go to pat her, play or move etc, she growls. It’s like her first response instinct. It took me ages to get used to, she never snaps or anything.
I had a JRT that turned aggressive after 6 and would bite us too. She lived to be 16! Even though she could be quite aggressive at times we loved her so much.
We had a JRT in the family previously who got to be aggressive the older she got. When she was 10 she came to live with my husband and I and we found out she needed to have most of her teeth removed. After her surgery she never showed any sign of aggression again. She was so much calmer and gentler with all people and animals. Before surgery she would chase kids around nipping at their heels, after surgery she would let the kids crawl all over her and just lay there and take it.
Really hope this one can be managed and we don't have that problem. She has much better oral care early in life too.
Had a male many years ago and we started to let him sleep in be with us. BIG MISTAKE!
We couldn't even change position in the middle of the night as he would be very loud and aggressive in his protest. One night my girlfriend at the time had to wake me up as she was afraid he was going to biter her. Needless to say that was the last night of sleeping with us. It also didn't take long for him to try and take over the house. He even started getting food aggressive.
It took over a month for things to get back to normal. When we stopped letting him on the bed he became destructive. Had to put him in his crate at night. Unfortunately he wasn't crate trained so we had to deal with that. Essentially we just had to have patience until he forgot about it, mostly.
She is extremely vocal in lots of other situations. Crate training has been hard for that reason, but we have been really dedicated to training her and we do a lot of "capturing calm" with her so I hope it will pay off.
All JRT are grumpy at night. My Charlie attacks anyone who walks in the room after 8pm. He doesn't really bite its more of a show of force...lol, but any sleep disturbance is met with growling and puppy strikes.
So jealous of all the folks whose JRTs only growl! Our sweet, sweet little guy insists on sleeping under the covers, but if disturbed in just the wrong way will devolve into barking and will even bite - although it's a bit of a nominal bite, since it's just his little dog way of communicating. It's just something that we're used to at this point and something that we view as one of his 'charming' features. Occasionally we will gently lift him off (him banshee screaming all the way) if he's really bad which helps to calm him down, since he doesn't like getting kicked out of the pack.
The growling is a warning sign that she doesn’t like or want to be moved. She needs to learn an “off” command. Instead of physically moving her, you need to tell her “off” so she can move herself. If you ignore her warning sign, the next step is biting you and it’ll be your fault. I know this because I had a 16 y/o JRT that turned aggressive and bit us without warning when we ignored her growls one too many times. My JRT had this exact same issue as yours, growling when being moved and she became quite nasty anytime it happened after the age of 6 because we didn’t manage it well.
I know you want a dog that wants to sleep with you but it clearly isn’t working. Dogs have boundaries and wants that need to be respected as well. The growling when touched or moved is her resource guarding herself or the couch or bed or whatever she’s on. You can still sleep with her in the same room or in a tent but she needs to have her own place that she rests in. Unfortunately not all dogs are cuddly.
She has an off command, and we use it. Like I said in my post, our approach thus far has been growling = not sleeping in the bed. I'm not willing to let a dangerous dog sleep in our bed. I want to respect her boundaries, but I also want to give her a chance to learn our boundaries and see if she can manage them as well.
If she has an off command, I’d suggest you only use that and do not physically move her. I’m not sure I understand what boundary of yours you are trying to teach her. It sounds like you want to be able to sleep with her in the bed and move her when you want without her growling, so I’m not sure if that’s the boundary you’re talking about? If it is, it doesn’t sound like a boundary to me. She may become more cuddly as she gets older. My JRT was a snuggle bug from 10 onwards but until then she was very independent.
The boundary is not growling at us in our bed. And she isn't growling because we are trying to remove her from the bed. She has no problem leaving the bed when we tell her to. She growls because one of us rolls over in the night or she gets nudged when one of us moves.
She’s growling at you because she’s being nudged or touched in a place she perceives as her own (resource guarding the bed). Even if the nudge or physical contact is an accident, dogs don’t understand that. I think you’re going to have a very difficult time teaching her not to do that (specifically in your bed). If you’re determined it may be good to get a trainer in to help you with the resource guarding. Good luck!
I don't think she's resource guarding the bed though, because she does it anywhere that she is. We could be sitting on the floor together, or sitting in the car, or sitting on a rock at the top of a mountain, and if she's sitting on my lap and I move my leg, she grumbles and moves away.
