Jack Russell Terriers

[Guest Andrea]

I have a jrt that is OBSESSED with squirrels. We can't let her outside without being on a leash because she runs off into the woods and WILL NOT come back. She runs from you if you call her name. She didn't used to be like this.

You can't "walk" her on a leash. She HAS to run. So taking her for a walk is a struggle. We resorted to riding a bike so she could run along side.

Anybody have a dog like this? Does she need meds? SSS??? :D

Right now she is going from window to window in the house whining and wanting to go "hunting". She got loose last weekend and found herself a cottonmouth. I'm scared she's gonna get bitten.

[stevebeilgard]

sounds like a hyper dog. get an invisible fence for your yard. the pain as she get's near it should stop her. if not, maybe let her find another cottonmouth and get a real dog.... lol

[wtnhunt]

if not, maybe let her find another cottonmouth and get a real dog.... lol

Around here this time of year, that would not be hard for a dog to do.

Honestly Andrea, not sure what I would do with the dog, not sure I would keep a dog that was overly hyper.

[QDMAworks4me]

My cousin has a Jack Russell that does all those same things. The nice thing is that we live in NY where there are no deadly snakes and my cousin lives on our 500 acre farm so there is lots of places he can run. I tell everyone that his dog has little man syndrome, he thinks he is much bigger than he is. He will go after any animal, he even tries to go after my black lab, but my cousin does everything he can to get him to stop but it seems that they have a mind of their own. Actually last week he got into a porcupine and cost my cousin 150 bucks at the vets. He is constantly doing things like that, even when my cousin tries to keep a very close eye on him all the time.

I am sure you do the same thing but my cousin makes sure every day to get him out and run him in one of our fields so that he burns off energy, if he does not do that he becomes really hyper, to the point you can't stand having him around.

My cousin calls him his third child, spend as much time as you can with the dog and run them a lot, not great advice but the best I can come up with. Good luck

[LifeNRA]

I have a jrt that is OBSESSED with squirrels. We can't let her outside without being on a leash because she runs off into the woods and WILL NOT come back. She runs from you if you call her name. She didn't used to be like this.

You can't "walk" her on a leash. She HAS to run. So taking her for a walk is a struggle. We resorted to riding a bike so she could run along side.

Anybody have a dog like this? Does she need meds? SSS??? :D

Right now she is going from window to window in the house whining and wanting to go "hunting". She got loose last weekend and found herself a cottonmouth. I'm scared she's gonna get bitten.

If I ever had a dog, that would not be the one I would own!!! Because I would have to give that dog somekind of downer to slow it down!!! My friend in Delaware has two of them, talk about HYPER!!!!!!! SHEEEEEEEEESH!!!!!!

:eek:

[M00N]

That sounds to me just like a normal Jack Russel Terrier Andrea. That breed of dog is well known to be very energetic and have strong hunting drives. Most terriers have a strong hunting drive, it is what they are bred for was to hunt varmint. We have several family and friends that own one and they are a very difficult breed to keep that require a lot of work to keep them happy. They need a lot more exercise than most dogs and are a breed that won't be happy unless you give them something stimulating to do each day (such as hunting, playing ball, agility, flyball, etc.). Some JRT's if not excercised and given enough interesting and fun things to do can get into some very destructive behavior or worse start getting some obcessive compulsive mental quirks to them that are a bit strange. Most of the JRT's that I've worked with when I used to do K9 training were bundles of endless energy well into old age.

If your JRT is escaping and driving you insane it means it's bored and needs something new and stimulating to do during the day. The one JRT owner I know enrolled their dog in agility to keep him happy and it's worked pretty good at keeping the dog satisfied and stimulated. He's stopped destroying their house as often as he used to. They of course also take him on a 5 mile jog every day, too which helps also. If there are any agility training facilities near you I'd look into maybe enrolling him in a beginner class of it and take him once a week to train. It will not only make him bond closer to you to go through the training, but will give him another outlet to stimulate his mind and work some of that energy out. Once you get him trained for agility by taking a couple classes most of the agility equipment, if you're handy enough, can be built pretty easily to make a mini course at your house to run him on. I'd say enroll him in something new that he's never done before that is challenging to him such as obedience, agility, or flyball classes if there are any near you. Normally they are a once a week class type in most cases. Another thing to consider is Earth Dog competitions if there are any in your area. JRT's benefit from them extremely. They are meant for terriers and play on their hunting skills. They normally are both above and below ground competitions involving caged rats that they dogs have to find and bark at.

Good luck with taming the beast. I've always loved JRT's but I'd never own one because they just are too much work for me. lol

[OJR]

That sounds like one breed of dogs that I DO NOT need at all! LOL!!

[BowtechTurkeyHunter]

Have you ever taken him to Obedience school? the chasing of the squirells isnt bad ... the worste part about that is that your dog wouldn't come back to you when you called him ... this is vital in any dog ... if your dog runs out in towards the road you need him to come back to you no matter what ... I think you could cure this problem with some simple obedience training ... just my 2 cents worth ... btw I think dogdoc will agree with me ...

Steve

[Strut10]

I saw a bumper sticker once. It read:

"Jack Russell Terriers: They're football-shaped for a reason."

I'd hafta concur.

[Leo]

Guess you're finding out why Jack Russell's are the dog of choice to hunt Leopards in Namibia.

