Raising and training the Jack Russell Terrier

The funny jumping dog Jack Russell Terrier, known from the movie "The Mask", is becoming the dream of many animal lovers. This is an active, mobile creature that will not let the owner get bored, but at the same time it is a compact dog, the size of which allows it to be kept even in a small apartment. But is it really that simple? With the wrong upbringing, this cheerful creature can become a real problem in the house.

Representatives of this breed are distinguished by cunning and selfishness. These traits of Jack Russell's character begin to manifest themselves when he feels like the master of the house. This is an unacceptable oversight on the part of the owner. In addition, hunting blood flows in the blood of Jack Russells, which can lead to serious problems in the family.

In general, these dogs are quite peaceful towards people, friendly, contact, however, other pets in the house can not always be tolerated. With proper training, Jack Russell will become soft, pliable, and will gladly carry out commands. Another characteristic feature of him is the thirst for constant adventure. This dog is interested in what is happening in the neighboring yard, what the thing found on the street tastes like, from where the barking of another dog comes from. From this, the owner must conclude that Jack Russell should always be walked on a leash and taught to do this from childhood.

Jack Russell Terrier is a very discerning dog, even by the voice of the owner, she feels his weakness and can take advantage of this in the process of training and manipulate in the future. She strives for domination, so it is important to stop such impulses in time.

This breed is not suitable for those who prefer to spend weekends in a warm bed, Jack Russell needs an active owner, a lover of long walks, jogging, outdoor recreation.

With a soft-bodied owner, the dog can be a real manipulator in the house and even start biting. Of course, such behavior will not lead to tragedy, but problems and difficulties for such a family are definitely provided. If the owner has not calculated his strength and feels that he cannot cope with such a complex canine character on his own, then it is recommended to seek advice from a dog handler.

As a rule, training begins with the simplest things. If the first commands are not fully mastered by the dog cub, then you cannot proceed to the next stage. It is important that the puppy knows the material “perfectly”. This does not mean that you need to devote the whole day to the animal, in the end, the training itself can quickly get bored and tired. The general set of rules for training is as follows.

• Give commands clearly, observe one intonation, do not jump abruptly from command to command. Try to avoid unnecessary words. If you want to teach the dog to lie down, then the command should sound like: “Lie down!”, And not “Lie down, quickly!”. Excessive statements will only confuse the puppy and will not bring any benefit in the learning process.
• The first lessons should be limited to a couple of minutes, so as not to tire the puppy. It is recommended to gradually increase the time each time. Training should not last more than half an hour. It is recommended to learn no more than two teams in one lesson.
• As you move on to teaching new commands, do not forget to check the "passed material". Finish the activity with the command that the animal learned the easiest to learn.
• Start training your pet at home. Accompany each correctly performed exercise with a delicacy, affectionate word, gentle stroking. When offering a treat, do not stretch out your hand; keep your palm close to you. This position will make it possible to stroke the dog while it is eating, then the palms will be associated in the mind of the dog with "sweets" and she will quickly get used to the hands.
• Conduct activities before meals. A well-fed animal will not want to learn new commands.
• Shouts, rudeness and assault are unacceptable even when the essence of the training process does not reach the puppy for several days. If you hit a dog, then it will begin to be afraid of the owner, and this will definitely not give a good result during training.
• After class, play with your puppy. Let him associate training with a fun pastime.

It is recommended to raise a puppy from the first days of his appearance in the house. Usually the dog appears in the family at the age of 2 months. At this age, her character is not yet fully formed, and therefore this is a rather successful period for starting her first classes. If the puppy was purchased at an earlier age, then it is allowed to teach the baby the simplest commands.

There are even the norms for teaching the puppy commands for each age. So, at 6-9 weeks, a puppy just needs to know his nickname. In 2-3 months it is recommended to switch to the command "Come to me!" 3-3.5 months is a good age to learn the “Lie down!” Exercise. At 3.5-4 months it is customary for Jack Russells to be taught the commands "Fu!" and "Sit!" At 4-6 months you can start the command "Near!"

Raising a canine child of the presented breed is not so easy and fast. The most important stages of training in a puppy's life are accustoming to a diaper, to accoutrements, to walking.

Usually, to cope with the needs, the owners buy absorbent diapers for their pets, but it is important to correctly train the puppy to visit it, and not the corner in the room that they like. Here are some rules to help you speed up your learning process:

• carry the puppy to the diaper immediately after eating and after waking up from sleep;
• lay the diaper where the animal can sit comfortably, that is, for example, under a low curbstone, the dog will not be able to feel comfortable and will not want to visit such a toilet;
• take the puppy to the toilet immediately, as you can see its preparation for the process - slight whining, an attempt to sit down, search for a suitable place, active sniffing become signs of a desire to relieve itself;
• leave the animal on the diaper until it has completely finished the process;
• do not scold the dog in case of "fleeting" hits - puppy urine is washed off the floor with detergents;
• do not wash the area under the diaper with chemistry, dogs do not like this smell and may refuse to visit this toilet;
• praise the puppy immediately after a successful result, after a couple of minutes he will no longer understand what he is being praised for, at the same time do not rush and wait until the bladder or intestines are completely empty.

