Is my puppy strange?

[EsmeraldaX]

This is probably a weird question.

I have an 8 month old Jack Russell Terrier. JRT's are not very cuddly breeds. They are supposed to be very active and sort of the polar opposite of a lap dog.

Mine is a total lap dog. He won't even play with his toys unless he is on our laps. if we are sitting down to watch a movie, he has to join us. If we try to encourage him to run around in the yard and play, he comes back to us and tries to get us to pick him up and hold him.

He has been to the vets at least 12 times since we got him when he was 2.5 months old. He is in perfect health, and he does play occasionally with his toys. But if there is a lap to be sat upon, he prefers that. (although often he just ignores his toys and pouts until someone holds him). He likes to play with us, which we do often, but usually he wont run around with us, he just brings his toys to us, and tries to get us to hold him while he chews on them. Sometimes he plays tug o war with one of his rope toys, but again, he only likes to play with us, if we are holding him while he does so.

This is all cute and good but the problem is, we can not spend every waking moment of our lives holding him. He has to learn to amuse himself with his umpteen thousand toys. It's adorable that he is curious about everything we do, but sometimes, chores need to be done that would be a lot easier were a puppy not constantly following us around the house. I hate to have to put him in his crate, or section of a part of the house for him. He hates that.

But the thing is, if I'm trying to do laundry, he grabs things etc. I know he's still a baby, and he will be starting puppy school in March.

But until then, does anyone have any tips on how to get him to be less of a mama's boy?

Thanks
Sheri, Chris & Monty-dog

 

[Lisa L from MI]

My girlfriend has a 1 1/2 yo jack russell.....and "Nakita" is a total lap dog....when you sit in a chair, she just has to be on someones lap and my friend is always holding her......

 

[Pin Wizard]

Perhaps it's the "puppy" stage. He sounds comparable to my Retriever who does NOT retrieve a thing!

 

[phillybeth]

Soounds lke he is still missing his mama and littermates. If it is an option for you, get another dog that he can bond to and play with.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by phillybeth
Soounds lke he is still missing his mama and littermates. If it is an option for you, get another dog that he can bond to and play with.

I wish we could, but we can't get another dog until we get back from our DW trip in march.

 

[crz4mm2]

Wanna trade?
Just kidding. My 'Dot' is full steam ahead almost all of the time. Only time she wants to be held is when she is ready for a nap. She will lay on my lap then. Doesn't snuggle, doesn't cuddle. She is 9 months old. I wouldn't get another one. She is too much sometimes, all by herself. I don't know what I would do with another one! But, I wouldn't trade her for the world.
Does your pup chew on toys when you are not holding him?
Best of luck. If that is him in the pic, he is a sweetie.
Cathy

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Pin Wizard
Perhaps it's the "puppy" stage. He sounds comparable to my Retriever who does NOT retrieve a thing!

LOL. Mine is supposed to "hunt small mammals; like rodents".

Well...he's terrified of :
rats/mice/hamsters/gerbils (we had a pet rat once, in a cage, and she nipped his nose once when he got too close to the bars)

bunnies (one thumped it's foot loudly in a pet store. He cringed in terror)

cats (he got hissed at at the vets)

small dogs (but bullmastiffs and huskies are ok because he thinks he weighs 200 lbs instead of 12. )

squirrels (I don't know why)

and , for the most part, birds (maybe the noise??)

Some brave hunting dog he is.

He will retrieve things, but then he won't drop the item and give it to me. Often he tries to carry 3 of his toys at once, and he'll give one to me, one to Chris and keep the other for himself. I wonder what he expects us to do with them. Chew on them like he does??

He's an odd dog.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by crz4mm2
Wanna trade?
Just kidding. My 'Dot' is full steam ahead almost all of the time. Only time she wants to be held is when she is ready for a nap. She will lay on my lap then. Doesn't snuggle, doesn't cuddle. She is 9 months old. I wouldn't get another one. She is too much sometimes, all by herself. I don't know what I would do with another one! But, I wouldn't trade her for the world.
Does your pup chew on toys when you are not holding him?
Best of luck. If that is him in the pic, he is a sweetie.
Cathy

That's how I expected him to be, full steam all the time, but he's just...not. That is him in the picture, thank you

He chews on toys if he has nothing else to do (ie; if there is no way for him to get to our laps). He has these awesome hard rubber bones from Disney Pets and he loves them and so far hasn't been able to come even close to chewing through them.

 

[crz4mm2]

We'd never be able to get a pic of Dot with Santa. At least not without his lap being soaked LOL. She wiggles and jiggles and can't sit still. Loves people. Eats mice (hunts them outside and inside too!). Goes after squirrels and rabbits. She loves the cats (they are outdoor barn cats) but they don't love her! She licks them and nibbles on their ears. Funny to watch. She chases birds too. She is not afraid of anything. And she thinks she is as big as our lab too. Barks at the neighbor's cows like she is going to eat them up!
She loves to play fetch. It is sometimes hard to get her to drop the ball too, but she is much better about it than she used to be. The only thing I have found that she doesn't destroy almost immediately is the kong balls and hoof chew things (they stink though!).
Enjoy your baby. We sure do ours.
Cathy