Most of the ones I've been around have been live wires with no insulation. They have a naturally "sparky" personality. All dogs calm down as they get older but the smaller breeds tend to take longer (sometimes years).

My advice is find something else to wear the dog's energy out other than walking. Young dogs win that battle every time. If he won't fetch. Sometimes they will chase the heck out of a remote car. You gotta find something that drains this guys batteries and not yours. I don't know what that is for this guy. Good luck with him.

[LifeNRA]

A few years ago my father and I were driving home from a hunting trip. We saw a black bear aside of the road, so we stopped and watched him. The bear went up into the woods, moments later we seen a JR following the bears scent! He was barking up a storm, then the barking sounded like it stayed in one spot! My Dad said that the dog probably caught up with the bear! The barking went on, we just stayed there thinking the bear might return running! All of a sudden we heard a half of bark, then all got quite! We looked at each other and at the same time said, "dead dog"! Never seen or heard anything in the next five minutes. We stayed around for about 10 more minutes, thinking we might run into the dog's owner. Nothing!

[BowJoe]

So far Andrea, everyone seems to think the only way for your dog to calm down is if he's eliminated. I definately think he's making up for lost time with his daddy Charlie. Sounds like he knows what he needs to do. I say put up a fence. It might be the only thing to let him burn off his own energy. Put some much in there with him and let him go. Put in plenty of toys and a pool or maybe get another dog to keep up with him.

[Jeramie]

Moon is correct, welcome to that breed. Thats why they make horrible kid's dogs. They are wide open all the time. I had one for about a month and she was given away. It was a little female and she literally chewed the base boards in our house. That was the last straw. She would also draw blood just playing.

Thats why they are often the most popular among course dogs. Sorry, but she isn't going to slow down...

[Guest Andrea]

I think I am gonna order me a shock collar with a remote. And also build her a run out back somewhere. We had to take down the fence when we started building the house, but she is so little she coulda fit thru the holes anyway.

I can't get rid of her, she was a Christmas present to my son.

[Jeramie]

BUY AN INVISIBLE FENCE! I dont know why I didnt think of that earlier but man those things work! She gets to close and gets a jolt a couple of times and she wont be running to far any time soon!

[Tominator]

I've got a neighbor that lets her 2 terriers run. She's the one I called animal control on last year.

My kids and I watched that stupid thing run a rabbit all over my neighbor's property yesterday.

I don't know Andrea. I just think it's the nature of that dog to run and hunt. I'm glad you care about your dog, because my neighbor surely doesn't.

[Spanky72]

TOBY AKA DEVIL DOG

RUSTY AKA THE TROUBLE MAKER

LIEBE AKA THE BABY

Andrea,

We have three. And there is no down time for them EVERY!!! We have tried the shock collar on Toby and even at full power it would stop him and then in the blink of an eye he is right back on track. They are great dogs,great with my kids,but they ACTIVE,VERY ACTIVE. We have an acre yard and we have the back fence in and I tie stuffed animals (dog toys) to trees. Well good luck and enjoy.

[Guest Andrea]

Here's Lucy, on the constant look out for those dangerous squirrels.....

[coles]

seriously try this...it works for spending energy fast. I went pheasant hunting with a guy a couple years ago that had a Brittany that was too hyper and would just run forever. So to cure that a little bit he got a piece of rope about 18"long and then got another heavy piece of chain about 18" long and tied it to the dogs collar and he just drug the chain around all day. Make her one of those and let her out in the yard for a while. If that doesnt work i would invest in an invisible fence.

[Newarcher]

So far Andrea, everyone seems to think the only way for your dog to calm down is if he's eliminated. I definately think he's making up for lost time with his daddy Charlie. Sounds like he knows what he needs to do. I say put up a fence. It might be the only thing to let him burn off his own energy. Put some much in there with him and let him go. Put in plenty of toys and a pool or maybe get another dog to keep up with him.

Do you just run around putting words in people's mouths for fun or to entice a fight? Not one person said anything about eliminating the dog! The rest of your post, I agree with.

New

[Guest Andrea]

seriously try this...it works for spending energy fast. I went pheasant hunting with a guy a couple years ago that had a Brittany that was too hyper and would just run forever. So to cure that a little bit he got a piece of rope about 18"long and then got another heavy piece of chain about 18" long and tied it to the dogs collar and he just drug the chain around all day. Make her one of those and let her out in the yard for a while. If that doesnt work i would invest in an invisible fence.

Might have to give that a try. Wouldn't she get tangled up?

[Leo]

Might have to give that a try. Wouldn't she get tangled up?

That's a legitimate fear. I wouldn't try that on a Jack Russell.

[Orion_70]

My JRT is the same way, once she has her attention on something, that's it. Brave to a detriment also, she wouldn't hesitate to jump on my Rottie either. Pretty much any varmit is on her list and good luck getting her attention back. Cats? don't even let her see one if it wants to live. Smart, agile, and curious beyond belief too. They are a handful, but very good dogs.

[BowJoe]

I don't see dogdoc on here chiming in. I bet he'd know.

[Guest DaveGP]

andrea,

my vote goes for the invisible fence, my friend gave my aunt the most psycho JR i have ever seen. he growls at you while you hold him. but boy after a few shocks from that fence he now knows his bounds and wont even try to push it! save yourself a lot of grief and get that electric fence!