The Curse of the Jack Russell

Cute.. Tiny.. Playful. These are three words that spring to most people's mind when they think of the little scamp that is the Jack Russell.

Terror.. Nightmare.. Brute. These are the words that haunt the other people.

Let me introduce you to our (almost) three year old Jack Russell. His name?

Zeus.



Now, he may appear like butter wouldn't melt but that is where he is leading you into a false sense of security. It's all part of his luring charm.

Look at what he did to Santa! Sorry kids, no Christmas this year.

Don't get me wrong, he can be very lovely and a true delight...when he's one-on-one. If someone has him cuddled in their arms (cue all dog trainers going mental about this!) and someone else comes near that person, he becomes 'Nasty Zeus'. He bears his teeth, growls and genuinely looks like a gremlin. It's as if Gizmo turns into Spike!

But that's not where it ends. If the first person puts him down and the second person picks him up, he then turns on the first person. Very fickle.

Now, we can handle his growls, but there is something that makes him even more of a terror.

Other dogs.

Zeus hates them. He tries to get to them when we take him for walks so that he can attack. And they're not small dogs either. He has sent Alsations whimpering into the night.

It's quite odd as we had another dog, Rolls, an Alsation/Retriever, so he was used to seeing another dog. He would turn on Rolls at times though too... (RIP)

(Just to confirm, Zeus didn't kill him, he died of old age.)

He certainly has 'Little Man Syndrome'. It's such a shame though as it means that he can't enjoy his walks as much, and neither can we.

Has anyone else had this problem? How did you solve it?


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone