Bob Walker
New member
She is a 3 year old long legged Jack Russell, and she really loves people and some other dogs.
However, she is unpredictably aggressive towards some dogs, she barks and lunges at them and sometimes attacks/tries to. It seems to be worse with dominant dogs, bitches and tough looking dogs! She also tends to get on very badly with other Jack Russells that she doesn't know (she has 2 male JR friends who she loves, but gets on badly with a smaller bitch who I used to walk (the other dog is aggressive towards her), and other JRs she sees, although often she does not start the barking. She seems to love dogs such as spaniels and Labradors, and she gets on very well with dogs once she knows them. She also tends to be aggressive on lead, not usually off lead, so is it my fault as I'm the one holding the lead, or does she feel as though she wouldn't be able to protect herself if she needs to?
She is ALWAYS in charge of her dog friends, so could her aggression be related to status?
I have tried lots of things with her, including using a shaker can, rewards when she is not barking, food when other dogs approach so she sees other dogs as a good thing, using toys to distract her and using the command 'quiet' which works quite well but I want her to not want to be aggressive, not just make her not bark at them.
We often see lots of dogs out walking that she plays with, and she has lots of dog friends so he aggression is not to all dogs as I have mentioned.
I really want to understand her and to help her stop being aggressive as it is stressful for us both, and I hate people looking at her like she's a monster, and making comments like 'It's always the Jack Russell'
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thank you very much!
However, she is unpredictably aggressive towards some dogs, she barks and lunges at them and sometimes attacks/tries to. It seems to be worse with dominant dogs, bitches and tough looking dogs! She also tends to get on very badly with other Jack Russells that she doesn't know (she has 2 male JR friends who she loves, but gets on badly with a smaller bitch who I used to walk (the other dog is aggressive towards her), and other JRs she sees, although often she does not start the barking. She seems to love dogs such as spaniels and Labradors, and she gets on very well with dogs once she knows them. She also tends to be aggressive on lead, not usually off lead, so is it my fault as I'm the one holding the lead, or does she feel as though she wouldn't be able to protect herself if she needs to?
She is ALWAYS in charge of her dog friends, so could her aggression be related to status?
I have tried lots of things with her, including using a shaker can, rewards when she is not barking, food when other dogs approach so she sees other dogs as a good thing, using toys to distract her and using the command 'quiet' which works quite well but I want her to not want to be aggressive, not just make her not bark at them.
We often see lots of dogs out walking that she plays with, and she has lots of dog friends so he aggression is not to all dogs as I have mentioned.
I really want to understand her and to help her stop being aggressive as it is stressful for us both, and I hate people looking at her like she's a monster, and making comments like 'It's always the Jack Russell'
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thank you very much!