I need major help with a Rattie I got in October.  I was only supposed to foster him for a friend of a friend while she moved out to Las Vegas.  She was going to come back in 2 months to get him.  Problem is she never came back to get him and is very elusive when I try to contact her.  I think she did not tell me the whole truth about his behavior and issues either as she told me he didn't have any...everyone or dog has at least one issue.  I decided I would keep him even though we already had 3 dogs and I'm the one that does most of the dog maintenance.  I live with my fiance and while he loves Trebek he's not the one that is the boss of the dogs.  Already having one Rattie with issues I thought I could work his out too.  I found out very quickly that he is not housebroken which has been very difficult to resolve and now he has taken to biting anyone that comes to our house.  He bit our landlord which was not good and has also biten my fiance's mom and our next door neighboor.  He got out the other night and bit someone in a store.  I realize he should not be running around the neighborhood unsupervised but he caught me at a very bad moment when walking in the house.  I thought he was in his crate but my finance had come home and when he left again he did not put them back in their crates.  Trebek took advantage of the fact I had a millon grocery bags and jetted for the door.  The other day when I was taking a toy from him he had the look on his face of biting me but must have realized that wasn't a good idea and licked me instead. 

He is neutered, he just turned 2, I exercise all of them at least a hour a day, he is crate trained, gets along with our other dogs, and seems to be okay with some people being in the house but not others.  He was not provoked in anyway and went out of his way to bite our neighbor.  I can not have this keep happening because there will be a day when someone isn't as nice about it and will call the police and Animal Control and they will come and get him.  He is fine healthwise and is up to date on all his shots. 

I don't know what to do.  I'm not going to rehome him to someone else when he has all these issues and if taken to a shelter he's not going to be adopted and if he is I have a feeling he would be brought right back.  He's a sweet dog most of the time but I can't have a dog that bites now that I don't live alone and can control what happens completely.  His issue with housebreaking is out of control but it is the biting that worries me most.  We do put him in his crate if we know someone is coming over but there are those random times that people come over unexpected and that's when he bites. 

I have tried everything, spoken with a behaviorist, took him to the vet, met with a trainer, and I have experience working with dogs that are aggressive and or passive/aggressive.  I know that 99% of a dog's problem is because of the owner but I've tried all that I know to do. 

What can I do without having him put to sleep for aggression??

dang. I wish I could Help you out but im new with my rattie also. I hope someone here has some good tips for you and can help ya. It sounds like your up to your forhead with it.

The trainer told me it was most likely fear biting and it could be caused by something that happened in his past which I don't know much about.  He went outside and bit our neighbor from behind and the neighbor wasn't paying any attention to him or doing anything to provoke him.  I had a Golden that was a fear biter, also food aggressive, and hated kids and I could deal with that.  The behaviorlist told me to make him more confident and he won't feel the need to protect us.  He was extremely timid when he came to me but he's not anymore.  He's learned that being pet is a good thing and now follows me around as though stuck by glue.  My other Rattie is my velcro girl but even she won't get up to follow me into the bathroom.  I volunteered for a Humane Socieity here and one of the things I did was work with dogs that had problems with biting.  I would never own a dog I was afraid of and I'm not afraid of him but I am afraid for him and me.  We are all good puppy parents but there are those times when something out of the ordinary happens.  I'm not trying to sound unkind or that I don't care for him because I do, he's such a cutie pie and snuggles with me all the time but there is a point where you have to become realistic because you know it's not a problem that is caused by his brand of food or that he's bored. 

He needs lots, and lots and lots of fun and positive socialization.   He may be this way because of previous abuse, but there are several things that can cause this and unless you have knowledge of it ...where or when it happened, there is no way to know.   So... bottomline is you are handicapped because of the lack of knowledge and you have no way of knowing what is truly triggering this behavior.

It's a long road to improvement and a lot of hard work, and you may be never totally satisfied with the degree of success you achieve. This is why most people suggest putting dogs like this down,  unfortuntely.   If you chose to work on this problem start small. Think of ways you can make every encounter with others enjoyable, pleasant or at least bearable for the dog.  Have strangers toss him treats and eventually hand him yummy treats. Down the road, walk the dog with a friend and in mid walk hand the dog off to the friend and slowly start separating yourself. Make it very short and have the friend walk back to you, creating greater and greater distances and time away from you. (Treats optional)

Always reward good behavior and make sure the dog understands your discontent with bad behavior.

Have the dog progress through varying stages of agility. School yards are a great place to start. (When kids aren't around) Have him go up, over, under, through and around every thing you can find or image. You're trying to build his confidence, which he has very little if any of.  Use your imagination and look at everything you see, every where you go, as an obstacle for your dog to negotiate.

Around others Do NOT coddle him and 'protect' him but this doesn't mean to force him towards them either. Again start small. Make him stay in the same room with them (keep him on lead for safety purposes)  without being able to run away and hide, including behind you. Neither you or the stranger should push yourself on the dog at this point. And don't allow any barking or snarling. That is not to be tolerated. Don't overdo the good dog bad dog stuff. Converse with the stranger, but as far as talking to the dog, keep quiet as much as possible.  You can say, good boy, once or twice at the most, or NO if he shows aggression.  But that's about it.   Be very matter-of-fact.

On leash (Which he should be on 100% of the time while training... and I would also suggest a prong collar and have a trainer show you how to use one properly if you don't already know how) have him walk past strangers.  Just be content to walk right past them... no slowing down, and don't even talk to him.   Walk right past them.  As he progresses, have the strangers offer him a quick treat but keep walking past him.  Again... use your imagination!

I have only touched the surface.  If you are serious about saving this dog, please once again seek help from a professional.  He/she can help you make sure your timing and focus is what it needs to be... it's important.

I wish you all the luck in the world and hope all of this works out to the benefit of everyone!