Dumb Stupid Dog...

How scary and dangerous for all concerned.  As a JRT owner I know exactly what you are talking about.  I know this is probably a pipe dream, but is there ANY chance you could get the owner of the JRT to talk to you and could you suggest that you two take the dogs for walks together.  This may not solve the problem but maybe it could open a dialogue and this may lead to a real solution.  

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I assume you've tried talking to her about how dangerous the situation could become? 

JackieG

 I know this is probably a pipe dream, but is there ANY chance you could get the owner of the JRT to talk to you and could you suggest that you two take the dogs for walks together.    

This is actually not a bad idea at all.  Max is sometimes reactive on leash (and sometimes not) but on the times we've met up with someone else walking a dog and walked along with them, he has behaved like a model dog. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was trying to show off for the other dog and show him just how nicely he can walk along.

Joyce

 Uh...I can't see walking them together at any point.  I know the neighbors, I've known them most of my life.  They aren't horrid people, just a little dense.  We get along fine in other circumstances. 

I tried at one point to non-chalantly bring it up.  The conversation was somewhere along the lines of,"People that don't leash their dogs make big problems for everyone."  to which her basic response was," Ya I know what you mean, they should at least teach their dogs to listen like my dog!"  I think I'm gonna have to go over there later and actually have a chat with her.  

I don't really know what to say to her though.  I think she might take offense if I say,"You know if your dog actually managed to get to Crusher before I got him inside, he might get eaten..."  Though its pretty close to the truth.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

This is actually not a bad idea at all.  Max is sometimes reactive on leash (and sometimes not) but on the times we've met up with someone else walking a dog and walked along with them, he has behaved like a model dog. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was trying to show off for the other dog and show him just how nicely he can walk along.

Joyce

They walk this thing on one of those extend-a-leashes and it lunges at everything it sees, including kids.  She saw me once walking my dogs on regular 6 foot leashes and told me that it was useless cause my dogs wouldn't get any exercise...

I think walking him near Crusher might be a death sentence.  Gee I'm making my dog seem bad.  He's not really, I swear.  Ok, maybe a little, but not terribly bad.

 It's not "bad" to retaliate against a dog that's attacking him. The little dog is in danger, and his owners need to be accountable. I hope that they do something, soon. Not all dogs are as tolerant as Crusher is.

 Geez, that really sucks.  Stupid owners.  I wonder what he'd do if you blew an air horn in his face.  Do you think that would set Crusher off if it was pointed toward the JRT?  I just found them in the boating section of Walmart and bought one for our walks.  Or maybe a squirt bottle?  The only other thing I can think of if the owners are really dense and don't do something to address it is possibly try to train the JRT to quit being such a jerk by maybe having really high-value treats available for both dogs and give the dog some command like Sit to keep him under control and maybe Crusher would associate him coming around with good stuff.  Don't know what else to say 'cept Dumb People Suck.  Sorry you have to put up with this junk!

Two words: Spray Shield (fka Direct Stop) - citronella spray for deterring aggressive dogs.  I've found once my dogs learned that I'd take care of any nasty critters we run into on walks that any reactivity they had moderated significantly. 

If it were me THIS is what I'd do:

First off, I'd get some yummy doggie treats and put them in a little baggie and tie it at the top with a pretty ribbon and tie it TO a rolled up piece of paper that says:

"Hi, this is from Candace, NOT Crusher.  We human ladies need to have a talk, and maybe a cup of coffee?  I need to bounce some ideas off you and it's a bit important.  Can you give me a call this evening so we can set up a time to chat -- my number is xxx-yyyy?  I really appreciate it!  Give your JRT a scratch from me."

Ok -- that says it's about dogs, it's serious enough to 'chat' but you aren't ready to kill her.  It's non-threatening but a bit serious and you've sandwiched the "serious" between affection and goodies.

When she calls, don't go into it - but do say "Gosh, I've been working really hard with Crusher on his reactivity to smaller dogs, and I need your help.  Is ___________ ok to sit down and have a cup of coffee or ___________?" (give her a choice)

Then when you get her to relax over coffee or tea or Coke or something (without Crusher -- you don't need to monitor dogs while you're trying to get thru to the owner) You essentially spell it out --

a) the steps you've already taken to try to re-train Crusher.

b) the fact that he hates her dog and LIKELY one of the reasons is having to return inside **because** her dog is off leash and makes a bee-line for Crusher.

Mention that it literally brings territoriality into this as well as the dog size issue.

Mention that in bringing Crusher under control you very nearly got hurt and **YOU WOULD HATE for this to escalate to the point that one of the dogs gets hurt or winds up with a 'reputation'*** (and her dog can get a reputation as a biter as well!)

Have some suggestions ready, but ASK her what she is willing to do to help resolve what is escalating into a big problem.  You're neighbors and you want to work this thru AND keep a friendship.

She's just not thinking.and she probably thinks Crusher is "a nice dog who wouldn't hurt her dog".  She has to see what lengths you've gone to and she likely will see reason. 

Be absolutely clear -- she needs to leash her dog even tho she's maybe never done it ***at home*** because her dog won't stay AT home ... Suggest a run line or a long leash.  Look into classes and offer to share the information with her. 

DO suggest walks together -- supervised and on- leash -- but mutual training sessions.

People tend to like to 'help' -- but they HATE being jumped on.  They also hate feeling stupid or perceiving that they are being *treated* stupid.  So if you come on as a friend needing a solution you'll likely educate her AND make a better friend. 

 Callie, I think you've gotta be the nicest neighbor ever, with all of your cookie giving I want to live next to you!

 Well, I pretty much did what Callie suggested, sans the cookies and nice ribbon...oh and the note.  I just went over there last night after the kids were in bed and Tyler was finally home from work and told her my basic situation.  I think I made Crusher seem a little more dangerous than he really is, just to kind of scare her a bit.  I told her he doesn't like little dogs, which isn't really true, he just doesn't like them when he's on leash, and actually little ones are better to him than big ones, but her's is a problem for other reasons.  I also told her that I can only control him to a certain extent and if it so happened that her dog were to go after Onyx or even Lady while I had him out there, I might not be able to hold him back even with his choke chain.  I also told her that I hate putting his choke chain on him just because her dog might decide to charge him while we are out there.  I think yesterday's incedent was still pretty fresh in her mind, she saw the entire thing and screamed at her dog to come back.   And I think she saw her dogs life flash before her eyes.  Still, the only promise I got from her was that she will look and make sure my dogs aren't out when she lets hers go.  Its a start. 

It is a start and at least she was willing to listen.  I worked really hard and took my JRT to so many places and exposed him to so many other dogs of all shapes and sizes to nip this type of behaviour in the bud.  JRT's are great little dogs but they are not the dogs people see on TV or in the movies.  They require a lot of management and I hate when I see or hear of the type of incident you went through.  You are to be commended for dealing with this in a rational way and I truly hope things improve.

 I do want to point out that I don't have anything against JRT's.  Though I think this particular one is extremely ugly...lol.  I know that terriers are terriers and they can have some serious small dog complexes.  And for the record, I was not very rational at all when this latest thing first happened.  I just had a few hours before I was free to go over there, to cool down. 

 It's actually  ridiclously common for JRT to have dog aggression. The JRTCA even *warns* about it on their website in info for perspective buyers (http://www.therealjackrussell.com/breed/baddog.php).  They're really similar to Pit Bulls in temperament, as far as I've seen. One of Emma's bestest buddies in the world is a male Pittie. They adore each other, and share a *lot* of similar... ticks, LOL. A *lot* of it is same sex aggression. Emma does far better with males than females (which is why I have a female puppy, right?).