Need Advice Re: Dog attacking Spot the Wonderpup

In My Humble Opinion
1

Spot the Wonderpup is a 70 lb. Dalmatian/Pointer mix. He’s very friendly to other dogs and has never been in a fight. On the rare occasions when another dog has gotten in his face, he and the other dog quickly work it out in their doggy fashion. Spot tends toward the dominant side, but really doesn’t mind being submissive either, even to a smaller dog. Mainly, he just likes to keep the peace and play. He rarely encounters a really aggressive dog in any case. Around here, people with aggressive dogs tend to be careful about keeping them confined and/or on a leash. (We do have leash laws.)

We walk him around the neighborhood daily. A few months ago, Jeff was out at around 7 am walking him around the block. As he came around a corner, a Jack Russell (named Corky, about 15 lbs.) barrelled out of the house, and attacked Spot. Spot tried to play with Corky–doing play bows and the like. Spot only caught on to the fact that he was actually being attacked when Corky’s teeth contacted his neck! Spot took Corky down, picked him up by the scruff of the neck and casually chucked him across the lawn. Corky ran back to his house. My husband was surprised and a little upset, as it was clear that Corky was out for blood. but he assumed it was a one-time thing.

A month or so later, Jeff was walking Spot around 7 am, and Corky again charged and attacked Spot. Spot tried backing away with some low growling. Corky kept attacking. My husband managed to get between the two dogs, quickly tied Spot off to a fence post, and started advancing toward Corky and scolding him. Corky ran back into his house. My husband took Spot home. He went back to the house and rang the doorbell. He explained what had happened, and that it was the second time. The male owner apologized and said that they had accidentally left the back gate open, and that it wouldn’t happen again.

A couple of days later, I was out walking Spot in the afternoon. Corky’s male owner was out playing basketball with his kids. He stopped me, and apologized again. A couple of weeks later I was outside in my yard without Spot. I saw Corky come through the fence. He had obviously gotten free, and his female owner was following, trying to call him back. I helped her corner Corky, and petted him for a while. He was perfectly friendly to me. She introduced him to me, and I told her that I knew him, as he had attacked my dog Spot a couple of times. She apologized profusely. I told her no worries, but it was really scary, since Corky really seemed to have it in for Spot. She said they were being more careful with keeping him confined. (ironic, I know.)

Then 2 days ago, I was walking Spot around 7:30, and I came around the corner. Guess what? Here comes Corky, lunging at Spot. This is the first time I witnessed it, and he was DEFINITELY attacking–teeth bared, the whole bit. Spot backed right up to me, and barked at Corky. (He was protecting me. Awww!) Corky kept right on attacking. Spot started to make more aggressive movements toward Corky. Then the male owner came out, and yelled at Corky. Corky backed off a bit. The owner came and hustled him away. All in all, it was a very scary experience.

Anyway, these seem to be nice people. I regularly see them and/or their kids outside playing ball, and they always said “hi.” And if they were horrible, I probably would have heard about it. (They are 2 doors down from the house directly behind mine.)

But these attacks have to stop.

I don’t know how the laws work with regard to dog attacks, but I think we’re on the right side of it. All of these attacks happened on the sidewalk, so we are not trespassing. It’s not feasible for us to avoid walking by this house. They are in violation of the leash laws, obviously. Both adults in the household are aware of the situation, and through their apologies, have claimed some responsibility. But the situation continues.

Since we’re working on the assumption that these are nice reasonable people, we’d like to take the smallest steps possible to rectify the situation. We think they may not realize the seriousness of the attacks. After all, Corky is so much smaller than Spot. But Jacks are notorious for attacking much larger dogs, causing great harm to themselves and their victims. Since Spot has never been in a fight, we have no idea how he would react. He could get badly hurt, or badly hurt Corky. We’d rather not find out.

All we want is for the attacks to stop and to have some confidence that they will not recur. We have no animosity toward the owners or toward Corky. We have no wish to “punish” anybody. But we will take whatever legal means are necessary to protect our dog.

So, what should we do?

What would be a good first step to notify the owners that we are quite serious about ensuring that Corky does not attack Spot again?

If that doesn’t work, what are the next steps that we should take?

Any other advice would be welcome.

(FWIW, we are in the town of Westfield in Union County, NJ.)

2

This will almost certainly vary by area, but in some jurisdictions the neighbors are completely liable for anything that happens to either dog. Of course, that’s little comfort when Spot winds up in the emergency clinic.

