Rhi*Jak*Ed

I don't know much about dog behaviours in general (have always had family pets but only recently embarked upon solo pet ownership!), but I would think that if she's scratching at the door to tell you she wants to go in or out, that that's a good thing? I could be horribly wrong haha. Mine does the same thing, especially if I go into my bedroom and close the door behind me and she's left out in the hall. She'll scratch and scratch and cry, but I don't open the door and let her in until she stops the scratching. Good luck :-)

No worries :-) One thing though, if you let him out whilst he's barking he will think that EVERY time he barks in the crate that you will let him out. I'd suggest waiting until he settles, then letting him out. He will then associate that he doesn't get let out until he's quiet and settled. I know the barking and/or crying is hard to listen to at times, but for your own good you need to persist and either ignore it or invest in a good set of ear plugs haha.

You should find alot of advice on here regarding housebraking, just do a couple of searches and you should hit the jackpot :-) Charlie is gorgeous :-) My JRT is 4 months of age and I still don't leave her in the backyard by herself. Mainly due to the cane toads because there would be an hour of darkness before I get home from work and that's when they come out to play! But, if I didn't have the toad issue, she is now big enough to be outside all day. When she had her last vaccination the vet said that she was too young and small at that point to be out in the yard all day by herself. Birds divebombing etc haha. As a result, I have to clean up every day because she doesn't have access to the outside world. Those dogs that do are very lucky indeed, as are their owners! I'm sure that if you keep showing him the correct places to go toilet (and recognising when he's about to go and taking him to the correct place before he does anything), it shouldn't take him long to pick it up. And if he has access to outside, that would make it easier still. All the best with it, I'm sure the rest of the week will be dragging on for you! Rhi & Jak

Does he start the barking as soon as you put him in the crate? Mine does if she hasn't had some exercise to tire her out or if she needs to go to the toilet. I then figure out which one it is by the powers of deduction :-) Sometimes if I'm too tired myself to play fetch for an hour before I put her to bed, she'll bark non-stop for around the same amount of time before finally settling in and going to sleep. My suggestion would be exercise, then they're tired and should happily curl up and go to sleep :-)

OMG I taught mine to rollover tonight! It feels good. Yay to you and yay to me :-)

I'm confused. Did you not write "Any ideas on training a JRT? So far he still bites/snaps/snatches when I'm trying to train him to sit for a treat (he's approximately 12wks). Am I starting to train too young? Thanks for any advice" As far as I can tell we responded accordingly (with the one exception). I wish you all the best with the JRT, they're a joy :-)

Oh, forgot to mention that Jak still bites, but nowhere near as much as she used to. I have tried the muzzle thing and the loud NO, time outs, spraying my hands with Aeroguard, yelping to show her she's hurt me etc. None of those things have worked. I have now moved on to yelping and walking away and completely ignoring her. She seems to be reacting to this one because she's losing her playmate, which was not her aim. This has been one of the things that she is learning very....slowly.

My JRT is quite the handful, but at the same time she has learnt some things very quickly. By 10 weeks of age she was sitting on command and then I went from there - she then learnt how to drop and then I taught her how to wait patiently for the treat so as to stop her from snatching the treat out of my hand and subsequently connecting with one of my fingers, because that hurt! haha. She is now 4 months of age and still has all the basics down pat, but I have had to work very hard with her every day in order to assert myself as the leader of our little pack (it's just her and I). She still challenges me on occasion but I quickly put her in her place. JR's in particular are fiesty little dogs but bundles of energy and you need to be prepared to put in just as much energy into their training. I would suggest training every day, just for a few minutes at a time because their attention span doesn't hold for long, but make the training fun and rewarding. Jak loves chopped up bits of sausage and recognises these as a great reward for doing what I ask her to do. I initially used liver treats but she musn't have thought they were worth it haha. And of course puppy pre-school :-)

Hi there, I have only ever fed Jak twice a day, simply due to my lifestyle as I am at work all day, so fitting in a 3rd meal there was impossible. She is a healthy weight etc. I also give her a beef soup bone every couple of days which she just loves. The first and only time I gave her a raw chicken neck she practically swallowed it whole and then regurgitated it. I haven't given her one since. I am sad to report that I feed her can food (tsk tsk) and mix in Eukanuba dry food. Again, this is due to my lifestyle. I don't even cook for myself so I'm not about to cook for her. If only she could eat Lean Cuisines. haha. You can follow the guidelines of feeding quantities on the packages, but ultimately if you find that your pup isn't eating it all then you're probably feeding too much etc. Good luck and if you get stuck we're all here :-)

Hi there, She was all good when I got home last night, but did pull up sore when she tried to push off her leg to run. Same thing this morning. She's up and down the stairs ok though and walking fine, so I'll just give her a couple of days I think. I'd only just been thinking that I'd had a good run with her actually, no injuries etc. Thought too soon! haha. Thanks for checking in :-)

My mum's dog is a Parsons Jack Russell and it took two not so pleasant trips to the vet with a hose down her throat for her to realise that "playing" with a cane toad can only lead to trouble. She completely ignores them now though which is a relief. Both times she had the run in with the toad's I was the one looking after her. Talk about panic! I take Jak outside on the lead of a night time because they're in my yard even now - and Jak seems to have quite an interest in them. I don't let her near them, but I will be trying the leave it command with her from now on.

