EsmereldaX...I need your help

[tiggersmom2]

Sheri,

I need your help. My kids want a puppy and we (the kids and I) are considering a Jack Russell. My hubby is not too happy about this and thinks a Collie is the way to go. He has heard JR are not kid friendly.


I knew if ANYONE would know, you would...thoughts?

 

[simba928]

I know I am not Esmerelda, but I thought I would share my $.02. I believe that if you raise a dog with kids and socialize him or her properly, no matter what breed, they will be good around kids. I am not a dog expert or anything, just wanted to let you know what I think. Good luck on your search!

 

[Pugdog007]

Are you looking for an outside or inside dog? JR = inside, Collie = outside. Both are active and good with kids.

I haven't seen Esmeraldax around in several days.

 

[Shugardrawers]

Jacks require a LOT of exercise and firm training. Truth be told, some are not particularly kid friendly, but most any dog raised with kids from puppyhood will do ok with the kids. I wouldn't recommend one for babies or toddlers as they can get a bit rambunctious. That's where the firm training comes in. If your kids are grade school age or better I'd say they will probably be fine. I'm much more concerned about you being able to give them enough exercise and training (did I mention they need FIRM training??)

 

[rascalmom]

Some terrier breeds seem to be good with kids, some do not. We have a Westie - a West Highland White Terrier - & he is great with kids. He loves to play outside when he gets the chance, but he is very happy with being a house dog. He loves "his people" - where ever we are, that is where he wants to be. Not too high strung & very eager to please. Our girls are older (17 & 13), but we have lots of younger kids around the neighborhood & Gizmo is great with all of them.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Thanks guys so much for your replies!! My kids are 3 years old and 11 years old. My 3 year old LOVES to pet constantly! (the cats lick him to death!)

This would be an indoor doggy. I'm not too sure about the FIRM training...I work during the day but my youngest son has a nanny here. She would be good with taking the puppy out...but...I'm not too sure she would be willing to do anything out of the ordinary.

 

[SleepyMom]

I'm not Sheri, but we do have a Jack Russell. We got him the end of August at about 8 weeks old and he has wrapped us all around his little cute self. We have an 11 year old DD (you don't say the ages of your kids) and I also do home day-care for 4 year old twins. Honestly I probably wouldn't want one around kids that young or younger. I only have the day-care kids here part-time (3 days a week) and they also leave for pre-school several mornings a week... so he is not around them a lot. But when he is, it is a lot of work. Being a puppy he is still in the nipping stage and I don't want that to happen, so I watch him like a hawk around them. He does love the kids, and likes being around them, I just don't trust him quite yet not to nip at them.

Our DD loves him to death, and at first he was nipping at her a lot, but as the weeks go by he is really calming down. We did puppy classes and now he is in beginner obedience classes, that really helps a lot. He is turning into a little lap dog, he loves to sit with us whenever we watch TV or are at the computer. He is incredibly smart and learns things in one sitting. We have already taught him the basics... sit, down, shake, high 5, stay, roll over, come and speak and are so looking forward to all the new stuff he can learn.

My nephew and his fiance have a Jack Russell as well, only a little girl. She has been calm since the day they got her and our Dash has always been a lot more fiesty than her, I don't know if that is the difference in sex or just that she is a little angel.

Hope this helped a little, good luck in your decision making.

 

[Danvers]

I so love Jack Russells!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thanks guys so much for your replies!! My kids are 3 years old and 11 years old. My 3 year old LOVES to pet constantly! (the cats lick him to death!)

This would be an indoor doggy. I'm not too sure about the FIRM training...I work during the day but my youngest son has a nanny here. She would be good with taking the puppy out...but...I'm not too sure she would be willing to do anything out of the ordinary.

As a person who got two wonderful rescue puppies who are pretty laid back even they require FIRM DISCIPLINE. They are 7 months now and entering adolescence. We have to constantly be the PACK LEADER with one dog. He is wonderful but his pack status is a big deal with him.

Dogs require EVERYTHING out of the ordinary. I thought kids were bad...HA! If your nanny is not agreeable to handling a dog, I might wait till the kids are older. My youngest is 9 and that is a great age for pups. 3 is too young, but that is just my opinion. I wanted my kids to share in the puppyhood and training and I am glad I waited.

ETA...if your dh is against this breed, do not do it. The family must be on the same page because it requires alot of work, patience, time and $$$$!