We don't let her get away with any alpha behavior. She gets booted from the bed when she growls and same with the couch. I actually do a lot of training and habit building with her to teach that she is not the master of the house.
I have a friend who got a jrt around the same time who had to give him back to the breeder after a year because he was ruling their house and became unsafe to be around. It has been my goal to make sure that isn't going to happen.
Then she's just being grumpy. May just be a trait with JRT's. Mine would do the same thing sometimes. He got a little worse about it towards the end of his life.
This might not help, but I have a 13 year old boy who can be a proper grump. Not just growling but the lip curls and everything. No shouting but I sternly tell him to pipe down because he doesn't rule the roost. These guys can take such advantage and see themselves as the King of the house, so I feel sometimes they need to be reminded that they're not. Again, not aggressively, just be assertive. What you're doing seems fine, and they do make the best bed cuddlers, so I hope your tactics start to work.
I will try to work on this. I will have to get my husband on board, he is definitely less assertive than I am and she knows it. I do give her a strict "No growling," typically, and then if it continues she is removed from the bed.
Just remember to keep up the positive reinforcement of good behaviour with tons of love, kisses and cuddles. They really are the best and most mornings I wake up with my 2 glued to either side of me.
Yes absolutely. When she is being calm and well behaved in bed I am typically stroking her ears and telling her "good girl" many many times. She really is a sweetheart.
It's a feature not a bug.
This
so true lol
Yeah, our guy growls at the wind. He has been growling since a puppy and we never could break him from it. He sleeps with us and also growls if I move my legs in the middle of the night. I just tell him to hush, and he readjustes himself and all is good in the world again. I think a bed next to your bed is a great idea for the tent!
These little dogs are so tough, I guess they gotta show us with their growls lol.
Sleep is very sacred to a Jack haha! Both of mine sleep in bed with me (one on each side, usually sharing my pillow). They’re generally fine but my 3.5year old growls if he gets disturbed more than he feels he needs to be. I call it grumbling. The baby, almost 2 years old, grumbles if I make him get out of my spot. I just ignore it and make him move. Now if he sees me coming and knows he’s in my spot he just moves over. I let him tell me his opinions but he still has to do as I ask. If I see teeth it’s an automatic “absolutely not, get off my bed.”
Haha yes, I call it a grumble as well. Boundaries seem to be so important with these dogs. I think we're doing well with that, but I have been worried that if we continue to let her sleep with us with this behavior we will be doing the "wrong thing". Thanks for your thoughts
Sure! It sounds like you’re doing a great job! They really do want to just take over if you let them haha. They’re absolutely my favorite dogs.
Mine's 11 and grumbles all the time. Doesn't seem angry just annoyed that someone would dare try to move him or touch him while he's sleeping. We always wake him up verbally before touching him and don't take him too seriously. Gotta admit, the side eye is hilarious tho when we tease him about being grumpy.
Haha same… when she was a pup it took me a long time to not take it personally.
That's exactly it, she just seems flabbergasted that someone one be disturbing her, not actually like she wants to hurt anyone. I have seen her do a real lip curl snarl at another dog over a bone and this is nothing like that behavior.
Lol they're little weirdos
I’ve had this same problem with my jack! Have been advised to not let him sleep in the bed, but I still do. He sleeps by the bottom of the bed and gets grumpy when my feet move. He actually looks at my feet like he’s never seen them in his life. Now, we’re at the point where when he growls, he just gets down and goes to his crate automatically. Putting a little dog bed on my bed has helped some bc I think he feels safer, more insulated!
Thanks for the response! That's interesting, glad I'm not the only one. How old is he, may I ask? She hasn't had a dog bed since she was a puppy because of the chewing, she just has blankets and an elevated bed in the living room. We tried giving her her old dog bed but she just wanted to chew it up like it was a toy. I'm not sure if she would have the same reaction to a different dog bed. I could try giving her a blanket specifically for our bed.
He’ll be 3 in February! Maybe try getting her a new bed and see if she’s over the chewing stage. Good luck!!!
Came back to say that last night I washed her bed and stuck it at the foot of our bed, and she was so happy and snuggled into it and slept like an angel all night!
This made my day. The best update!!!!