Dolly and I used to have a similar situation–we had to walk past a house with an aggressive, free-roaming dog. At first, he was content with barking and snarling at a distance, and yelling at him to go home backed him off even further. He got bolder, though, and one morning he charged us. It was quite the circus, with Dolly under my feet trying to protect me, and me dancing around trying to kick the crap out of the dog to protect her, and all the yelling and snarling and yelping. (Poor Dolly got bitten on the snout for her trouble, but it was just a little scrape, and I landed a couple of pretty good kicks on the other dog.) The owners never acknowledged that their dog had attacked us, but I know they saw it, because I saw their curtains twitching. I documented the attack in her medical record, since we had to clip and clean that wound, and programmed animal control into my cell phone, ready to dial the second that animal came off their property. He never came after us again, though. I don’t know if the owners were more careful because they were afraid of a lawsuit, or if he didn’t want to be kicked any more, or what, but I never saw him outside their fence again.

A lady I used to work with carried Mace with her when walking her shepherds. Not for people; no human in his right mind was going to mess with a woman walking two very protective 90 pound dogs. No, the Mace was for other dogs. Little dogs of all sorts would charge them almost every night. She’d yell at the dogs. If that didn’t work, she would yell at the owners to get their dogs before her dogs killed them, and if that didn’t get results, she maced the little buggers. Then she’d inform the outraged owners that if their dogs attacked her again, she was calling animal control and filing a vicious animal complaint.

Of course, we didn’t give a rat’s ass if we made these people angry, or if they thought we were hateful or unreasonable. I don’t advocate kicking or macing animals in the normal course of things, but it’s a hell of a lot better than you or Spot being bitten. (Yes, I know he was friendly with you when Spot wasn’t around, but that was a completely different set of circumstances. People often get bitten by their own dogs trying to break up fights.)

I’d talk to the owners (not that it seems likely to do much good, since they already know about the problem and don’t seem to much care) and tell them that you simply can’t let these attacks go on, citing the safety concerns for everybody involved. If Corky attacks your dog again, you’re going to defend yourselves/call animal control/take him to the pound, and then follow through. Once he’s been kicked, maced, or impounded a few times, they’ll figure it out.

Alternatively, you could wait till it happens again and shriek bloody murder the whole time, like the dog has hurt you. This will get the neigborhood’s attention, and perhaps shame the owner (or frighten him) into getting serious about controlling the dog.

If that doesn’t work, file a vicious animal complaint, and keep filing them every time this dog tries to attack yours. After enough complaints, the court will order that Corky either be kept under control or put down.

3

I agree with the previous poster. One thing that’s not been mentioned is whether this aggressive behavior is only toward your large dog? By assuring that corrective measures are taken by the owners, you may also be protecting smaller dogs, not to mention human beings. Even a small dog can do serious damage to a child. If a dog came out at me like that more than once, I’d tell the owner, firmly but politely, regardless of how “nice” they were, that if it happened one more time I would be forced to notify the authorities. Period. Then do it.

4

After my grandmother was attacked and permanantly injured by the neighbor’s dog, she started carrying a buggy whip.

The neighbors refused to tie up or fence in their dog, saying that it was “cruel” for them to do so. I suppose they had some romantic notion of their dog frollicking throught the fields chasing rabbits, or some such nonsense. The reality was that every time my grandmother took her dog out on the leash, the neighbor dog would sneak up on them and attack. One day she became tangled in the leash when the two dogs started fighting, and ended up with a shattered hand. (Which never healed properly-- some of her fingers are “frozen.”)

When informed of this, the neighbors told her that if she had let her dog roam as Nature intended, this might not have happened, since there would have been no leash in which to become entangled. Though they were warned by the dog warden, they still would not restrain the dog. My granmdother was basically a prisoner in her own home, terrified to go out the front door in case he lept out from the treeline and attacked.

I’m an animal lover, and normally I’d never even think along these lines, but I offered in no uncertain terms to come over and shoot the dog the second it stepped on to her property again. Of course, my grandma refused that offer, and the situation was temporarily settled when the dog was hit by a car and killed. I say “temproarily” because within a week, the neighbors had a new dog, roaming at large.

Grandma was determined to be a prisoner no longer. She had an antique buggy whip (the kind which is a whip attatched to a long stick). She carried it with her whenever she went out. When the new dog tried to jump her dog, she struck it with the whip. The dog never bothered her again.

If your neighbors will not keep their dog contained, you should carry a “weapon” of some sort with which to protect yourself. Try to choose something which will not actually harm the dog-- just startle or cause discomfort to it, and hopefully repell it from attacking again.

5

If the neighbors are indeed as nice as they appear, they will, in response to your request, take Corky to the vet and ask about behavior modification, and whether medication is an appropriate answer. It’s quite clear from Corky’s behavior that he’s never been obedience trained, or he would have better manners with other dogs. So, if they seem resistant to the suggestion of a vet visit and either doggie psych or meds, then suggest obedience training. While if he were my dog, I’d put obedience first, it takes the most work on the part of the owners, and if they’re both working (a high probability), and have small kids, they might feel they simply don’t have the time.

