Over at The Liverpool Echo the headline reads: Jack Russells blamed for more dog attacks than any other breed.
Right. No surprise here. This is a game-bred hunting dog bred to go down small holes and face larger quarry face to face in the dark. This is a dog very often tuned up as tight as a banjo string. Plock some baby down in front of it that makes high-pitched noises, and which baits about with jerky movements, and the code might explode.
Jack Russell-type dogs are the city’s biggest offender for attacks on people, according to police data.
In 2015 more canine attacks on humans were reported from Jack Russells than from other breeds often seen as more aggressive, including pitbull and Staffordshire bull terrier-type dogs.
One angry Chihuahua was also reported to Merseyside Police for attacking someone in its path.
A total of 71 dog attacking incidents were reported to police over the last 12 months - almost a 50 per cent rise, year-on-year with 41 reported logged incidents in 2014.
Jack Russells were responsible for six of the recorded attacks where police could definitely say what the breed of dog was.
So there's the actual data behind the World War III headlines: SIX dog bite across the entire city.
Yes, it is too laugh. It's even funnier when you realize this "reporter" is simply comparing numbers, and not the severity of the bite. A jack Russell might weigh 12 pounds. A Rottweiler bite is to a Jack Russell bite what a BB gun wound is to a .38. But don't let common sense or actual knowledge get in the way of the story though, right? Reporter Laura Tacey gets full fail marks for hyping this story beyond reason. That said, please do NOT get a Jack Russell Terrier if you do not understand these are true game-bred hunting dogs. These are not the dogs you are looking for.
2 comments:
My rough-coat JRT has bitten me a few times mysteriously- once for throwing a baseball and a few times for door or gate protocols which he thinks I violated. He's just that way- he's a biter of everything- rolling bin wheels, skateboards, whatever. I see it's in his nature- as you say "the code explodes" and he's off. I think it's OK- I want him that way- but he bears watching...
People want small dogs more and more. Unfortunately, many of those breeds happen to be terriers or mixes thereof. Westies, Scotties, Norwiches, Norfolks, Jacks... They're "so cute!" until they muckle on to the grandkid's face.
This is coming from a person who has fostered, raised and owned several terrier breeds and terrier mixes. But I love sharp dogs and know how to work with them. The average pet puppy buyer in the US today does not. At all.
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