top tips for training terriers

[thewhistler]

After applying to 8 rescues and having no response,over a 5 month period, not even a house visit, we got a 23 week old jrt.

I had said no puppy, no terrier, esp no jrt. Hence looking at rescue pointies and labs. But fate was against me.

He poos and pees outside, will sit to command most if the time, and is adored by all. He is good with children and lets them pat him, is learning slowly not to nip and puppy bite, but he is teething so wants lots to chew on. He is a bit gruff with other small dogs, learning not to be hysterical about them, but had a complete terror and hysterical fit faced with a Newfoundland in the park, having just coped with two rotties and several labs. He is afraid of the dark when it us outside. He has come from a remote farm where there were his mother, siblings, 2 great dames masses if cats, cows, horses and children but no suburbs, cars, streetlights and no strange dogs. Atm he has become very clingy, wouldn't let me out of his sight today.this mother and sister are absolutely sweet and afaics more confident.

How do we give him the most secure and loving background to deal with his fears and what are your top terrier tips?

He has a crate in the kitchen, where he is left overnight, and a bed in the sitting room. He us allowed on the sofa but not on chairs and not up stairs.

DH is at home almost all the time, but sometimes needs to rest for a couple of hours, I work, and Ds is an adoring teenager. He adores DH and vice versa. But today all he wanted to be was cuddled, then be would get off the knee, wander for 5mins then back on. V restless.

Sorry this is long.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

Terriers love killing and tugging games, which can be used as a reward in training and is often more motivating to a very playful or prey driven dog than food is.

Tug of war games are strictly for training purposes only in my house, Devil Dog goes mad for them and would sell his soul for a game of tug. Let them win sometimes, for an anxious dog I would let them win often to build their confidence, their wee face lights up when they've won.

Clicker training is great for building confidence in anxious or young dogs and is suitable for all breeds. I find my terrier picks it up a lot quicker than other breeds I have trained this way. BAT will help with his fear of other dogs (you can read up on this on YouTube)

Terriers are working dogs if you do not give them a job they will become self employed and trust me, you will not like their choice of work, keep their minds busy and keep them active.

They will kill any soft toy they get hold of within nano seconds.

[thewhistler]

He has no interest in soft toys. But "dead" cardboard boxes, especially egg boxes, wow. Fortunately DH likes eggs..

That is a good tip about tug of war games. He loves them and kills his toy as though it were a rat. Fascinating. We are exercising him a lot, or so I think. Several hours a day.

I'll look in to clicker training which I have never done and BAT.

Thanks for that.

[Floralnomad]

I'm no expert but be careful not to over exercise ,he is still a baby. Nothing to do with training but my terrier loves to dig and we got him a sand pit which keeps him entertained and also saves our garden.

[thewhistler]

That is a brilliant idea, Floral. I have been wondering how to deal with that.
Vet says fine on the exercise, because he is a small dog and nearly 6 months. It's the large ones you need to worry about.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

BAT

[thewhistler]

Watched a little of it and have just put it into practice in the park. Reasonable success save with a very bouncy standard poodle. I think it must be the resentment of a superior intellect, our jrt could be called Tim Nice But Dim.