Any puppy training advice to be had?

[rip109]

OK let myself be talked into buying a Jack Russell Terrier puppy a couple of weeks ago. He is a little over 4 months old, and I am already beginning to despair. Anyone have any sage advice on training? I can take him outside for 15 minutes or longer, he gets distracted with bugs, leaves, you name it. Now sometimes he will do what is expected of him outside, but he will frequently come inside and just decide to use the house as a potty also. Anyone have any experience training a male Jack Russell?

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Yes. Two things to keep in mind about JRT's :
They are very smart
They are very stubborn

Also, they have a strong curiosity and most have a hunting instinct.

Oh, and they can JUMP. Keep that in mind as it pertains to fences, puppy gates, where you store your breakable in home items.

The best thing we ever did for ours was get him into "clicker training". I wish we'd done it sooner. He's 15 months old now, we started him late, at about 8 months because he was very ill when he was younger.

Clicker training is by and far the best thing for a JRT. They are also the type of dog who NEED a place to release their seemingly boundless energy. A yard to run in, long, long walks each day and lots of toys.

Otherwise, they will release this energy by spazzing out inside and running around like 80mph through your living room, or destroying your stuff.

Mine still has his quirks. He gets very snippy when he gets overtired or bored. As soon as we see this, we ignore him. If he persists, he gets a time out. JRTS crave attention and if they are being bad, like jumping on you or something, you do not want to reward them with ANY attention at all, even shouting or pushing them down. Your best bet is to just turn your back on him, and has soon as all 4 paws are on the ground, THEN pay attention and he will learn.

Another good thing for JRTs is agility training. If you can, build a small agility course in your yard for him to run though. They excel at this. They are also very good at learning tricks.

If you want any more info, feel free to PM me.

Sheri , proud mom of a 15 mo JRT, Monty Dog.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

yeah, I've trained several puppies. Some of them pick it up right away and some take months. I've found that crate training works the best and the fastest.

When the puppy is inside - he is either with an Adult or in his crate. With my beagle, I got 10 foot leash and attached one end of it to my belt loop so he couldn't wander away from me. We were buddies like that for about 2 months.

When he starts to pee, get him outside right away. Anytime he does anything close to peeing in the appropriate spot, praise him like her just cured cancer or something. Give him treats, act really excited, let him know he was good boy. When he makes an accident, just clean it up. Don't yell, scream, or rub his nose or do anything like that. Take him outside about every 2 hours and after every meal or drink of water. Always take him to the same spot so he comes to think of that as the bathroom.

Also, if he isn't full grown yet you might need to block off part of his crate. The space he has should be just big enough for him to lie down and maybe turn around a little. That will discourage him from peeing in the crate. Once he gets more reliable, you can give him more room to move around in there.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Also, we trained ours to use the training puppy pads pretty quickly. We use wee wee pads that can be bought at places like Petsmart. They are specially scented to attract him to the proper place.

Also, the more regular his eating / drinking schedule is, the more likely you'll know when he will have to go.

Monty learned to use the pads very quickly. We give him a small reward every time he does "right" whether he goes on the pad, or he goes outside. We're okay with either, honestly.

Get him using the pads first. Slowly move the pads towards the door he will be going out of to go when he is fully housebroken. He is still young, but he should be reaching the age where he can control himself.

I also highly reccommend crate training mixed with clicker. Having his own space not only comforts him, but also gives us somewhere to put him when we have company, or he simply can not be out running free (when we are not home and eating).

Monty does not have full run of our house when we are not there. He is just too curious. During the day he either goes in his crate and sleeps while we're at work after a long morning workout Or he gets gated in one puppy proofed room.

He has not had an accident in his crate since he was 6 months old. That was because he got "sick".

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Yes, don't get a crate thats too big, otherwise he will just go in one part of it and sleep in another.

Also, I second the belt loop leash thing.

JRT's LOVE to jump. They love to jump on people, on furniture. This is a habit that is very hard to break , but you can control it.