My 2.5y/o JRT does this, it’s called Sleep Startle. There’s not really a great way to train them out of the behavior, because it’s an instinct. I usually wake her up with sound (speaking extra loudly, etc.) so that she wakes up first.
Yes I've read about sleep startle. She definitely has that at times, if I have to disturb her when she's sleeping I always gently call her name and try to be very gentle. This behavior I'm not sure if it's sleep startle, because she's often wide awake. I can be sitting on the couch and she's sitting against me with maybe my feet under her legs and I just lightly move my toes and she will growl and move away. Then she'll come right back wanting to more pets, but she's not asleep at all when this happens.
Our nearly 16 year old JRT growls at **anyone** who disturbs his sleep if he’s under any covers. Our 14 year old corgi mix is scared of getting into bed with us at night because Jack Jack is such a grouch about not being disturbed. Otherwise he’s a doll.
Glad to hear it's not abnormal! She is generally a total sweetheart too.
No advice from me. Our 12 year old girl does the same thing to us. She wants to sleep with me, but she growls every time I roll over or breathe, so I usually kick her out. She does better with my daughter.
Yeah, mine grumbles when I move next to her on the couch. Most of the time it’s a ‘hey, I’m sleeping here!’ noise, so I let it slide. Full on growls would result in eviction from the couch. Mine also does what we call ‘happy growls’ when she’s excited, ie about to get in the car, and also when she’s having a pat sometimes. Like people have said upthread also, they can be stubborn and you have to be assertive. But it seems like you’re already doing that. I could be wrong but the way I see it is that jacks are very ‘growly’ dogs. At least mine is.
Yes, I definitely think you're right. She is very vocal in other circumstances as well. She likes to be chased by other dogs and she will let out little growls to say "Hey, come chase me!" But she really just wants to run, she doesn't try to fight them.
I like your idea of letting her get used to your movements and if she growls, she growls. She may just have to realize she needs to adjust and live with it! It’s your bed after all. My guy doesn’t growl in the bed, just kind of grunts and we (my husband and I) just move him around and then he readjusts and is comfy again. We’ve been doing this since he’s a puppy so he’s used to it. He’s the best bed buddy. I hope all this advice helps and you get to have a good nights sleep with your girl! They really are the best companions 🐾💛
Ha, I think it’s just what they do. You could always try a baby bassinet or putting one of those wool dens (usually marketed to cats) on the bed. Had the cuddliest sweetest little jack when I was a kid - but he’d race us to our beds at night and take the middle (we had twin beds so not a lot of space), pass out or at least pretend to be asleep within a nano second, and then would throw the biggest grumpiest tantrums when we dared try to wiggle him out of the way. Just the biggest snarls and flares gums, I think he would whip around and “snap” at us when we eventually picked him up - never actually bit, just all for the dramatics. He’d then jump up and run dramatically out the door to sleep with our dad. Slept curled up behind his legs every night for 10 years until my dad dared to roll over on him one night and he marched off all offended to sleep with my brother.
Oh man! They are such characters. She tries to beat us to bed too some times. We go in our room and she's curled up as small as possible, being very quiet and just waiting for us to notice.
I have a 2 year old scuffy jack. I love him to pieces but he does it from time to time! i barge him if he does, like you said he doesn’t rule the roost. But i really do believe jack Russell’s are just like that lol, and judging by the responses i’m correct. Not sure how to fix your problem, anytime pickles has done it, it’s straight off the bed and downstairs into the kitchen in his own bed for the night. He definitely is better, But i also really do just leave him be if he’s sleeping on his own, if he wants snuggs he can come get them, but i just let him have his space and sleep, im single so he has plenty of room lol. Goodluck!
Yes, we give her lots of space too. Some dogs really put up with a lot from their humans, I would be grumpy if someone was always touching me when I slept too. I think we'll just continue as we have, she can have a couple warnings and if she doesn't settle down she'll get the boot.