Before you take your puppy outside, it is important to train him for a collar and leash. This is often tricky with Jack Russell Terriers. Through the leash, not only control over the animal is carried out, but also information is received from the person to the dog. Introduce your pet to the leash, let him smell a new object, accompany the acquaintance with a treat. It is important to show the dog that the leash is safe. You can even just leave it next to a couch or bowl for a while.

Now try attaching the collar. The puppy will begin to resist and in the first minutes will try to get rid of the inconvenience, in this case, distract him with a treat or a game. Leave the collar and leash on the dog for a few minutes and lengthen this time every day. You can walk around the apartment with a leash, let the puppy get used to the fact that his actions can be controlled. Successful accustoming to ammunition in the house will save you from problems during the pet's acquaintance with the street.

When the puppy is on the street for the first time, it will be scared. Some individuals may simply refuse to walk. You need to call the puppy affectionately, convincing him to take the first steps on the asphalt. As soon as the dog has mastered the first fright, you can reward it with a “tasty treat”. During the first walk, the puppy may stop from fear several times, but his successful fight against fear should be rewarded every time. Therefore, do not forget to take your pet's favorite treats with you on your first walk.

If the dog starts to pull on the leash and refuses to obey, then this behavior should be stopped in timeto show that these actions will not lead to anything good. Calling the disobedient animal to him, the owner must again reward the dog cub with a treat.

Check out a few more rules for teaching your puppy basic commands.

• When accustoming to a nickname, encourage your pet every time he responded to his name.
• Passing on to the command "Come to me!", The owner must hold the treat in his fist and call the animal with a gesture.
• When teaching the command "Lie down", the treat is placed in front of the animal. If the pet does not understand what they want from him, then you can gently help him by slightly pressing on the croup.
• Team "Fu!" pronounced when the puppy picked up something from the ground while walking. When disobeying "Fu!" pronounced more strictly and clearly. The same command is used when the dog walks to the side while walking.
• When teaching the command "Sit!" the treat must be held over the trainee's head so that he can only see it when he sits down.
• When teaching the command "Near!", The dog should be at the owner's left leg. First, you need to teach the puppy to sit and stand next to him, and only then the stage of training to walk next to him begins.

An adult dog, poorly accustomed to walking, can often get distracted while walking, chase pigeons, bark at passers-by, and get to know other dogs. If the owner does not like this behavior, then you need to strictly express indignation and distract the animal by playing or executing commands.

Some ill-mannered Jack Russells tend to bite... It is important to wean the dog from this habit right away. Even a harmless bite while playing gives this cunning animal a signal that you can show a person's teeth. Therefore, the playing out pet that bit the owner, you cannot provoke such games and continue these actions. It is better to switch the dog's attention to another toy, for example, to throw a ball at it.

In the event of more serious aggression, you will have to switch to strict methods of education. For example, you can grab a snarling dog by the face and hold it until it stops growling. It is also allowed to take the pet by the scruff of the neck and press it to the floor so that it takes a lying position. Do not let the animal rise until you release it yourself. Another way: lift the dog by the scruff and shake it slightly.

All these actions should not be aggressive, do the movements carefully so as not to scare the dog or cause him physical pain. It is important to show that the owner of the house is a human.

Another problem that owners of adult Jack Russell Terriers face is damage to things. It can be gnawed shoes or clothes, furniture. Most often, dogs spoil things in the absence of the owner. To prevent this behavior, leave plenty of toys for your pet when you leave the house. Various "long" toys are now popular, for example, large beef cartilage, which a dog can gnaw for a long time and distract himself with this in the absence of a person. Bones will not work in this case.

If the dog grabbed old unnecessary shoes for the game, do not make fun of it and encourage his actions. Seeing that he has amused the owners, the animal will get to the new shoes. The dog does not distinguish between old and new shoes, so it is important to stop any attempts to chew on old sneakers, even if they do not mind. In this case, remember the commands "Fu!" or "You can't!"

The most common mistakes that owners of Jack Russell Terriers make in the process of training and education.

• Many owners do not accompany training with a strict voice, they, out of love for the animal, encourage it even if they do not want to learn, seeing pleading eyes when looking at the treat.
• Feeling guilty about not allowing the dog to do anything, the owner confuses the concept of love and discipline. It is important for the owner to learn the difference between these words.
• Some Jack Russells begin to feel like masters if, during the game, the owner allowed them to put their paws on his chest and rise above him. The dog who imagines himself to be the main dog is very difficult to obey.
• For some families, the usual dinner is a problem. During a joint meal, a dog begging for a treat appears under the table. He interferes with eating and may even climb onto the table. It is worth while still in puppyhood to stop all attempts of the dog to grab something from the table, otherwise it will begging for the rest of its life from the household. This harms not only the warm atmosphere of a family dinner, but also the health of the pet.
• Another common mistake inexperienced owners make is asking the dog to do the impossible. Many owners think that their animal has an almost human mind and phenomenal abilities and expect unattainable peaks from the pet. This leads to conflicts during training, disappointment of the owner, rudeness on his part.

For the peculiarities of raising and training a Jack Russell Terrier, see the following video.