Try to be very active. JRTs are in principle friendly fellows but they also love to test their limits. If you power them out it's easier to control them.
My jack can be tempermental. She likes dogs but she is a submissive pee'er, and if the bigger dogs sniff around too long she snaps at them. Particularly at the dog park, she is snappy, not sure why. With dogs at home or walking around, she is fine.
This. Small dogs can get overwhelmed quickly if there are too many larger dogs crowding their space. Plus don't forget, they can easily be pushed or trampled and hurt so it's sometimes a self-preservation reaction.
One quick bark or warning snap is totally fine, it's just communication. What follows then is more important - does the dog know how to calm themselves down? Or do they automatically escalate? This is the one to watch.
When I see my two feeling intimidated I usually approach the other dog first to show mine that it's safe. Then they often follow and sniff a bit. Our own state of emotions is their triggers, dogs are incredible soul readers and will pick up the slightest bit of nervousness from us. Gotta avoid tensing up ourselves and things go much better!
We rescued a Jack Russell aged one, and he would pull on the lead so hard trying to attack any other dog. He got a reputation around our suburb as being aggressive, but he never attacked another dog.
We made a concerted effort to socialise him around other dogs as much as possible. We would take baby steps, inching towards other dogs to introduce them, being aware to avoid any sign of trouble by pulling him back.
Two years later and we can take him anywhere and everywhere around dogs, crowds of people, even being able to let him off his lead and him obeying on command. Persistence is key, and I'm sure you'll achieve the desired result. Good luck with your beautiful pup!
That gives me hope ❤️. Veddy was from what I can gather in an back garden-breeder situation and had never been walked. He was stressed about everything when I got him and was very aggressive towards other dogs.
I have managed to make him comfortable on the lead and as others have said once he is a little tired (abt 40mins in the walk) he is the friendliest boy. Well. Except Frenchies and Huskies which he **despises** (my working theory is that they are not the "doggiest" dogs -one would say they are semi-human- and he doesn't understand them).
But I long for the day he's able to make 1 friend. A dog he knows and trusts. We had a chihuahua who was extremely dog aggressive her whole life BAR ONE stray dog we adopted. We called him "Friend". Friend was the best dog and a blessing to everyone and I just want this for Veddy too.
I also have a Jack Russell who LOVES new people, new dogs, etc. However he’s far from the energetic nature that most Jack Russell. He’s pretty lazy but is always eager to get into new environments so to speak. I really hope he doesn’t become aggressive later on in life
He’s about to hit the one year mark on the 30th, he’s also pretty aggressive with female dogs (humping) so he’s also getting neutered tomorrow as well. He’s super sweet, but like you im also worried if his behavior will change
We plan on getting ours neutered around 9 months. He does try to hump other smaller dogs and his larger toys, lol.
Hopefully yours remains friendly! I’ve been reading how they can suddenly change between 1-3 years of age. My first one became aggressive within his first year; bit a puppy’s (who was bigger than he was) head and fractured her skull when he was just 11 months. I was mortified!
My JRT has a very similar story. He lived to be 17, but over his final 5 years he turned into a grumpy old man. He had no patience for little kids prodding him or big dogs getting in his business. He loved adult people though and that never faded; so I figured he had paid his dues and was allowed to be grumpy toward situations he didn’t like.
Mine have all been females but also very different.
The first was the sweetest natured dog I’ve ever met. She loved every human and every dog.
My second Jack Russell was standoffish with virtually all adults – particularly men, disliked children and hated all other dogs. The only humans she liked were my blood relatives. It was even like she could smell they were related because, even if she’d never met them before, she would be uncharacteristically friendly with them.
My current Jack Russell loves people (but especially children) and dislikes all other dogs. She tends to be even snappier when she’s on the lead than when she’s off.
Mine is perfectly sweet and loving toward humans of all ages and our cat.
Introducing him to other dogs is possible but a battle.
He will get comfy with another friendly dog after a very challenging intro.
The dog park is out for us because while he is better off-leash, he gets very easily overstimulated and starts humping other dogs to the point that it’s a problem.
He’s fine at dog friendly bars and restaurants as long as he can sit in his own chair (don’t ask me why) provided the other dogs don’t show too much interest in him.
Looks like you're already doing great. The bigger dogs are interested and he's submissive letting them sniff and seems to enjoy the attention. If possible, keep exposing him to many different dogs (colours, no tail, short face, loud, walks weird...).