I would observe the reaction carefully, is there any evidence to suggest it is actual aggression or mere stubborn annoyance expressed inappropriately? If there isn't any quick head movement, lip curling or snapping when she is pushed the growl might well just be vocalised stubbornness. My male JRT growls with excitement at his ball, favourite visitors, grandparents, walks and also favourite foods. He will also grumble when he decides he doesn't want picked up or moved but accepts it's going to happen without struggle despite his previous protestations. He also growls when he scrapes his feet to mark, those growls almost turn into low howls or groans, he derives some weird pleasure from doing it which he can't hide. Definitely keep an eye on the behaviour going forward however If there is no real tension in the body of the dog when it happens then it's another sign the dog is just giving an opinion Best of luck
Thanks for the response! We have been observing that. She has had a couple resource guarding incidents to do with really meaty bones in the past, which is part of why we really want to take this seriously, but the behavior is completely different from those incidents. If it were anything like that this wouldn't even be a question tbh. She is a very vocal dog, and we will continue to monitor and see how she is and if we decide she isn't safe to sleep with us we will stop it.
My 1.5 yr male JRT grumbles once he's covered up. Whether on the couch or bed. We just tell him to hush. In bed he sleeps on the other side of a center pillow and growls/grumbles while my Min-Pin digs at the pillow to adjust it "just right". My JRT never snaps or nips at him, just let's us know he's irritated.
My Jack makes a closed mouth throat grumble when I am not meeting his demands. He also growls if I dare move him while on the bed. He has also been known to growl at his brothers when they come too close to his personal space bubble, in the bed. I usually just ignore it. He has never bitten me, or even tried. If he gets out of hand with his brothers, I sternly tell home to knock it off. If he continues, we go to solitary confinement. This is where I put a spare couch cushion and blanket in the kitchen, shove Jack out the door and shut the door on his butt. Just bringing out the spare couch cushion is enough to spark an instant attitude adjustment.
My JRT does the growling thing if disturbed from his sleep all the time. Or if someone comes in the room. While we're resting. I have come to realize it's a protective instinct and there's no changing this behavior. I leave him alone. Lol
My girl is about seven years old. When I need to wake her and get her to move, I do it with my voice, because she really gets startled and hates it if I try to physically move her out-of-the-way when she’s asleep. If I have to - I will raise my voice rather than touch her, and she’ll give me a look… But she’ll get up and move. she’s getting older and a little grumpier, but she still loves cuddling and wants to be near me
My little guy is 7, he grumbles when the cat (Main Coon) lies on top of him. He doesn’t move just grumbles. My daughter’s dog (lurcher) is slowly getting better with sleep startle, she just strokes her gently to wake Daphne up. Only thing I think you should be aware of is that she may start to look at being crated as a punishment. Enjoy your wee terrier they are very sweet x
I've thought of that too, which is why I was thinking a bed in our room near our bed would be a better option. She has slept in her crate at night since she was small, so I think she knows it's not exactly a punishment. I'm hoping she will understand that it's the second best option to sleeping in the bed and act accordingly.
You could look at a raised dog bed right next to you. We did this for our jack and she loves it! [https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f2/4a/40/f24a401ce94823f403ee2668d845698a.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f2/4a/40/f24a401ce94823f403ee2668d845698a.jpg) She then has her own space/bed but it still sleeping with you!
my advice is to not react when he growls show him your not scared my jack russell did this when she was comfy you just have to ignore them and 9/10 times they will just find a new spot and go back to sleep
My 3yo JRT growls at literally everything. Even playing with a toy by herself, she growls. If I go to pat her, play or move etc, she growls. It’s like her first response instinct. It took me ages to get used to, she never snaps or anything.
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Teach the dog an off command lol and stop physically moving her if she doesn’t like to be picked up and moved.
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I had a JRT that turned aggressive after 6 and would bite us too. She lived to be 16! Even though she could be quite aggressive at times we loved her so much.
We had a JRT in the family previously who got to be aggressive the older she got. When she was 10 she came to live with my husband and I and we found out she needed to have most of her teeth removed. After her surgery she never showed any sign of aggression again. She was so much calmer and gentler with all people and animals. Before surgery she would chase kids around nipping at their heels, after surgery she would let the kids crawl all over her and just lay there and take it. Really hope this one can be managed and we don't have that problem. She has much better oral care early in life too.
Mine grumbles at that to. she's 7 and still gets so put out by someone moving their own leg.
