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

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Some training with a shock colour could do enormous good for her behavior. One of hte best trained JRTs I ever was was a ranch dog--all their dogs are rattlesnake trained with a shock collar--they would put the collar on and take a rattler (first cutting off its head) and put it down where the dogs could go get it--well a snake still moves after death, so the dogs didn;t realize it was dead. Anytime they go near the snake the get a big, albeit brief, shock. Whenevere they kill a rattler, tehy renew the lesson to keep it fresh in mind.

 

[tnchickenut]

Well, here is another update:

We have had "Dud" (the name he came with... wouldn't be my first choice. lol) for a full week and so far, aside from day one... he has been the best behaved dog I have ever owned.

Here is a breakdown of my day:
Woke up to my boxer out of the back yard and in "chickenland". The mixed bantam flock was having a fit, so that is where I started to head out to... Get there and see that there is a bantam red cochin in with the standards (three roosters in there) and he is getting beat up by the Del roo, so I save him first. Then, I see a SOAKING wet Japanese bantam turn the corner and come to me. My boxer, Heidi, had been licking the poor thing for God knows how long. She didn't hurt it at all. Checked it over and no scratches or anything... legs and wings all fine.... just getting a boxer bath.

Flash forward and we have "Dud" in the car going to my mother's house for some socialization time. Remember the first time we were at my mothers Dud bit me and attacked my mother's German Shepard.
We did great! Not one problem. No fighting, no bitting, no growling. He is comming along great!


As far as barking and such... I HATE yappy dogs. Can't stand it. Dud hasn't barked yet. I'm not even sure what it would sound like.

We walked on a hike through the woods yesterday, Dud and I, and he had a blast sniffing and searching. When we got through the woods to the other side, we were in the cornfield and a rabbit run off... we startled it. He perked up and bounced around looking for it. He was being a dog, and that was great to see. I let him try it for a few minutes and then told him, "let's go home" and started back into the woods. He stayed right by me the whole way. Very smart, very loyal.



So all in all, he is working out great. He still hasn't looked at the chickens the wrong way, and no longer pays attention to ducks. Still scared of the goats, so he may bite out of fear if he feels cornered by one. It's hard for him to be calm around them because THEY freak out and the whole energy gets amped up, so then everyone gets nervous... even the goat's best friend (a Delaware hen) Margeret. She starts in with "bawk bawk bawwwwk". The key to everything is staying calm and positive.

Here is a picture of him while we were going down the road today. I wasn't driving. lol

 

[speckledhen]

I'm very happy to hear that he's calmed down and seems to be very promising! Was hoping he would work out well for you.

 

[tnchickenut]

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Just wanted to say that I agree with this 100%. Like I said in the previous post... I let him go after the rabbit (he didn't get it). I encourage him (and my boxers) to do what they were bred for, but they will do it when I let them... not whenever they please. The key to that is working with them. Showing them... this critter is ok, and these are not. Some breeds (like JRTs, boxers, pretty much all high energy working and hunting breeds) NEED to be worked or they will get bored and they will destroy. If it isn't your livestock, it will be your furniture.

The biggest part of Dud's issues is his lack of self-esteem and fear of men. We have to get passed that, but we do it by acting completely normal and not makeing a issue out of being near a man, we don't pet him when he cowers... that's a reward for a unwanted behavior, so it's a "no no". When he is just sitting and being calm (especially around livestock like chickens), he gets plenty of pettings and maybe even a treat. He gets two to three big walks a day with at least one being a "hunt" where we let him sniff his path and show us what he wants to find. (he found a killing ground for some wild critter.... found my rooster who was taken off two weeks ago, well, the feathers at least... and a cat skull, possibly my cat that went missing a year ago, lots of fur and bones.) He gets to be a dog, and that is all a dog wants. They got to do what they were bred to do.

I'll try to get some photos tommarrow of him behaving very well around my feathered babies. Keep posted!

 

[Caincando1]

It sounds like you lucked out and have a very low prey drive terrier. I assure you, if he had high prey drive your story would be completely different. Keep working with him and I bet he'll be just fine. As I said earlier, JRT are very rarely used for hunting (at least not in the US) anymore and the breeds prey drive has been breed out of them. Sounds like you have a good house dog on your hands.

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
That might be because the guy I got him from would have shot him if he showed a prey drive towards chickens. they said he would chase cats (which is ok for his previous owner) and hasn't yet. I think because he was in a pack of hunting dogs he fell victim to "pack mentality" and alot of what they saw him do was because it was really all 20 of their other dogs being their amping up the energy.
He was bought as a puppy as a hunting dog. I have known his previous owner for years and can tell you, he intended to have a hunting dog. lol. I knew he was not high prey drive because he told me that "this one is more laid back than the one that was killed". That told me right there that his prey drive wasn't as high as it could be. They lost some chickens to dogs, but he told me he didn't think Dud was one of the dogs that killed them, but he was eatting the carcasses. Still, he hasn't looked at the chickens... and he is housed right next to them with only a fence between... he don't care about them.

Anywho. I wish he would be a bit more JRT like. He is a "dud" alright. Only when we go on our "hunt"s does he perk up and get active.

 

[Caincando1]

Quote:
That might be because the guy I got him from would have shot him if he showed a prey drive towards chickens. they said he would chase cats (which is ok for his previous owner) and hasn't yet. I think because he was in a pack of hunting dogs he fell victim to "pack mentality" and alot of what they saw him do was because it was really all 20 of their other dogs being their amping up the energy.
He was bought as a puppy as a hunting dog. I have known his previous owner for years and can tell you, he intended to have a hunting dog. lol. I knew he was not high prey drive because he told me that "this one is more laid back than the one that was killed". That told me right there that his prey drive wasn't as high as it could be. They lost some chickens to dogs, but he told me he didn't think Dud was one of the dogs that killed them, but he was eatting the carcasses. Still, he hasn't looked at the chickens... and he is housed right next to them with only a fence between... he don't care about them.

Anywho. I wish he would be a bit more JRT like. He is a "dud" alright. Only when we go on our "hunt"s does he perk up and get active.

If he was intended as a hunting dog and didn't work out then it sounds like he's in the right place now. Also, be careful what you wish for wanting him to be more of a hunter. It's not an easy thing to deal with and when they turn on, watch out, it's pure craziness!

 

[True Grit]

Good for you tnchickenut for rescuing that little sweetie. My jrt spent his first year chained to a dog house in a barn but when he met my mini schnauzer they became friends immediately so Reggie came home with us and they were inseparable for 15 years. Of all my dogs Reggie has been the friendliest in public to everyone and every dog and has killed only a squirrel and a rabbit. Would he like to kill a chick? You bet. Yours is different and I predict you will spent the next 12 years in loving companionship. Congratulations.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

My Jack is a hunter, a killer, a good boy, and a bully.
He will kill or try to kill any animal he sees, will not back down an inch(horses are fun).
He is not welcome at my friends houses cause he beats up their pitts and bulldogs.
He expresses himself thru snarling and growling and biting(he does not treat me this way)

I thank the Stars everyday that he is only 13 lbs, or Id have a real problem on my hands.

JRTs need a job or task, they need to focus all that.
They make the best agility dogs, or go-to-ground competitions . . .
They are too smart to be left with nothing to do, they find something!

They are very independent, and really dont need you as much as youd like to think . . .

If your gonna get along with your new JRT(and not the other way around

) you should do some reading on the history of the breed, they are here to hunt and keep up with the pack all day, and to be fearless in a foxhole and make life-or-death decisions while in that hole.
Everything about this dog has been developed for this single purpose, from size to coats to tails to ears/headshape to disposition to individuality to determination. . .
Ya either love em or ya hate, I LOOOOVE mine!

 

[Lbrad7]

I had two JRT (lost one to a coyote) that were chicken killers to the core! I started taking them into the coop with me on a very short leash and everytime one of them even looked toward one of my birds I gave the leash a quick firm jerk. After about a week of that treatment the both stopped killing them and went into the run to gather eggs with me everyday without incident. The trick is to be VERY quick with that leash!!! If you are not giving them your absolute attention 100 percent of the time they will grab one of your birds so fast you wont even know what happened. If you have never seen a JRT in action of hunting and killing small animals you are in for a shock at how fast they move and how quick and extremely violent they kill. Be on your toes and everything will be fine.

One other thing to keep in mind...once they are trained not to kill you really have to watch your roos..they will jump your dog in a NY minute and then all bets are off..your dog goes into immediate defense mode. LOL With very good reason in my case. My little JRT hesitated for a sec and it was all my barred rock roo needed to turn my dog a flip but once she was back up that roo came very close to a very nasty end. Everything worked out though and she now loves to go in with the birds with me and we haven't had one incident since.

Good luck to you....JRTs are amazing dogs and you are in for hours of laughs and entertainment. They are a blast!