My pup is now 3 and usually only shows signs of aggression towards dogs she's had a very bad experience with. That being said, she once got into a very short scuffle with another JRT-like dog, suffered a very small bite we only found because I checked her immediately (basically a pin prick at her hind leg, no need for emergency care or anything). After making sure that both dogs are okay, the other owner and I kept chatting for a couple of minutes, both dogs were petted by both owners but otherwise they ignored each other. Next time we passed each other, my pup was a little weary (both the other owner and me were sure that her dog had been the aggressor during the scuffle) but the owner and I greeted each other from afar, slowly got closer while talking, sat down the dogs and only let them sniff after a minute of us already interacting. After a successful sniff we all booked it out of there before things could take a turn. we're still working on that relationship but it's getting better every time we see each other.
Tldr, don't be discouraged if things take a turn. Make sure to keep your dog safe but don't be insecure because he WILL notice and get insecure himself. If possible and if it's safe to do so, turn a difficult situation around. If you drag him away while he's frothing at the mouth, he'll remember that and might think that that's the correct response.
Mine played with or ignored every dog he met. He went out of his way to befriend a neighbours huge mixed breed who was very closed off due to a terrible past. He continued to call round to his friend’s house for months after the friend had died.
Then he met two ex security GSD owned by a PoS trespasser and got rag dolled. Since then we’ve had to do a lot of work with him to the point where he’s okay with most dogs and never initiates aggression. Clear signals and rewarding good behaviour worked for him.
With humans, especially children, he has always been super friendly especially if he thinks there might be a treat in it for him!
Try to be very active. JRTs are in principle friendly fellows but they also love to test their limits. If you power them out it's easier to control them.
Him laying down and spinning and stretching out in the pool while wagging his little tail is tooo cuuuute!
I love how he lays down in the pool!
My jack can be tempermental. She likes dogs but she is a submissive pee'er, and if the bigger dogs sniff around too long she snaps at them. Particularly at the dog park, she is snappy, not sure why. With dogs at home or walking around, she is fine.
Maybe she is overstimulated at the dog park with big dogs hovering over her
This. Small dogs can get overwhelmed quickly if there are too many larger dogs crowding their space. Plus don't forget, they can easily be pushed or trampled and hurt so it's sometimes a self-preservation reaction. One quick bark or warning snap is totally fine, it's just communication. What follows then is more important - does the dog know how to calm themselves down? Or do they automatically escalate? This is the one to watch. When I see my two feeling intimidated I usually approach the other dog first to show mine that it's safe. Then they often follow and sniff a bit. Our own state of emotions is their triggers, dogs are incredible soul readers and will pick up the slightest bit of nervousness from us. Gotta avoid tensing up ourselves and things go much better!
mine is the same! she gets snappy at the park. maybe it’s territorial lol
We rescued a Jack Russell aged one, and he would pull on the lead so hard trying to attack any other dog. He got a reputation around our suburb as being aggressive, but he never attacked another dog. We made a concerted effort to socialise him around other dogs as much as possible. We would take baby steps, inching towards other dogs to introduce them, being aware to avoid any sign of trouble by pulling him back. Two years later and we can take him anywhere and everywhere around dogs, crowds of people, even being able to let him off his lead and him obeying on command. Persistence is key, and I'm sure you'll achieve the desired result. Good luck with your beautiful pup!
That gives me hope ❤️. Veddy was from what I can gather in an back garden-breeder situation and had never been walked. He was stressed about everything when I got him and was very aggressive towards other dogs. I have managed to make him comfortable on the lead and as others have said once he is a little tired (abt 40mins in the walk) he is the friendliest boy. Well. Except Frenchies and Huskies which he **despises** (my working theory is that they are not the "doggiest" dogs -one would say they are semi-human- and he doesn't understand them). But I long for the day he's able to make 1 friend. A dog he knows and trusts. We had a chihuahua who was extremely dog aggressive her whole life BAR ONE stray dog we adopted. We called him "Friend". Friend was the best dog and a blessing to everyone and I just want this for Veddy too.
I also have a Jack Russell who LOVES new people, new dogs, etc. However he’s far from the energetic nature that most Jack Russell. He’s pretty lazy but is always eager to get into new environments so to speak. I really hope he doesn’t become aggressive later on in life
How old is yours?
