Jack Russells..Tell me about yours.

[GRANNYKAT50]

We have had Kira for two weeks and she WILL NOT potty in her kennel and goes as soon as we go outside. Has had a few accidents in house (our fault) She does this funny thing of going in circles when she has to poop. If you watch for that you can get her outside. Buddy (yellow p-let) goes crazy when he sees Kira (buddy's in his cage) and Kira is in living room. Kira pays no attention to the birds except any food they throw out of the cage. I jut want to know more about JRT's from people that own them. Thanks

 

[Greycloud]

Well JRTs or Parsons terriers are one of the most active of the terrier and dog groups. Especially in younger years. They sometimes behave like tey have ADHD! LOL! They can have a very high prey drive, So watch your birdies. They like to dig and chase things. They are never afraid of a dog larger themselves and this can get them into trouble. They are very smart and talented but you have to work on keeping thier attention. I have owned three and I was exhausted at times! LOL!

 

[birdlover82]

I absolutely love my girls. My Lucy dog is my therapy dog as I call her. She's very in-tuned to how I'm feeling and she's very caring and will come and lick my tears away when needed.
Macey(Lucy's daughter) is one of the sweetest dogs too. She's a big lover who just wants to please.
Neither of mine are overly hyper though. Sure when they get let out of their crates Macey can go a bit nuts and won't stop jumping up but all in all my girls aren't too bad. And either are Lucy's sons.
And they do love to dig. Mine are lucky because we have a mole or something that digs around here that they love to dig up it's tunnels. I just have to be sure to keep a board over the holes/tunnels in the back of our yard so my FIL doesn't tip his riding lawnmower in one.
I've heard somewhere that you should let them have a digging area in your yard and only allow them to dig in that area.
But as I said I absolutely love my 2 girls can't imagine my life without them. They are my second set of kids.

 

[rocabird]

I have 3-Havoc, Malarky and Ricochet. Love the breed. I love the high energy, the intelligence, the sense of humor. Of course, all that can get them into trouble if you don't teach them to use their powers for good instead of evil. They love clicker training and it's a great way to occupy their mind and teach them the good. Many people are suprised to find out how mushy they are. If I'm sitting down or laying in bed, mine are on my lap or laying right next to me.

Prey-drive is definitely high in this breed, understandable when you realize they were bred to work 6-8 feet underground keeping the fox in place for the hunter to dig to (I also think that is why Malarky has a fingernails-on-chalkboard scream when she sees some animal outside, so you can hear it above ground). I really debated about adding a JRT to my household because I always had cats, etc. My guys have left the cats alone, but I've seen Malarky drag a possum that weighed almost as much as her about 10 feet so I don't let them around when the birds are out (the possum was fine, played dead the whole time and had no wounds). I've lost a bird to a dog (not my Jacks) and I just don't want to take that chance.

Have you posted a picture of Kira? I'd love to see her. She sounds like she is doing great with her housetraining.

 

[tammie]

Hi, I have had Jacks for the past 27 years and I think they are wonderful dogs. My 1st one was small, shortlegged and not 'as' hyper as some; she live for 14 years. Another one was very laid back, and the one I currently have at 16 years old is still as hyper as she was at a puppy. She is completely deaf, but if a stranger meets her they think she is still a young puppy and are amazed at her age. She has lived with birds and other pets all her life and she completely ignores the birds, in fact all have ignored them. Now they will kill possums and any other prey they see running in 'their' yard. And like someone else mentioned, if I am sitting down or am in bed they have always been my best bed buddies. They curl up with me and calm down instantly. And yes, they are very intelligent and just a joy to live with (unless you don't allow dogs on your sofa, bed, lap, and can't put up with a nosey little non-stop sniffer in your house)!

 

[birdlover82]

I'd forgotten to mention how good of snugglers they are. Both my girls sleep in our bed. Macey has to sleep with the covers over her and her head on the pillow alot of the time too. Good thing we have a king sized bed.

 

[Angelicarboreals]

I don't personally own a JRT but have been around several of them: one of my close friend's owns one (she has a three year old named Abby) and we see quite a few at work that get surrendered because people get them without realizing how energetic they can be for a little dog, not necessarily the lap dog that the person envisioned.

One of the ones that we had at work was like the Energizer Bunny on drugs, I don't think I EVER saw that dog lay down, lol. He loved to go swimming in the kiddie pools, needless to say that when we started looking for Biscuit a home the requirement was that he had to have access to water either by a swimming pool or lake in order to keep up with his water hobbies, lol.

Abby is something else, I can remember one time being on the phone with my girlfriend and she was cooking her and her fiance a pizza.....she got it out of the oven to cool and put it on the counter (where she thought it was safe) and turned around to the refrigerator for like two seconds....when she turned back around Abby had found a way onto the counter top and was scarfing down their dinner!

 

[GRANNYKAT50]

This is Kira

 

[GRANNYKAT50]

Thanks everyone

 

[rocabird]

I remember seeing her picture now. Sorry, sometimes I think my mind is going or gone. She is a cutie!