My baby attacked by a handbag dog!

Hi From NZ · #1 10-14-2008, 04:45 PM

Oh boy...any advice for me here please?

I have a friend with a jack russell dog called Buddy (I think he's about 2 years old). My friend brought Buddy into my home to meet Bruce the other day and WHAMMO it was carnage! Buddy literally FLEW at Bruce's face snarling and snapping, and seemed determined he wanted to have a pound of my puppy's flesh IN MY PUPPY'S HOUSE too!

We had absolutely no warning, there was no sniffing first or anything, he just went ballistic from the second he was put down on the ground. My friend scooped up her feral rat - oops, I mean dog - and took him out to her car and left him in there. It took me a good 15 minutes to get Bruce unstuck from my side, he was trembling and it was, well, downright heartbreaking.

I'm grateful for the fact we had puppy class the following night as Bruce found himself in a room surrounded by more of these little handbag dogs (my poor boy!!

), and although it took him quite some time to shake off his timidity, he started to warm towards the end of playtime and I was very relieved to see that, hopefully all is not lost for his dog socialising.

My question: Should I try re-introducing Buddy and Bruce? (on leash next time, obviously). I actually can't stand her dog, never could, but she is a friend of mine and I'd like to think we can get together with our dogs in the future. It goes without saying that Buddy is a dominant agressive little sh!t (oops was that my 'out loud' voice??), so how do I factor that in with a re-introduction, and is it worth it to try, or is Bruce better off away from all that?

kathysboxer · #2 10-14-2008, 06:14 PM

I don't really have any advice on this situation. And to think people are intimidated by big dogs!! Give me a big dog any day, those little ones will kill you!!!! Give your baby a reassuring hug from me and Tyson and tell him next time to get in peewee's face and show him who's boss

Sorry about that. Just really upsets me. Don't really like small jumpy dogs. The one place we get Tyson's toys has 2 jack russells and although they are extremely friendly, they are just so jumpy and hyper.

Hi From NZ · #3 10-14-2008, 07:14 PM

hee hee, glad to hear another person with a very definite view on little dogs

And I used to own a terrier too, can you believe it?? I swore then, "never again" and I've kept my word. All my family own little dogs and think I'm nuts for getting a big dog, I just smile to myself!

That experience for me was very much like seeing your small child getting bullied in the playground, and what upset me even more is that it happened in my own home- ie Bruce's domain. I understand that little dogs who are older than Bruce have some pecking order to establish, my mum's dog makes his 'alpha' position very clear when we're at their house, but this situation wasn't even like that, the little dog just went completely psycho on my dog. And he has done it to other dogs before too, my friend confessed.

Thank you for your kind words and I'l definitely pass that hug onto Bruce

johann · #4 10-14-2008, 10:36 PM

Poor Bruce, give him a hug from me too.

I would personally avoid that dog until Bruce is older. Even then, if Buddy acts like that again....I would just avoid the dog all together. But, find people with friendly small dogs (jack russel would be even better) so that Bruce realizes that not all little dogs are evil (which of course they are) and mean. Establishing who's boss shouldn't involve leaving 1 dog shaking and cowering.

We had to work very hard to find small dogs for Johann to meet. My hubby's entire family has small, not socialized dogs that act the same way as Buddy. It took a while for Johann to not hide behind me when he saw a Yorkie. The worst was everyone using our puppy as a chance to try to socialize their 6 yr old dog. We just leave Johann at home if we go visit, and have made it clear that their dogs are not allowed at our house. It works well for me too, I dislike most small dogs. LOL

Caney Creek · #5 10-14-2008, 10:49 PM

I definitely wouldn't chance it again with Buddy, at least not until Bruce is much older (close to a year at least). Every little thing at this point in his life affects his development, and you don't want him learning to be scared or aggressive towards little dogs.

Find him some nice big pups to play with

johann · #6 10-14-2008, 10:55 PM

Bi gpups are more fun anyways....usually they like to wrestle.

Johann taught my parent's bernese mountain puppy to box (same age). Its a pretty funny sight.

kathysboxer · #7 10-15-2008, 04:45 AM

I think I would definately make a rule, no dogs in my house that can't play nice. Such a disservice to Buddy that his owner never took the time to teach him the proper way to introduce himself. One of my employers has a 11yr. old lab and a 1 1/2 yr old shitzu (sp?). They both love to play with Tyson. Tyson and the lab have their own version of UFC!! It is so funny to watch them. The shitzu and Tyson do alot of running. She will run and stop on a dime while Tyson can't stop in time and runs right past her.
Keep up the good parent work. There are nice small dogs out there somewhere!! LOL Just not near us

jamkaywill · #8 10-15-2008, 08:11 AM

Abbie has never met a Jack Russell she liked. My sis has one and they are just way to jumpy for Abbie's taste. She actually did get into a fight with my sis dog at Christmas. And of course just because Abbie is big it had to be her fault. I had Abbie restrained and my sisters dog bit her in the booty. Now if she even sees a Jack Russell in a car on one of out rides she goes crazy like mommy let me get him. (lol)

larrygs · #9 10-15-2008, 08:37 AM

Years ago we had a similar situation with our first boxer, Sally, and a neighbor's handbag rat,... uh dog. We didn't know anything about socialization etc. We tried to get them to become friends for awhile before giving up. The little dog was just a problem. Unfortunately Sally developed a strong proactive response to all handbag dogs that even hinted aggressiveness. Never hurt them, but certainly scared them, and the owners. We would be left making apologies.

I would keep them apart for quite awhile, and certainly find other small well tempered dogs for Bruce to socialize with.

Our subsequent boxers learned how to handle small and large aggressive dogs. I would always be watchful but never got the feeling they were at risk, nor did I worry about getting embarassed. They would maintain their composure, control or avoid bad situations. I like to think boxers are just smarter and more athletic than other dogs. Of course I'm somewhat biased.

BTW, I love Bruce's name.

kathysboxer · #10 10-15-2008, 02:47 PM

This whole thread has me thinking, if the other dog is at fault, but the owner thinks your baby is at fault, do you apologize to save grace, or do you "hash" it out with the other person? I am thinking if it po'd me enough, I would have to have a few choice words for that person. This whole thing just really upsets me. Why do people not have the common sense to properly train their dogs? Is it just stupidity, laziness, or ignorance? Sorry if I'm ranting, but the more I think of this, the madder I get. Man I really really dislike handbag rats (perfect name).