Jack Russel and St Bernard..... Will they ever get along...

unclebill98

Hi,

Ok, I am no dog expert.

I have a 5 year old Jack Russel/Begal. We got her from my parents as they could not cope with any more dogs.

The JR is a little aggressive. Will bark at everyone etc. But thats JR for you.

I then had the luck of getting a 2 year old female St Bernard. All the papers confirm its a top notch dog.

Now, the SB just lounges around without a care in world but the JR will try and snap at every chance she gets. Its been a week and the JR is still at it.

They are kept apart during the day and then as the week has gone on we held then together under supervision at night time for a few hours. So far the SB has only let loose at the JR once or twice and of course the JR goes running but then straight back in.

So... obviously the JR was here first and feels nose out of joint.

Any tips on how to get the 2 to get along? All help is much welcomed.

TechnoPool

it would help alot i think to allow them to get to know each other in a more neutral setting rather than your home, the JR might feel that she is invading his territory and is being so ''aggressive'' for that reason?


just a thought?

crotalus667

give the jr a time out straight away (by time out i meant crate him or put him in another room for 30 sec's

Outkast_IRE

I would just supervise and try to let them work out their own heirarchy , someones got to be top dog and they arent goin to be totally settled until thats establishes .
As i said i would supervise just to make sure they dont hurt each other badly. Sorry but time outs its not a child !! once its established whos top dog it should settle down.

crotalus667

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Sorry but time outs its not a child !!

I never said it was a child , time outs work

TechnoPool

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

I would just supervise and try to let them work out their own heirarchy , someones got to be top dog and they arent goin to be totally settled until thats establishes .
As i said i would supervise just to make sure they dont hurt each other badly. Sorry but time outs its not a child !! once its established whos top dog it should settle down.

i dunno what the hell you mean by this?

your going to let them fight if it comes to it? just not let one get ''badly'' Hurt?


when one is about 5 KG and one is about 50kg+?
or what? :rolleyes:

crotalus667

TechnoPool wrote: »

i dunno what the hell you mean by this?

your going to let them fight if it comes to it? just not let one get ''badly'' Hurt?


when one is about 5 KG and one is about 50kg+?
or what? :rolleyes:

I did not really want to point it out but seeing as you have done it for me , TechnoPool that is one of the worst ideas the op could have what you end up with is two dogs at logger heads for the rest of their lives whic will be short because one will more than likly kill the other

peasant

It's too late now to do this whole "neutral ground " thing.

As for the "pecking order" ...well, with two dogs you'll very rarely get a situation where one dog is "boss" and the other just meekly accepts everything. You could end up with dogs that will squabble forever.

It is up to you to establish your rules, after all it's you who is supposed to be "boss"

So rule number one is: do not squabble
Make sure the dogs are fed seperately (in different rooms), do not prefer one dog to the other when it comes to affection or attention and after that reward wanted behaviour and correct unwanted behaviour.

You have to step in when your JR goes for the SB. Start with simply telling her "no", if that doesn't work, physically step inbetween the two dogs and if she still doesn't get it, do indeed give her "time out". She has to learn that you will not accept her squabbling. The quickest way to do so is if you are strict about it. Seperating her from the action for a few minutes is a very good way to let that sink in.
Be very particular about being neutral in this. As long as everybody behaves, everybody gets treated the same. Do not carry grudges. Even if your JR does this several times a day ...as long as she's behaved, be nice to her ...but when she doesn't, be quick and decisive in letting her know that you don't approve.

Outkast_IRE

There will be a pecking order no matter what , as a person you should be seen as alpha if this isnt established and made obvious to the dogs then there are always goin to be behaviour problems.

I didnt say anything like let the dogs fight you just jumped to that conclusion yourself, as someone whos had multiple dogs their entire life all who have got on happily and lived long lives i can tell you for a fact that is some form of heirarchy and it will need to be established iv seen little jack russels dominate much bigger dogs , all im saying is dont jump in and interrupt at the first sign of a growl just watch carefully and see how it develops if its obviously goin to turn into a fight then interrupt straight away.

unclebill98

peasant wrote: »

It's too late now to do this whole "neutral ground " thing.

