Little terriers attacking Boxer

Frecklefart90

So myself and the GF have a Boxer (10 months old). She is the most placid dog you could ever meet(or as far as Boxers go anyway ), there has been 3 occasions now when JRT's have had a go at her and for the first 2 she didnt react. It has been 3 different dogs so different owners obviously, the first owner just said "Ah its ok, they're only playing" while one of their little fúckers latched on to Laylas face and started swinging off her cheek.

The 2nd owner pulled her dog away after she started nipping at Laylas face and chest.

Then last week we had her at a lake and 2 JRT came running over off their leads, straight away i put Layla on her lead and pulled her in beside me. The 2 JRT started barking and growling at her, she didnt react apart from looking at me as if to say "Seriously, again?". The owner of these 2 came strolling casually over and told me that the problem was i had Layla on the lead and it was bothering his dogs, he told me to let her off which i did. The younger JRT then had a go at Layla straight away, she snapped and smacked the JRT across the face and pinned it to the ground. The owner then started freaking out and dragged his 2 away.

My problem is, if someone walked around the corner and seen Layla standing over this other dog then she looks like the aggressive one which she isnt, its really bothering.

Sorry for the rant, just had to get that off my chest.

Chris_Heilong

Same thing happened to me on Monday, the owner said the reason my dog is barking and trying to bite your is because yours is on the lead somehow trying to put the blame for his little uncontrolled terrors on me. It got my dog on the snout and he now has a large hard lump about the size of a golf ball on the area that was bitten. I am going to start treating these owners with contempt from now on.

tk123

Yeah we get the same thing. Some people think that having a smaller dog means they can let them run amok - sure they're only small :rolleyes: Does she have any JR or smaller dog friends - if not maybe see if you can find some to play with so she doesn't associate small dogs with getting bitten etc. This is what happened to my guy when a JR snapped at him and it took a while to get him comfortable with smaller dogs. He has a few JR friends now - they play bite the face/legs/tail off him and he wrestles them:pac:. Very funny to see their faces in bite mode and the little JR with his teeth snapping together - he's the size of my guys head lol!:pac:

carwash_2006

One problem is because boxers have somewhat bulging eyes it can look to other dogs like they are eyeballing them. Not excusing the fact that the owners had their dogs off the lead and didn't react at all appropriately to the situation, but it can be helpful to understand why it is happening. Dogs like JR's tend to have a bit of an attitude and will react more to a perceived act of aggression towards them than other dogs might. Add to this the fact that most boxers have still been docked and it becomes a matter of confused body language.

I'm afraid your poor girl is a bit of a victim of her appearance. It might possibly help if you explain this to the owners if you can, maybe in the future they might be quicker to control their dogs with breeds like boxers that theirs are liable to react to. Of course ideally they would train them a bit better in the first place if they are going to let them off at all.

SunnyLucy

I have a 2year old JRX and will be the first to admit that she has a bit of an attitude problem, she doesnt like strange dogs at all and thinks she can "take" any dog that comes her way. As a result we keep her on a lead when out walking (we have a large garden and fields for her to run around in otherwise).

One day we came across a family with two terriers off their leads; on the first day they managed to catch one dog but the other flew over to us snapping and growling, I stamped my foot and shouted at it while the Dad told me "don't worry, he won't bite", he grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and went back to his family.
The next day same story only this time the two of them came at us, I lifted my dog which i know I shouldnt have done but she wouldnt have stood a chance against the two of them, and did the usual foot stamping and shouting while the two of them snapped at me, the Dad came over LAUGHING and told me i "really have nothing to worry about, its just bluff", I just glared at him and went on my way.
On the third day i came prepared with a big stick, the two came running over again barking and growling, i pulled my dog in behind me and proceeded to whack the ground in front of me while screaming at them to feck off, I'd rather slap them with a stick then have them chewing on one off us, the Dad booted his way over and started shouting at me to relax, I told him not to worry, its just bluff, "unless ye get too close". Havent seen them since! :P As far as I'm concerned its our jobs to protect our dogs, regardless of their breed or size, from idiots like this.