Thanks guys. I was considering taking her to the vet but I think I'll wait... A guy at work told me to stop being a worry wart haha and that she should come good. If not, then take her. Yeah after she hurt herself she limped in to have a drink of water then came straight back to get her ball to keep playing. I didn't throw it again though, the game was well and truly over then!

Hi everyone, Poor Jak hurt her left front leg last night :-( We were playing fetch as we do every night, and I threw the ball down the hallway (as I do every night), but last night she was a little off centre and when she turned to chase the ball she ran smack into the wall. Ouch! She cried straight away and was quite proppy at first. This morning she made a cry when she tried to launch off it to run and when jumping down off the couch and the bed. She can otherwise walk ok though, but when she sits she holds that leg up off the ground. She's at home by herself today so I'm hoping she'll just rest up and that it's bruised and nothing more serious than that. I'm leaving work early today though so that I can get home in time to take her to the vet before it closes, if need be. Anyway, here's a pic I took of her on the weekend :-)

Jak's favourite games at the moment are chasey and fetch and to a lesser extent hide and seek. She absolutely loves a good game of chasey, she bolts around the house at breakneck speed and is always exhausted and ready for a good cuddle afterwards (and she's too tired to bite my hands which is always a good thing!). I always initiate the game by stamping my feet on the floor, she crouches down low wherever she happens to be at the time and bolts. The game is on then! I also stop the game. When we first started playing chasey she would nip at my heels to get me to play but thankfully she's stopped this now and I control it. Yay!! She can play fetch for hours and she has a squeeky bone and a small round rubber treat ball that she likes to retrieve. I just keep throwing them up the hallway and she keeps running after them and bringing them back for me. Lately she's started trying to fit more than one item in her mouth at the one time and when she realises she can't, she pushes the extra toy back to me with her nose. Very cute to watch and it's also funny seeing her think through her dilemma haha. She likes hide and seek but starts to cry if she can't find me after a couple of minutes. I then have to show myself, but she's just as excited as if she'd found me all by herself. haha. My house isn't all that big and I'm running out of hiding places. I've just started hiding her toys and getting her to go find them. So far she only knows her squeeky bone as "bone", but am working on others, slowly. She'll get there :-)

I put Jak on the leash when people visit because she's a jumper and a nipper too. She carries on for no more than a minute then lays down and watches whatever it is that we're up to! Every now and then I go to her and give her a bit of sausage as a treat to let her know she's doing the right thing. She stays laying down because she knows that more sausages will come then! haha. Eventually she should start to associate being on the mat when visitors come equalling sausage treats and do it on her own rather than having to be put on the lead. Good luck :-)

She's doing really well on the stairs, and is very cautious on them, only goes up and down them very slowly. I think she will be fine :-)

Are you putting a blanket or something like that over her crate when you put her in there for the night? Worked wonders for Jak. She howled the house down (and neighborhood for that matter) so I came on here looking for help and got that suggestion. I couldn't believe how simple and effective it was! Good luck, and persevere :-)

Hi everyone, Well I have contacted a behaviourist (??) in order to combat Jak's new "issues". She got quite aggressive with my friend's dog yesterday so enough is enough. She's always been so wonderful with other dogs... Anyway, he says he can help (at the price he's quoted he would want to be able to!). Fingers crossed :-)

With me, yes! haha. I took her to my friend's place yesterday for a play date, she's been there once before and played with his two cattle dogs for hours. His dog Ellie is the playful one whereas Lucy is the leader and therefore the dominant one. The first time I took her there she played with Ellie and respected Lucy's position as the leader and was submissive around her. Yesterday though was a different story. Jak seemed to rebel against Lucy's leadership status and got quite snarly with her a few times, especially around her face. Each time I put her into her kennel cab. I was quite shocked, and so was my friend! It was certainly a different side of her we hadn't seen. She's always been so good with other dogs. Not sure what to do now, really.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to share my proud "mum" moment of this morning! I have to date not trusted Jak on the stairs at my place. Unfortunately going down the stairs is the only way to access the backyard, so since I first got her I have been putting newspaper down in a corner of the dining room for her to do her business. Well she poos there (and only there), but for some reason she will just squat wherever she happens to be at the time the urge presents. Anyway, I had decided that this morning I would put her out in the yard by herself and block off the stairs (I have a couple of baby gates). The problem is is that whenever I have done this in the past, she has a run around for a little bit but always comes back to the bottom of the stairs looking for me and when I don't appear she cries like crazy until I appear again. So.... I just opened up the back door and let her out. She followed me down the stairs no problem (she's been going up them ok for a while now but I haven't allowed her to go down them - big gaps, possible falls and injuries!). She followed me back up the stairs, and I just sat down at the top of them. She desperately wanted to back down, but was a bit cautious to start off with, but since then, she's been going in and out, up and down at her own free will. YAY!!! So yes, I'm proud. As a result, my life just got a whole lot easier in terms of housetraining. She can now have free access to the yard. I've removed all the newspaper (looks a whole lot better too! haha). She already seems a lot happier at her newfound freedom Anyway, just wanted to share.... Rhi & Free Jak