If you don’t get a positive response to one of the above, then it’s time to consider the options others have suggested. :slight_smile:

6

Well… in some cases, even really well trained obedience dogs can still be dog aggressive. I knew a German Shepherd with a UDX (Utility Dog Excellent - top obedience title, highly competitive stuff) who hated all little white dogs and would attack the minute he had the opportunity.

Interestingly, this behavior never happened off leash. Only when one of the dogs was on leash - leash aggression isn’t rare - a loose dog picking on a leashed one, or a leashed dog being super territorial.

I wish I knew what to suggest, Green Bean. If the dog keeps getting loose and attacking your dog, then report it to animal control. Record dates/times this has occured, and how you have spoken to the other owner but nothing has been done.

Next time they get in a fight, bring your dog home, and go see these owners and tell them: “Hi, Corky has attacked my dog again. This has GOT to stop. He’s starting to be afraid to go out on walks, and I must admit I’m a little scared Corky will someday attack other dogs or children in the neighbourhood. I only want what’s best for Corky - he really is risking getting hurt. What can we do to make sure this stops?”

See what they come up with. Apparently they need a better system to keep him contained and fenced in. They are aware and have seen their dog in action. The major risk in my mind, given the size difference, is that Corky WILL get seriously injured by your dog when push comes to shove. One day, Spot WILL snap (hell, I would!) and he’s far bigger and more powerful jaw-wise than a little JRT.

Some dogs are and always will be dog-aggressive. Only a trained behaviorist can really help with that, and even so, sometimes it’s impossible to break.

In a really weird side note - my parents’ dog, Sophie and most of their neighbourhood canine friends have been terrorized by a showdog wheaten terrier in the offleash area. That dog’s name? Corky. Scary thing? She’s been bred 4 times. With that kind of temperament, I’m afraid for the puppies’ new families…

Good luck with it all…

Elly n’ the hounds.

7

Those owners, well intended and nice as they seem to be, are being very irresponsible in not confining their dog. I have two Jack Russells,and they have a large backyard to play in, but I never allow them off the leash outside. I always know where they are when I open a gate or door to the outside. Their prey drive is so strong that it is almost impossible to have 100% recall with them. Cars are the number 1 klller of JRTs because owners lost track of them for “just a second.”

Get some doggie Mace (one brand is called Halt!) and blast that sucker every time he attacks your dog. I love my dogs dearly but if they ever got out and threatened anyone’s pet I would expect them to do exactly that. Corky’s owners have had plenty of notice about his behavior. If they cannot control their animal they have no business complaining.

8

They’re almost certainly violating the leash laws of your town. I know in my particular town, a dog off its property must be leashed, or if not must be in the owner’s control at all times - in other words, a well-trained dog that will not charge/snap at/run after other people or animals.

You might want to look into the laws when it comes to what happens to dogs that get reported as being “vicious” - their dog could be quarantined, they could be fined, etc. - and then mention it as a concerned neighbor, that maybe Corky might scare someone badly enough that it has to go to the police.

Some people think so highly of their pets that they don’t consider how other people feel or the consequences of their inaction. My husband is a letter carrier for the US Postal Service, and once when he had to pepper-spray (USPS-issued) a dog that was attacking him on the owner’s property, the owner’s response was to whine repeatedly, “You sprayed my dog!” She didn’t care that the mailman had been attacked and bit (not severely, but still) by her little darling; only her sneezing, eye-watering dog mattered to her. For people like that who need some reality, or even frustrated neighbors with a Houdini-like dog, sometimes they need to think about the legal ramifications to them and their dog.

9

Yes, I agree with this. While talking with the neighbors and making it clear to them (in a nice, but firm way) that you are done tolerating the situation, the first thing you should do is protect your dog and yourself. We have similar problems where I live. We have a leash law, but a lot of people completely ignore it. We have had several very small and very stupid little dogs try to attack our 75 lb. male greyhound. It’s a very scary situation because our dog wants to kill these little dogs. He will just stand and wait until the little morons get in his grill and then try to grab and shake them. I now carry a squirt bottle that is filled with a combination of water and ammonia. It is amazingly effective at keeping them away.

Anyway, if you have a leash law in your area, you can report this loose dog to the authorities, but if it works the same way in your location as it does in ours, Animal Control has to come out and actually see the dog running around before they can do anything. This can be an exercise in frustration, as by the time they come out the dog can be inside again or in a location different from where it was when it tried to attack your dog. Also, in our area, if our dog did injure a loose dog, WE would be liable for its injuries!!! That was a real WTF moment when I found that out - even if a loose dog attacks my leashed dog off the loose dog’s property, WE would be considered to not have adequate control over OUR dog if he injures or kills the loose one. How’s that for idiotic? But it’s a real good example to illustrate that 1) protecting yourself and your dog needs to be a top priority, and 2) if you have a pet, it’s a really, really good idea to find out what your local laws/ordinances are in regards to them so you don’t end up with any nasty surprises.