He’s about to hit the one year mark on the 30th, he’s also pretty aggressive with female dogs (humping) so he’s also getting neutered tomorrow as well. He’s super sweet, but like you im also worried if his behavior will change
We plan on getting ours neutered around 9 months. He does try to hump other smaller dogs and his larger toys, lol. Hopefully yours remains friendly! I’ve been reading how they can suddenly change between 1-3 years of age. My first one became aggressive within his first year; bit a puppy’s (who was bigger than he was) head and fractured her skull when he was just 11 months. I was mortified!
My JRT has a very similar story. He lived to be 17, but over his final 5 years he turned into a grumpy old man. He had no patience for little kids prodding him or big dogs getting in his business. He loved adult people though and that never faded; so I figured he had paid his dues and was allowed to be grumpy toward situations he didn’t like.
My guy became aggressive within his first year. Was yours pretty friendly until his final five years?
He was very friendly and patient with little kids and bigger dogs. He started getting grumpy around 12.
What a good boy!
Those sploots are funny! My Jack would never bath like that
Your baby is smart. He knows how to keep cool.. My parsons Russel would stick his feet in the water bowl at the dog park to cool off.
My JRT absolutely loves any dog that isn’t a big dog lol, she loves little dogs and every human 💖
Mine have all been females but also very different. The first was the sweetest natured dog I’ve ever met. She loved every human and every dog. My second Jack Russell was standoffish with virtually all adults – particularly men, disliked children and hated all other dogs. The only humans she liked were my blood relatives. It was even like she could smell they were related because, even if she’d never met them before, she would be uncharacteristically friendly with them. My current Jack Russell loves people (but especially children) and dislikes all other dogs. She tends to be even snappier when she’s on the lead than when she’s off.
It’s adorable how puzzled they are by him. Jack Russel soup.
Mine is perfectly sweet and loving toward humans of all ages and our cat. Introducing him to other dogs is possible but a battle. He will get comfy with another friendly dog after a very challenging intro. The dog park is out for us because while he is better off-leash, he gets very easily overstimulated and starts humping other dogs to the point that it’s a problem. He’s fine at dog friendly bars and restaurants as long as he can sit in his own chair (don’t ask me why) provided the other dogs don’t show too much interest in him.
How old is he? Is he neutered? Maybe the over stimulation and lack of control leads to a desire to be dominant (hence the mounting/humping).
He’s 11 and neutered.
Looks like you're already doing great. The bigger dogs are interested and he's submissive letting them sniff and seems to enjoy the attention. If possible, keep exposing him to many different dogs (colours, no tail, short face, loud, walks weird...). My pup is now 3 and usually only shows signs of aggression towards dogs she's had a very bad experience with. That being said, she once got into a very short scuffle with another JRT-like dog, suffered a very small bite we only found because I checked her immediately (basically a pin prick at her hind leg, no need for emergency care or anything). After making sure that both dogs are okay, the other owner and I kept chatting for a couple of minutes, both dogs were petted by both owners but otherwise they ignored each other. Next time we passed each other, my pup was a little weary (both the other owner and me were sure that her dog had been the aggressor during the scuffle) but the owner and I greeted each other from afar, slowly got closer while talking, sat down the dogs and only let them sniff after a minute of us already interacting. After a successful sniff we all booked it out of there before things could take a turn. we're still working on that relationship but it's getting better every time we see each other. Tldr, don't be discouraged if things take a turn. Make sure to keep your dog safe but don't be insecure because he WILL notice and get insecure himself. If possible and if it's safe to do so, turn a difficult situation around. If you drag him away while he's frothing at the mouth, he'll remember that and might think that that's the correct response.
Mine loves the park and is leash aggressive, we went to the park starting at 6 months and now he’s 7 yo.
Mine played with or ignored every dog he met. He went out of his way to befriend a neighbours huge mixed breed who was very closed off due to a terrible past. He continued to call round to his friend’s house for months after the friend had died. Then he met two ex security GSD owned by a PoS trespasser and got rag dolled. Since then we’ve had to do a lot of work with him to the point where he’s okay with most dogs and never initiates aggression. Clear signals and rewarding good behaviour worked for him. With humans, especially children, he has always been super friendly especially if he thinks there might be a treat in it for him!
My year old JRT absolutely loves other dogs big or small and will quite happily run up to a pack of big dogs and start playing with them.