Re: JRT only attacks BIG DOGS.

In Reply to: JRT only attacks BIG DOGS.
Category:   Aggression
Posted by:  francis
Posted on:  June 30, 2002 at 06:36:42

: hi,

: I have a 2 yr old male JRT who is very aggressive towards bigger dogs. Most of the bigger dogs just walk away and couldn't be bothered with him but i am just afraid that he would be attacked by one with a bad temper.
: We have neutered him already.

: what should i do?

Response:

Hi Francis,

I had this problem with one of my terriers. He didn't care how big the other dogs where either!

My solution was to enroll both of us in a group obedience class. He now is fine around other dogs including the big ones.

Try to find a class with no more than 10 dogs, smaller would even be better but please no more than 10. More than that means you are not going to get any individual attention you might need with your dog.

Many dogs react the way yours does because they don't get socialized enough. You need to condition your dog by exposing him (safely) to as many other dogs as you can. The purpose of this is to make seeing other dogs so routine to your dog that seeing one just doesn't stir him up anymore.

My guy completed his 8 week course doing down/stays between a Mastiff and a huge Lab. I re-enrolled him with a totally different group of dogs and we then went on to agility training with yet another different group of dogs....he was always the smallest dog in his classes lol!

In the interim I strongly suggest not letting your terrier off lead until he has had the proper training. You are right to be concerned because all it takes is one good bite from a large dog to either severely injure or kill your dog.