Adopting a 4 year old Jack Russel Terrier today... what am I in for?

[Mr.Bojangles]

I have a 7 year old female JRT that does fine as my chickens free range . But i have worked with mine and she understands that they belong around here.. Mine is terror on wild rabbits, possums and the squirrels that venture around the yard. I would keep a eye on the dog your getting , until you get to know it and can work with it ..

 

[roosterdog]

Good Luck! It will all depends on the JRT. I have two - (Black and Tan) Hunt Terriers and will never get another one........
OCD..... but, I love mine and they love me more.

 

[tnchickenut]

I'm hoping he is going to be good. Seeing that he has always been free around chickens, other dogs, cattle, horses, pigs, and I think they had rabbits too. I wouldn't mind him one bit getting rid of the fox that stole my rooster or getting rid of the oppossum that steals all the cat's food. That wouldn't bother me in the least. lol

 

[amandac]

Hi. I am very new to chickens so my dog/chicken experience is limited. My chickens don't free range plus I have a fenced in back yard for the furbabies. 1 jrt and 2 terrier mutts. I have not had a problem with the dogs digging under the fence. They will stand beside the chicken run on occasion, but have never tried to dig under, chew through, etc. Mine are all in/out doggies. My best advice about inside behavior is, guard your shoes!!! I am ALWAYS missing one. They are usually under the dog bed lol. My jrt and the mutts were housebroken easily and not much of a problem with being destructive. My biggest warning for dog safety is, my jrt inparticular LOVES water. She will jump in a kiddie pool, watering trough, whatever. We have to be very viligant for fear of her drowning. Not sure if that is a breed thing or just this dog. Good luck!

 

[ChooksChick]

DO NOT play with the dog with animal-like toys, and don't play tug-of-war. You'll be exercising the prey drive, and that's not what you want, especially if it accidentally ever has a chicken in its mouth...

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
EXACTLY!

I have one since she was 7 weeks old and is now pushing 16 and that spring is STILL working!

She takes a few longer naps but I swear she plays every day and bounces when she walks. She demands her breakfast and dinner if we are a few minutes late. She has a piercing, sharp bark--they can hear it blocks away. This bark is essential for them as they were bred to go underground after prey and literally bark their prey out of the hole. They also would go so far under ground their owners needed to hear them and dig them out.

We didn't get our chickens until this year and raised them in the family room with her and our Malinois so they all would get used to each other. She is definitively interested in them and goes to the coop the first thing in the morning but not in a crazy predator fashion.

They are incredible athletes (Emma leaped up to my eyeballs daily for her treat until she was 14--now she just leaps into my arms) are blessed with great intelligence, have amazing digging abilities and strong instincts to chase varmints. You must take time to allow them to get out a lot of that energy and a sense of humor is required to own one.

I am an animal behaviorist and I would not want to be without one. These little bundles of energy seem to be able to reason (in terrier fashion) and figure out ways to defy gravity and get what they want. Training is essential, as well as a job. They excel in flyball and agility!

With all this said, you will know fairly soon if its possible for them to get along. Do not trust him alone with them because if they run he may too. Some of these dogs are fine with farm animals, some not. Give him a job to do and they might help.

 

[Equus5O]

My mother's Jack only digs when she's after something, say a mouse. She's very affectionate and snuggly. She has many animal toys, and doesn't appear to relate squeaky toys to chickens. And, as far as I'm concerned tug-of-war isn't a problem as long as the human makes the rules. I don't see how playing tug-of-war with a person has any bearing on prey drive. The only problem I've seen is dominance related, as in the dog doesn't want to stop, or tries to snatch the tug toy from the person when it's been decided that the game is over.

 

[PhilErvin]

I have a Border Terrier and we keep the girls seperated from him. He's gotten a hold of a couple of my girls but we have been able to rescue them in time. DON'T TRUST A TERRIER AROUND YOUR GIRLS.

 

[malignstar]

Quote:
Dogs are actually GREAT as discriminating between objects that look like animals and the real thing. They are very poor generalizers though. Tug is a great game, just with rules. Drop it when I ask and never touch my fingers; if you don't play by the rules then we don't play. If tug exercises prey drive then my dog should have killed my kitten that sprints like mad around the house all day and looks like a tiny bunny rabbit, as we play FEROCIOUS games of tug that involve me swinging Emily in the air and growling with her!

 

[chicken+quail=luv]

Overall, i have to say I do not really like JRTs, or their mixes. I'm sorry. I just don't. I have a friend, who also happens to be a neighbor, who has a JRT mix. That dog has bitten the mailman and drew blood. He's a friendly dog, so I'm not sure why he did that, but, oh well. However, my friend and her parents laugh about it, so I don't think they really care. "He was a puppy, blah blah blah..." The story she told me was that he bit the mailman's hand, not in a puppy way.

Well, last year, this dog got out, and ran into my yard. My chickens free range (well, these chickens are dead now D

, so obviously he was after them. He chased one of my chickens, Loulou (r.i.p. loulou D

and attacked her. thank goodness he had chased her into a neighbors yard, who threw snowballs at the dog and finally got it to leave.

I have not had a positive experience with this dog.

Also:
I do not want this post to result into a fight. I'm sorry if I offended you by saying I don't like this breed, but it's just my honest opinion, and I don't judge any of you for having these dogs. My experience with this breed has not been good, and I'm sure that there are many sweet, kind, great dogs of this breed.