As for the "pecking order" ...well, with two dogs you'll very rarely get a situation where one dog is "boss" and the other just meekly accepts everything. You could end up with dogs that will squabble forever.

It is up to you to establish your rules, after all it's you who is supposed to be "boss"

So rule number one is: do not squabble
Make sure the dogs are fed seperately (in different rooms), do not prefer one dog to the other when it comes to affection or attention and after that reward wanted behaviour and correct unwanted behaviour.

You have to step in when your JR goes for the SB. Start with simply telling her "no", if that doesn't work, physically step inbetween the two dogs and if she still doesn't get it, do indeed give her "time out". She has to learn that you will not accept her squabbling. The quickest way to do so is if you are strict about it. Seperating her from the action for a few minutes is a very good way to let that sink in.
Be very particular about being neutral in this. As long as everybody behaves, everybody gets treated the same. Do not carry grudges. Even if your JR does this several times a day ...as long as she's behaved, be nice to her ...but when she doesn't, be quick and decisive in letting her know that you don't approve.

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

There will be a pecking order no matter what , as a person you should be seen as alpha if this isnt established and made obvious to the dogs then there are always goin to be behaviour problems.

I didnt say anything like let the dogs fight you just jumped to that conclusion yourself, as someone whos had multiple dogs their entire life all who have got on happily and lived long lives i can tell you for a fact that is some form of heirarchy and it will need to be established iv seen little jack russels dominate much bigger dogs , all im saying is dont jump in and interrupt at the first sign of a growl just watch carefully and see how it develops if its obviously goin to turn into a fight then interrupt straight away.

Hi,

Thanks for all the post.

Both the two post above kind of sum up my thinking. Half of me is well let them at it and then of course there is the no no I'll train them to behave well together.

So far I've gone down the road of training and 4 days into supervised time together. So today I simple let the JR out the back to where the SB is and not a single bark or bite from the JR. I gave both = attention but just as the SB comes over and sits beside you the JR gets a bit edgy. We've gone with the one word "No" if the JR goes and does anything wrong and then maybe an odd tap on the nose.

Sorry forgot to mention the JR has a muzzle on and today was the 1st time without. I do find the JR got mad if she sees me with the SB and the JR can't get in on it. When I let the JR out she makes a run for the SB but finally no bitting.

They are feed seperate and are kept seperate when I am not there. I guess my main worry is that long term this will not work out.

Tomorrow.... they go for a walk together.... :eek:

Thanks for the help.

peasant

unclebill98 wrote: »

Tomorrow.... they go for a walk together.... :eek:

That might actually crack it. They should be so busy having fun (together?) that the squabbles might just fall by the wayside

argosy2006

maybe if u fit st bernard with a saddle and buy jack russel a cowboy hat

unclebill98

peasant wrote: »

That might actually crack it. They should be so busy having fun (together?) that the squabbles might just fall by the wayside

Here we go...

argosy2006 wrote: »

maybe if u fit st bernard with a saddle and buy jack russel a cowboy hat

peasant

So how did the walkies go then?

Goldenquick

I think the walk might work wonders for both dogs. It worked for us and our neighbours dog, not the same situation I know but both dogs used to bark & growl at each other all the time, after being out together to the park and pushing a football around between them, they are the best of pals. Hope it all works out for you.

unclebill98

peasant wrote: »

So how did the walkies go then?

The walk went ok. We had one dog each. JR had a few run in for a bite but stop it after while. no made difference who was ahead or anything. We changed over dogs on the way back and no issues at all.

Got back to garden and let both dogs loose. Nothing happened and then they where serpraeted for food after that.

So far so good.

crotalus667

unclebill98 wrote: »

then they where serpraeted for food after that.
.

