adding a jack russell to my family/pack at end of the month........ any advice?????

[misslala1987]

we are a family with 3 children and 3 dogs (akita and 2 german shepherds) myself and my kids have wanted to add a small breed dog to our pack/family for a little while and finally (after alot of enquiries with breeders, viewing litters) have decided on a jack russell. i founbd family breeders who have both mum and dad dog, both are nice balanced dogs. so weve placed our deposit and he'll be ready to pick up at the end of the month., i feel confident that i will be able to train and socialise this dog correctly due to experience already, but ive never owned this particular breed. so if anyone has any advice that you feel is crucial for me to know..... please share! x

gosh well the jr will think he is bigger than the german shepherd for starters.

Haha brace yourself! I too had lots of dog experience....but our Jack Russell x has definitely been the most challenging dog I've ever lived with.

Like Slarty says, she thinks she is the biggest dog on the block, much bigger and more important that our poor gentle old sheltie. We always say she wants what she wants and she intends to get it. There has to be something in it for her if we want her to behave. She is very much top dog with both our sheltie and my parent's very much bigger dalmation x.

With lots of reward based and patient training and endless dog classes, we are getting there with her. She's nearly two now and is calming down a little. They really are experienced owner dogs, I have to say, and if you look at rescue websites, most reflect this (won't rehome Jack Russells to those without experience).

Having said that, I adore our JRTx like no other dog I've ever had. She has bags of personality and is funny, cute, intelligent and loving.

Advice? It'll be a really rewarding journey but you need to be pretty determined not to give up if you hit difficult bits. :) Oh, and terriers chase small animals. And catch them and eat them, given the chance. If you have any small furries keep them safely out of the way.

no i have no rodents lol were into both the dominancy method of training and positive reinforcement (bit of cesar milan, bit of victoria stilwell) lol im thinking of more positive training with the jrt, am i right to think so? i know some might read this and think why the hell are you nervous or asking for advice on jrt's? but i think im just sort of doubting myself because im used to big dogs now, havent had a small dog since we lost our boston terrier about 18 months ago and he was quite a docile small dog.

We've just got a jack russel x cavalier to join our lurcher, she's 1 yr old and a right terror! Chews everything, wees, steals food and jumps on the window sills! However she is also stacks of fun and our lurcher loves her. Having only had experience of sighthounds before she has lots of different challenges, she spent the first week barking and growling and DH but now loves him!

pipsy your dog is the same as mine! I'd love to see a pic!

You could be describing my dog, by the way

Yes, misslala I think positive, reward based training is the way to go. You wouldn't get anywhere with punishment methods with ours. Occasionally DH tries to square up to her a bit to tell her off and she is just defiant, barks back! Very different to our sheltie who will hang his head and make you feel so sorry for him if you use even a very slightly annoyed tone

I don't think we'd have got anywhere with JRTx with anything other than lots of positive reinforcement. Plus, she's a great character and a very loving dog and I think we might have lost that had we used any harsh methods.