 

[crz4mm2]

I'm not E either, but have a JRT too. OUr Dot is 2 1/2. She is a nut. Truly all the bad things you have ever heard about a JRT. She is wild, runs at full speed most of the time, likes to bark, nips at lots of things including all the barn cats she can get to! I do NOT trust her around any of the kids that visit us. She was not raised around little kids though, so that is one of the reasons.
She loves people though. Smart as a whip. She knows what we are saying alot of the time (knows 'ride, treat, outside, bath, kitties, grandma, sarah, jason, megan, daddy, mommy etc) can sit, lay down, loves to play fetch and can 'sing'.
I love her to death, but not sure I would ever get another one. I know they are not all the same, I just happen to have adopted a wild one!! I don't know what I would do without her.

Good luck in your quest.

Cathy

 

[Aidensmom]

We have a three year old JRT we adopted from a rescue about 6 months ago. He is the sweetest dog I have ever met. The little 4 year old boy who lives across the street from us is terrified of dogs, and our dog is the only dog he has ever pet according to his family, and believe me, he wants to pet him whenever we take him out! He is actually fairly calm too. He does shed like you would not believe though.

His bad habit is that he is a chewer. He has chewed up a couple of my son's favorite toys that have been left on the floor.

I think with JRT's you just have to find the right personality.

 

[Planogirl]

My parents had Collies and they actually spent most of their time indoors. It was usually too hot in Texas so they spent some time out in the evenings and that was it. They never seemed to suffer from it.

Esmerelda would know way more about the Jack Russells of course.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

A collie an outside dog? HMMMM! Maybe you should tell that to my Jasmine who's sleeping right at my feet. aw:

Collies are better inside than outside dogs. They are very people oriented and aim to please their humans. They are very good with children, but require alot of care and grooming due to their long hair.

I never owned a JRT but taught obedience classes and have shown dogs for many years. JRT are good dogs for certain people. They are very high strung, need alot of exercise and get bored easy. Alot of terrrier type breeds are not good with children. A collie and a JRT are like apples and oranges. Two totally different personalities, sizes, weights and care.

Please take some time to do some research before deciding. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[jfulcer]

I'm not EsmereldaX either.

 

[2BigKIdz]

I have an indoor collie as well. Collie's really only require minimal exercise and do fine indoors. We do have a fenced yard. They are wonderful with children, very easy to train and are very mild mannered and do better with mild verbal discipline. They do require a lot of grooming. My husband's dog as a child was also a collie and was one of his best friend's.

 

[Imzadi]

EsmereldaX hasn't been around since that day of the dog fight thread. I think she needed to take a breather after that one.

This whole thread has just reminded me why I like my dogs more than I like most people.

I'm leaving now before I say anything else that might get me banned.

 

[PlutoPony]

If your son's nanny is around pretty much full time during the day, in reality it will really fall to her to do a lot of the work of house breaking and training your puppy. Before you go any further with this you might want to talk to her about whether this is something she's interested in doing, and if frankly it's something she'd be good at. Most of us conveniently forget how much work puppies are and how long it can take for them to become good pets - until we get a new one and THEN it comes back to us . Only you can decide if this is truly a good time to add another member to your family.

That said, you might want to expand your list of potential breeds. Think about what characteristics you'd like to have in a good, then find one that more closely fits those needs. Go to a few dog shows in your area and watch the dogs, talk to breeders. Most are genuinely interested in finding a good fit of family to breed.

Good luck!
Beth

 

[lovetheparks]

We have 2 rat terriers which look very similar to a JRT. They are both inside dogs, exteremely smart, loving and absolutely adore kids. My neighbors kids used to ring our doorbell and ask if Tink could "come out and play"

 

[The Mystery Machine]

A collie an outside dog? HMMMM! Maybe you should tell that to my Jasmine who's sleeping right at my feet. aw:

Collies are better inside than outside dogs. They are very people oriented and aim to please their humans. They are very good with children, but require alot of care and grooming due to their long hair.

How about a smooth coated collie. We have Gracie who is mostly smooth coated collie and I think some terrier there.
I love the collie temperament. It is wonderful!

Here she is a couple of months ago in July. She is a doll but she is impish and thinks she can get away with stuff since she is the lowest in the pack. She is great and wonderful with children. In fact she LOVES children. Very different from Butters. He is a Yellow Lab/Retriever/Shepherd mix? He is a very good dog, just a little "alphaie". He keeps us on our toes.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Thanks again guys for all the help! I think we have decided on the Collie.

The nanny is very receptive to the idea of a new "baby" and can't wait until we find one. The most important thing to me is temperment and the Collie just seems to have a very even temperment, that is more compatible with kids.

I'll let ya'll know when we get her. aw: