Rat Terrier good farm dog? opinions please...

[WolfenJack]

I have a Jack Russell/Rat Terrier mix. They are known as Jack-Rats by breeders. After some minimal training he has done really well with the chickens. He has chased off foxes and guards against hawks which are a real problem for us. I do not trust him with chicks however. The Jack-rats seem to be much more mellow than pure Jack Russell's. I also have chihuahuas. They leave the chickens alone and are allowed to run free with th hem in our enxlosed garden space. But I would never allow a chihuahua to free range as they are prey themselves.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Even though this is an old thread, because it still comes up with the search "Rat Terrier," I wanted to share my experience.

I LOVE my Rat Terrier. I got him neutered from a rescue. He is undoubtedly a mix, but is predominately Rat Terrier per RT experts who viewed him.

His first 8 months to 1 year of life, he was feral with very little human interaction. It took the rescue people 2 weeks to get close enough to the 30 or so dogs on this hoarder's property.

The rescue agency got him to settle in kennels and leash trained. My home was the first home he had ever had. I potty trained him (pretty easy) and crate trained him (again easy). I also did a lot of leash work with him and left him on drag line in the house. He is a terrible garbage can raider (feral days), so I have to secure my garbage and not leave him alone in the kitchen with a full can.

And, over the course of 6 months, I trained him to leave my chickens alone, even baby chicks. He will chase squirrels and rats through the flock without touching the flock. I however currently do NOT leave him outside with the flock unsupervised as his prey drive could kick in again towards the chickens. (However, I can let him out the back door to go potty and watch him. He is good with the flock, does his business, then returns to the back door.)

My Rattie is smart, sweet, and has high food satisfaction so using food treats has made it very easy to train him. Practice a good recall before you begin anything else.

It takes 24/7 consistency though, a little bit at a time, earning the next level of privilege, always with positive reward for right behavior and prevention (best) and firm but gentle correction for bad behavior (in a way that still builds a bond with the dog). Terriers are not as stubborn as much as they become offended if not respected.

My Rattie regularly goes out to the coop at night with me and generally gets one of the rats that invariably run as I turn on the back door light. He knows to kill and bring to my feet. (Yes, to my feet.)

Cat training took a bit longer, but the cat helped a lot with it when a good swat on the nose showed my Rattie that cats have claws too. Eventually Grandpa kitty and my Rattie were curling up in sunbeams together.

I was careful to choose a dog that had obvious food drive and a trainable temperament...showing he was sensitive with obvious desire to please his human.

As with any breed, it boils down to the temperament of the individual animal, and some Ratties are much more relaxed than others (the Decker strain is especially prey driven).

I can highly recommend them for an experienced owner.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

...oh I forgot to add that my Rattle is also my constant companion, excellent Netflix buddy, student greeter, and all around first class snuggler....amazing for 1 1/2 years...we began with him hiding in his crate.

I'm still working on car fear (improving though still gets a bit nauseous) and noise alert barking..he is getting better at finding me to answer the door rather than just barking...though he is not as bad as many small dogs but could become an issue if not addressed.

LofMc