Thanks Kristie - I don't give Jak a treat when she's on my bed, and I don't plan to which sounds like a good thing! haha. I think JR's especially seem to have an issue with just who is in charge - this is my third and my other two have certainly had this issue. Tough love seems the way to go with the breed! Then you can reap the rewards of incredibly loyalty... :-) During the week I put her in bed with me, but only between the hours of 3 and 5 am. I need my sleep too. Weekends I leave her in her crate. She seems to get that. I'd be interested to hear how you go with the behavourist! Please make a follow up post or PM me. Ta :-)

Wow, that's quite a condition! Jak guzzles her water like there's not going to be any tomorrow haha. Wait a minute, I'm in Brisbane. That's entirely possible!

Makes sense to me Kristie! Jak sleeps in her crate in my bedroom - that way I hear her during the night. She wakes up twice a night with me. I usually put her to bed between 9 and 9.30 and she usually wakes between midnight and 1 and then again anywhere from 3 til 5. The second time she wakes up I put her in bed with me and she sleeps through until my alarm goes off (after she's had a wee of course haha!). That's just how I do it though - I seem to be able to function then. Before this she had me up way too often (hence my can't survive on latte's and no sleep thread haha). By putting her in with me we get some "close" time as she snuggles up on my shoulder, it's sweet. I was using earplugs to start with (with her in her crate), but I don't think I heard her and she pee'd in there. Better to be able to hear them I think :-)

Tell me about it! I'm just glad to be home :-)

Hi everyone, and thanks for all your comments. The only problem I was really having with Jak before I went away was her play biting, and it is something that I have been working on with her for a while. I do a high pithced "ouch" and I walk away, so it doesn't matter what we are playing, it stops. Unfortunately there have been no "quick" fixes with it (some of you may remember me seeking assistance in this area previously), and of course her witching hour! haha. She has picked up on other things very quickly, this unfortunately seems to be something that will take some time. But I won't give up!! Throughout puppy preschool the lady who ran it kept telling me that she was the most beautiful natured jack russell that she'd ever come across. She plays so well with other dogs that it would surprise even me (I've only ever had very anti-social dogs in the past!). And she does play well, she just loves it. Before she got all her needles and therefore before it was safe for me to walk her, I would take her round to my parents place to play with their jack russell. She loved it. And of course she loved puppy preschool and seemed to know that Wednesday's were her night to get out and have some fun! Now that she's had her needles I take her to my nephew's football game of a Sunday morning (so around a lot of kids) and over to play with my friends two cattle dogs. In fact, they were having so much fun that their place date went for just on 8 hours! Needless to say, Jak slept very well that night and so did I! haha. I think that there may have been a few reasons that may have caused her behaviour... It has taken some work on my behalf to assert my dominance over her, and I'd finally achieved it. Then of course I disappeared for a little bit! She has only had very minimal contact with my friend that came to look after her, and my friend has only ever really been around older dogs. Probably wasn't the best person for the job in hindsight... I have wondered if maybe she hit Jak, but in a way I'm petrified to ask. What if she did? I would hate to find out that she did, but I guess it's something I should know. I typed out a big 6 page list of things for her to go by, how to get Jak to sit, drop etc and how to initiate and stop playtime to sleep time at night and even how to use the spray bottle to get her off her pants if she decided to latch on! haha. When I asked her if she was doing all those things she just kept saying that they weren't working. They work for me, but then I'd worked very hard to make SURE that they worked for me. I think maybe she tried them once, they didn't work so she gave up. Hence, Jak won - again! I even detailed how to play her favourite games, especially chasey and using her sausage treats to reward her for good play. When I asked her if she'd played it, she said no. Another issue is that because of the set up at my house, she is inside during the day whilst I am at work. Like I said, I have worked very hard to assert my dominance over her, and I believe that one of the reasons I've had to work so hard is because she's been inside. I was coming home into her perceived "territory". She is not an awful dog by any means (hyperactive for sure!), and I think that her snarl at me last night was a carry over from what she was doing to my friend. After I yelled at her she seemed to drop back into our normal routine. Same for this morning... She was the same dog as before I left. I think my pup was incredibly out of sorts whilst I was away. I will definitely get my friend back over to my place and reintroduce them to each other, hopefully with better results this time round.