expect much comment on trying to find the owner

it's a passionate issue on this forum

Yep, I'd first put up lots of fliers, contact vets and the shelters to see if someone is looking for their pet.

I don't know how long she's had the dog but it could be that he's just not adjusted to a new home and environment and is still traumatized.
I think what she's seeing can be typical of the breed. Read the personality info on the link below and you'll see snapping can be common. I'd do more research and learn as much as possible about the breed if she can't find the owners and intends to keep the dog.
If he's a problem with her other dogs she should give him to a Scottish Terrier rescue group.

She should 'not' be spanking him............besides not being a positive training method, it could make his biting worse.

Here is a link that might be useful: terriers

She is in the process of looking for the owner. It was obvious to the groomer and the vet, though, that this dog had been on his own for quite a long time.

Perhaps he should be scanned for a microchip.

Never hit a dog! Immediately start a NILIF program. See the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nothing in Life is Free

I agree that the pup should be scanned for a chip, he may have a family who is worried sick over him. IF he turns out not to have belonged to someone already, I suggest you tie him up while he is feeding. An eye bolt can be put into the wall stud until he figures out he is not supposse to try and steal the other dogs food. I recommend leash walking this dog a couple of times a day at the very least, he has had to rely on his own wits to get him through life and even tho he is now living where his basic needs are being met, he does not understand that quite yet. Reprimanding a dog by hitting him only teaches him to fear you, reprimand by sayin NO or LEAVE IT, in a loud deep voice, try and get your voice as deep as possible. If she wants to keep the dog and wants the dog to bond with her, I suggest when she is home to tie the leash to her belt loop and have the dog follow her around while she is doing errands around the house, to get a Natural Balance meat stick, dice some pieces and carry them with her in a treat bag, to reward him for sitting staying and leaving it. This worked with my friend who adopted a very aloof Tibetan Terrier. Good Luck

She *must* be careful to protect her face;
eyesight can't be replaced.

It sounds like something like post-traumatic stress from starvation:

One of my cats was kept in a cage & underfed until he came home with me (from a "rescue" that has now been banned from keeping animals...)

He's been here about 4 years, & he's a lot better than he used to be;
he can look at dry food without going berserk, but canned food or a special treat like chicken drives him wild.

He has to have his separately, or else he jumps into the dish, spreads his paws, claws extended, to cover the entire dish, & growls the whole time he's inhaling the biggest possible chunks of food.

When I've gotten too close to him when he's in this mode, he's clawed me, not realizing that it's me, the person who gave him the food in the first place.

If he gets into the other cats' dish & I have to remove him, I just get behind him (not between his mouth & the food!), scruff him & pick him up & put my other hand under his back feet to support him.

& he doesn't claw or bite me.

As long as he doesn't think I might get his food, he doesn't care what I do.

The whole time I'm doing this, until I put him down again, he growls & chews & gulps whatever chunk he's managed to grab on his way out of the dish.

He may be this way forever;
he's been through a lot & he's just a cat, you can't reason with him, can't convince him that there's more where that came from.

so he eats his food in the bathroom & doesn't get out until the other cats have walked away from theirs.

Maybe something like this would work with the little dog.

I know it's controversial - but i still believe that with the tougher breeds like the bully breeds - or maybe some terriers - never say never to physical punishment. HUMANE physical punishment. Some dogs need tougher discipline and can take it. I'm the owner of many dogs and i have a Malinois and a cocker mix that are VERY sensitive and to be physical to them could be counterproductive.

But on the other hand i have an english bulldog mix who can be quite strong-handed (made-up word). I will use tough discipline on him. Most people on this forum don't have the tougher breeds. I have been taking dog obedience classes for years now so i know at least something about formal dog training but we're talking about behavior problems here. Sometimes you have to use "tough love." I guarantee that there are dogs in shelters that just needed to be told what to do and their owners didn't want to "spank" the dog.

vicky

Please do try hard to find the owner. My DB & SIL had their scottie fall into one of those huge irrigation/storm ditches that ran behind their Idaho back yard. This was 3 weeks before they were to move east! Even after much searching, they didn't find McKenzie before moving. On a subsequent visit back to the neighborhood they found out that Kenzie had been rescued with a broken leg far downstream. This was not a case of cruelty (except that the canal should have been thought of just like a highway!!!) which is what it may have looked like to the rescuers. The dog continues to live at her new home (with a canal still!). Thank you for your goodwill!

Have your sister call her local animal control or law enforcement to file a found dog report. That is the minimum that is required by law in many jurisdictions. In addition to that required notification, she could also notify all area shelters, rescues, pounds, vets, groomers, kennels, pet stores, etc. of the dog she found.

I once rescued a stray Scottie from a Holiday gas station on a busy highway running through the middle of town. I took him back to my farm about 10 miles away and immediately called the police in town to report the stray and my rescue of him. About a week later, I got a call from his owners. They were tourists from 200 miles away who had been traveling on the highway and stopped to get gas on their way through town. The Scottie escaped from their car and ran off. They searched for hours but were unable to find him, so continued their trip back home. A week later they were traveling through my area again, thought to call the local police to see if their lost dog had been reported, and were connected with me through the report I had filed when I rescued the dog. They drove out to my farm and were happily reunited with their Scottie.

I wish your sister good luck in locating his owners and in teaching him to behave appropriately in her own home in the meantime.

Laurie