Pardon my naivety but do dogs really take an issue with other dogs who are on leads?? Sounds like a load of bull to me.

Honey-ec

SunnyLucy wrote: »

Pardon my naivety but do dogs really take an issue with other dogs who are on leads?? Sounds like a load of bull to me.

It's normally the other way around. I have a 5 year old Boxer bitch who is very lead-aggressive (i.e. when she's the one on the lead) but who absolutely loves other dogs when they're both off-lead. A lot of dogs feel very defensive if met with a loose dog when they're on a lead themselves, but I've never heard of a loose dog having an issue with a tethered one.

kylith

SunnyLucy wrote: »

I have a 2year old JRX and will be the first to admit that she has a bit of an attitude problem, she doesnt like strange dogs at all and thinks she can "take" any dog that comes her way. As a result we keep her on a lead when out walking (we have a large garden and fields for her to run around in otherwise).

Pardon my naivety but do dogs really take an issue with other dogs who are on leads?? Sounds like a load of bull to me.

One of mine is the same as yours, and I'm familiar with the situations you've described.

Some dogs do have an issue with other dogs when they themselves are on lead. While this is certainly true I it gets my goat when people start urging me to let mine off because "the lead is making her like that". I have to try stay civil while I explain that the lead is the only thing saving their dog from a visit to the vet.

westies4ever

its a difficult issue but the size of the dog shouldnt matter. i have two terriers both of whom are placid and friendly - we've had issues with both large and small dogs being aggressive with us in the past. I've had my smaller dog at the vet twice for injuries from attacks - once from a dogue de bordeux (french mastiff) and once from a small cross breed.

any dog that is not trained or has aggression issues, should not be let off lead.

i do feel for you op - it can be frustating and can ruin your walk/day but dont tar all terriers with the one brush.

DBB

the Dad came over LAUGHING and told me i "really have nothing to worry about, its just bluff",

People seem to think that unless their out-of-control dogs actually attack another dog, they don't have to take any responsibility for their dog's behaviour. But the fact remains that whilst your dog is not being physically harmed, having to confront these threats is just as harmful and potentially psychologically damaging for her. It's maddening! His dogs are doing the equivalent of racing up to your dog, cursing at her, calling her names, giving her the finger etc. I don't care if it's "just bluff": it's your dog's perception of it that's important.
Whilst I don't always agree with picking up a dog when trouble looms, I think you did exactly the right thing in this situation, as it was a genuinely dangerous situation. I always feel too that in this situation, there's a better chance that I'll get bitten rather than my dog, forcning the owner to take his dog's behaviour more seriously. Plus, the dog warden would take this complaint far more seriously. I can get over a bite, but I don't want to have to deal with the fallout of my dog being attacked.

Pardon my naivety but do dogs really take an issue with other dogs who are on leads?? Sounds like a load of bull to me.

It does sound counter-intuitive, but I've seen this happening with dogs in certain circumstances. It seems to be dogs that have been to badly-managed/controlled training classes, and the dog had bad experiences (in the name of training... don't get me started:mad:) with other dogs that were on lead. I know several training establishments whose clients regularly suffer from this problem compared to the dog-population generally.

piperh

My poor boy seems to walk around with a bite me sign on him. He's a big gentle dope who likes to play rough with other dogs but only if allowed, He's been bitten 3x by different jrts around the town and has been on the lead everytime the last time i asked the owner to put her dog on the lead and she said "i can't he'll bite me" :mad:

Oranage2

May get slated for this but my dog is so placid and wouldn't fight back and with no doubt its always a small terrier tryin to bite lumps out of my dog so i usually just kick the other dog away.

Tranceypoo

Honey-ec wrote: »

It's normally the other way around. I have a 5 year old Boxer bitch who is very lead-aggressive (i.e. when she's the one on the lead) but who absolutely loves other dogs when they're both off-lead. A lot of dogs feel very defensive if met with a loose dog when they're on a lead themselves, but I've never heard of a loose dog having an issue with a tethered one.

This is one of mine as well, although this is a result of being ran at and barked at by so many dogs when we pass various houses, her hackles go up and she pulls and barks, yet when she meets dogs in other situations she's a total pet.