You have to do that with alot of dogs , if you can get to a point where that is the only prob you will have done very well:)

Ali Babba

Good luck with it OP, it has to be said though Jack Russells are a particularly nasty breed of dog, a neighbour of mine has one and it's always up trying to attack my dogs through our gate, I'd happily blow the litter f**ker away if I had the chance, that's saying something because I love dogs generally but JR's don't have a redeeming feature in my book.

amacachi

Ali Babba wrote: »

Good luck with it OP, it has to be said though Jack Russells are a particularly nasty breed of dog, a neighbour of mine has one and it's always up trying to attack my dogs through our gate, I'd happily blow the litter f**ker away if I had the chance, that's saying something because I love dogs generally but JR's don't have a redeeming feature in my book.

That dog next door may be, most aren't. They're probably the smartest, friendliest dogs I've come across to be perfectly honest.

Blueprint

There's nothing wrong with JRTs, like Staffies they can just suffer from bad owners. The kind of people who think it's alright to never walk a dog or socialise it just because it's small, leading to one very intelligent, high energy dog who is suffering from extreme frustration and fills its time barking at the world because it has to do something with itself.

rainbowtrout

Ali Babba wrote: »

Good luck with it OP, it has to be said though Jack Russells are a particularly nasty breed of dog, a neighbour of mine has one and it's always up trying to attack my dogs through our gate, I'd happily blow the litter f**ker away if I had the chance, that's saying something because I love dogs generally but JR's don't have a redeeming feature in my book.

Generalise much? I have two Jack Russells that are perfectly well behaved. I have spent a lot of time training them and they get a lot of exercise and socialisation. On the other hand my neighbours a few doors down have one that was never trained and never walked. He spent the last year tied up in their back yard. In the last couple of months they've let him loose all day so he spends his day chasing cars and people up and down the road and barking. Most people on my road don't like him, but whose fault is that - the dog's or the owner's?

I would say bad owners are the fault not the dogs in most cases.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Ali Babba wrote: »

Good luck with it OP, it has to be said though Jack Russells are a particularly nasty breed of dog, a neighbour of mine has one and it's always up trying to attack my dogs through our gate, I'd happily blow the litter f**ker away if I had the chance, that's saying something because I love dogs generally but JR's don't have a redeeming feature in my book.

lol, apart from the wish to kill the neighbours JRT I'd have to agree with the rest!.

I've rarely (if ever) came across a JRT which wasn't an overly aggressive little fecker.

Best of luck with the dogs OP, but you might have to accept the fact that you've a particularly nasty & aggressive breed of dog (the JRT).

I've a Staff & a Pitbull and when we're out, if we cross paths with a JRT then almost without fail the Jacker will attack my dogs.

unclebill98

Well.

Most of time its being ok so far. Another fee walks and I'm hoping things will settle down. Less than 2 weeks into it.

My JR does have a bad little temper. Fearless dog for its size and certainly based on its parents and other sis/bros there is a little mean streak in this gene pool. Its social skills are not great and again its how the dog was raised before we got her.

A firm correction, be it a loud command or a tip on the nose seems to snap her out of her attacks on the SB. I think persistence is the key here.

As for JR in general. I had some placid ones over the years. This one is the 1st real agressive one I've come across.

peasant

JRT's are the Fishermans Friend of the dog world.

If they are too strong, you are too weak

unclebill98

peasant wrote: »

JRT's are the Fishermans Friend of the dog world.

If they are too strong, you are too weak

amacachi

Kye Orange Pelican wrote: »

lol, apart from the wish to kill the neighbours JRT I'd have to agree with the rest!.

I've rarely (if ever) came across a JRT which wasn't an overly aggressive little fecker.

Best of luck with the dogs OP, but you might have to accept the fact that you've a particularly nasty & aggressive breed of dog (the JRT).

I've a Staff & a Pitbull and when we're out, if we cross paths with a JRT then almost without fail the Jacker will attack my dogs.

Unfortunately it's down to owners, the vast majority of people don't bother teaching them to behave. My uncle has two that pretty much don't need a lead and will let anyone pet them, granny has one the same.
As I'm sure you can guess with your Staffies a lot of people think "Pfft, they'll do no damage, they're grand." and that what leads to that kind of silliness.