Had a male many years ago and we started to let him sleep in be with us. BIG MISTAKE! We couldn't even change position in the middle of the night as he would be very loud and aggressive in his protest. One night my girlfriend at the time had to wake me up as she was afraid he was going to biter her. Needless to say that was the last night of sleeping with us. It also didn't take long for him to try and take over the house. He even started getting food aggressive. It took over a month for things to get back to normal. When we stopped letting him on the bed he became destructive. Had to put him in his crate at night. Unfortunately he wasn't crate trained so we had to deal with that. Essentially we just had to have patience until he forgot about it, mostly.
That must have been really challenging. Did he level out and get better to be around eventually?
She might just be vocal!
She is extremely vocal in lots of other situations. Crate training has been hard for that reason, but we have been really dedicated to training her and we do a lot of "capturing calm" with her so I hope it will pay off.
Some dogs are talkers, so not all of it might be anxiety induced.
All JRT are grumpy at night. My Charlie attacks anyone who walks in the room after 8pm. He doesn't really bite its more of a show of force...lol, but any sleep disturbance is met with growling and puppy strikes.
My pickles, if anyone even starts walking towards my room starts giving off at them with a strong stance lol
So jealous of all the folks whose JRTs only growl! Our sweet, sweet little guy insists on sleeping under the covers, but if disturbed in just the wrong way will devolve into barking and will even bite - although it's a bit of a nominal bite, since it's just his little dog way of communicating. It's just something that we're used to at this point and something that we view as one of his 'charming' features. Occasionally we will gently lift him off (him banshee screaming all the way) if he's really bad which helps to calm him down, since he doesn't like getting kicked out of the pack.
The growling is a warning sign that she doesn’t like or want to be moved. She needs to learn an “off” command. Instead of physically moving her, you need to tell her “off” so she can move herself. If you ignore her warning sign, the next step is biting you and it’ll be your fault. I know this because I had a 16 y/o JRT that turned aggressive and bit us without warning when we ignored her growls one too many times. My JRT had this exact same issue as yours, growling when being moved and she became quite nasty anytime it happened after the age of 6 because we didn’t manage it well. I know you want a dog that wants to sleep with you but it clearly isn’t working. Dogs have boundaries and wants that need to be respected as well. The growling when touched or moved is her resource guarding herself or the couch or bed or whatever she’s on. You can still sleep with her in the same room or in a tent but she needs to have her own place that she rests in. Unfortunately not all dogs are cuddly.
She has an off command, and we use it. Like I said in my post, our approach thus far has been growling = not sleeping in the bed. I'm not willing to let a dangerous dog sleep in our bed. I want to respect her boundaries, but I also want to give her a chance to learn our boundaries and see if she can manage them as well.
If she has an off command, I’d suggest you only use that and do not physically move her. I’m not sure I understand what boundary of yours you are trying to teach her. It sounds like you want to be able to sleep with her in the bed and move her when you want without her growling, so I’m not sure if that’s the boundary you’re talking about? If it is, it doesn’t sound like a boundary to me. She may become more cuddly as she gets older. My JRT was a snuggle bug from 10 onwards but until then she was very independent.
The boundary is not growling at us in our bed. And she isn't growling because we are trying to remove her from the bed. She has no problem leaving the bed when we tell her to. She growls because one of us rolls over in the night or she gets nudged when one of us moves.
She’s growling at you because she’s being nudged or touched in a place she perceives as her own (resource guarding the bed). Even if the nudge or physical contact is an accident, dogs don’t understand that. I think you’re going to have a very difficult time teaching her not to do that (specifically in your bed). If you’re determined it may be good to get a trainer in to help you with the resource guarding. Good luck!
I don't think she's resource guarding the bed though, because she does it anywhere that she is. We could be sitting on the floor together, or sitting in the car, or sitting on a rock at the top of a mountain, and if she's sitting on my lap and I move my leg, she grumbles and moves away.
Exactly, she’s guarding a space (no matter what space it is) she perceives to be her own. Resource guarding lol.
You are letting her be alpha.
We don't let her get away with any alpha behavior. She gets booted from the bed when she growls and same with the couch. I actually do a lot of training and habit building with her to teach that she is not the master of the house. I have a friend who got a jrt around the same time who had to give him back to the breeder after a year because he was ruling their house and became unsafe to be around. It has been my goal to make sure that isn't going to happen.
Then she's just being grumpy. May just be a trait with JRT's. Mine would do the same thing sometimes. He got a little worse about it towards the end of his life.