I taught mine to control his jumping by making a game out of it. I trained him via clicker training that when and only when i say the word "Up" is he to jump. If he does this, he gets a tiny treat. He doesn't jump up as much now because he associates jumping with a click sound and a treat, but only with the word "Up".

 

[crz4mm2]

JRT= Dog from you know where
Yes, they are very smart and very active little dogs. not afraid of anything at all.
I have a 15 mo old JRT. she is a great dog. She is quite headstrong and was the most difficult to house train of any dog I have ever owned. She was easily distracted as well. I did the outside thing and if she didn't go, back in her crate she went for 15 minutes. Then I would take her out again. I kept that up until she went outside. she still had lots and lots of accidents. She is mostly housetrained now, but will still have an accident if we are not paying attention to her.
She craves attention and wants to be the center all the time. We have a litter of kittens outside and she wants to "play" with them every time we go out. of course her idea of play and their idea of play are two different things entirely!
We have one of the shock collars that we have used on rare occasion. I never have to shock her, only use the tone and she knows she has done something wrong and stops.
You might want to take your new pup to a puppy class. Obedience makes happy dogs and happier owners.
Best of luck to you! THey are great dogs.

 

[rip109]

Thanks eveyone for the encouragement. Can you tell me where to purchase a clicker, do they have them at a Petco or Petsmart? Also advice on how to use it would be great.
He is in the crate when we work, and when I get home he get lots of exercise with a large yard to run in. The problem with his crate is he will lift the leg and pee outside of the crate. We are good with taking him outside after eating, or observing him when ever he is out of the crate and making sure he gets outside asap. It is just discouaging that he will go outside for 10-15 minutes at a time, do nothing, come inside and then decide t is the perfect place to pee. Patience Patience I know. I appreciate all the good advice, keep it coming!

 

[crz4mm2]

Yes, you can find the clickers at Petco or petsmart. I am not really familiar with how they work, except you click and reward so that the dog hears the click he is expecting reward for good behavior. I think there is probably a lot of info on clicker training on the net.
Best of luck to you. It is frustrating. But you will get through it and will love your dog!!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by rip109
OK let myself be talked into buying a Jack Russell Terrier puppy a couple of weeks ago. He is a little over 4 months old, and I am already beginning to despair. Anyone have any sage advice on training? I can take him outside for 15 minutes or longer, he gets distracted with bugs, leaves, you name it. Now sometimes he will do what is expected of him outside, but he will frequently come inside and just decide to use the house as a potty also. Anyone have any experience training a male Jack Russell?

Yep, I had one, loved her. WAY too smart for their own good.
I crated her when we were not home and at night. She was housebroken completely within two weeks (12 weeks old). If she got distracted outside, she was brought into the house and put in the crate. When she whined, I took her outside again. when she did what she was supposed to, I gave her a treat.
She associated that VERY quickly and we never had a problem with her.
On the rare occasions she had an accident, when we first got her, we showed it to her, told her NO and took her outside.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by rip109
Thanks eveyone for the encouragement. Can you tell me where to purchase a clicker, do they have them at a Petco or Petsmart? Also advice on how to use it would be great.
He is in the crate when we work, and when I get home he get lots of exercise with a large yard to run in. The problem with his crate is he will lift the leg and pee outside of the crate. We are good with taking him outside after eating, or observing him when ever he is out of the crate and making sure he gets outside asap. It is just discouaging that he will go outside for 10-15 minutes at a time, do nothing, come inside and then decide t is the perfect place to pee. Patience Patience I know. I appreciate all the good advice, keep it coming!

did you get this puppy from a pet shop or breeder? Often pet shop puppies or breeder puppies who are constantly left in their crates (cages in pet shops) are the most difficult to train. unfortunately, they got used to relieving themselves there as there was not other alternative.

 

[olena]

Here's another great online resource with tips for everything.

 

[Bobbles]

They are wonderful little guys!

I recommend a string (but not too tight!)



(Sorry, I just couldn't help it! Best of luck though. Dogs are man's BEST friends!)