When Your Jack Russell Terrier Dog Has Separation Anxiety, and How to Deal With It

Separation anxiety can happen in any dog, at any age, and for any reason. Doctors are not very sure why this happens, but they agree that is happens more in dogs that were not properly nurtured as puppies, had new moves, or a new schedule. The dog might be moved around as a puppy, and these things can make a dog have separation anxiety. 

Some of the things a dog might do could be excessive, like howling, barking, whining, pacing, chewing, scratching, digging, urinating and defecating. As the time goes on, the systems become worse, the dog might break his teeth, rip his or her nails, and injure themselves. It seems to happen in pets that did not have much socializing as puppies. 

One good way to teach your Jack Russell Terrier Dog something good is to find a quiet place for just you and the dog, and get them to relax by you. When you have them relaxed, give them a treat. You can do this and slowly back away, and put more distance in between you and the dog, slowly separating the two of you. 

Another good technique, is be misleading your dog. They might be accustomed to your car keys shaking, meaning you are leaving, or you putting on your jacket, or other signs your dog might read, that lets them know you are leaving. 

Try picking up your car keys several times a day, and not leave. Put your jacket on, and take it back off, several times a day. Try to break up your dog’s regular routine pattern that you might not even think about. Your dog might already have a routine, that you subconsciously, don't even realize it. 

When you come home, pretend that you don't even notice the dog, until he or she has calmed down, and then when they have relaxed, give them a treat or praise. 

Another way is to give your dog some excitement. Could you imagine being cooped up all day long, while your owner is out working, and you have to play with the same old toy, day in and day out. If you turn the lights on 30 minutes early, or give your dog  a new toy, with a secret treat inside, that will keep them occupied, and spice up their day.  If you were a pet, would you not want to be treated that way?

Remember, young dogs still have lots of energy. If you come home and find your favorite chair in threads, you might want to consider increasing your younger dogs exercise pattern.  They should be exercised twice a day, from 30 to 45 minutes each time.

You could teach them commands, teach them to play fetch, and other good times. Your Jack Russell Terrier Dog needs plenty of exercise to feel like a dog. Most dogs were breed for a certain job.  A herder, a Shepard, a hunting dog, and more. A dog has these instincts in their blood, you need to make sure they get plenty of exercise.

When Your Jack Russell Terrier Dog Makes Potty Mistakes

Too many dogs have been abandoned at animal shelters, just for the sole purpose of the dog making potty mistakes in the wrong places, and not being properly trained. 

Jack Russell Terrier Dog’s sometimes might go potty in response to fear, excitement, separation anxiety, marking territory, and sometimes-medical problems.  It is best to start with your vet about any medical problems, before you move forward.  Some dogs may have a urinary infection.  Spayed females may have some small leaking at times, where they lie down or sleep. 

One of the most common symptoms is separation anxiety. If the dog has gone thru some new changes, or there has been a change in the household, it could be affecting your Jack Russell Terrier Dog. 

Another problem might be submissive urination, which occurs when your dog first sees you when you come home.  They may exhibit uncontrollable urinating and submissive behavior, like rolling on his or her back. 

One way to help remedy this, is to immediately take your Jack Russell Terrier Dog outside right when you get home, and try to stay calm and low beat when just greeting your dog, to help him or her get less excited. 

Some dogs will perform a marking behavior by lifting their hind leg and urinating. This is most common in unneutered male dogs that have not been neutered. If a male dog is neutered around 6 months of age, this will usually, cure this behavior. A male dog should be neutered if he is not intended for breeding, or there is a medical reason while your dog should not be neutered. 

If you see your Jack Russell Terrier Dog getting ready to go potty, immediately clap your hands together, or use another device to get their attention, and immediately take them outside. 

A dog is not considered housebroken until he or she has not had an accident for around 45 days in a row. You can easily train your young Jack Russell Terrier Dog to go outside when you notice that he or she is sniffing around as if they want to go. After they just ate, had a bath, just woke up, or just your gut instinct that your Jack Russell Terrier Dog might go potty inside. 

If you need to be gone from your Jack Russell Terrier Dog for an extended period of time, you should keep him or her in a crate or cage. Make sure you do not give them an oversize crate or cage, or they will use that space to go potty. 

If you need to train an adult Jack Russell Terrier Dog, do it just like you would a puppy! Give them the right guidance, and train them just as you would a puppy. An adult dog needs to urinate roughly 3 to 4 times a day, and defecate once or twice daily. 

When your puppy or adult Jack Russell Terrier Dog does a bad thing inside, in a firm and stern voice, say "Bad Dog", and then take then outside where you would like them to go, and tell them "Good Dog." Give praise when your Jack Russell Terrier Dog goes outside. 

To potty train a puppy or adult dog, you must lay down newspapers, and bring the puppy to the newspapers, and say "Good Dog" at that spot. When you catch your puppy starting to go, get them if you still can, and tell them "Bad Dog", and then put them on the newspaper, and tell them "Good Dog", and after they go, give them praise. 

You would start out with a wide section of newspapers on the floor in the beginning, and then slowly you can decrease the size to a manageable spot. Give your Jack Russell Terrier Dog a little time to get used to this.  They will learn to go on the newspapers when they get praise.  Use a stern voice when they go in the wrong spot, they would rather have praise, and will learn to go on the newspapers! 

When Should You Spay Or Neuter Your Dog?

If you want to know when you should spray or neuter your dog, please read on and learn more.  When the ovarian hysterectomy of the female species is described, it is called spraying. On the other hand castrating a male species is known as neutering.  Both are surgical treatments and can be done by a qualified veterinarian. This makes the dog incapable of having babies in future.  The procedure is very beneficial for you and your dog. 

When is the right time to spray or neuter?:  When the dog is as early as 8 weeks old, the procedure can be done easily, by a qualified vet. It is strongly recommended that they get the neutering done early, since it would be healthier for your dog, and the dog population doesn’t increase. 

Is it important to have your dog neutered?  Yes, it is important to have your dog neutered. Take a look at the animal shelters around; there numbers are increasing and the population of dogs with them increasing by the day.  Would you rather have the current dogs neutered and avoid over population or would you want them to grow only to be left out and euthanized later on?  Not everyone is a willing adopter, due to many reasons.  Some even abandon their pets, again for various reasons, hence neutering your pet helps. 

The health and behavioral benefits:  When you neuter the dog, he would live a happy life and a longer life, not to forget a healthier life.  When you spray the dog, she would be devoid of the mating heat-crying syndrome, when she is in heat.  In addition, there is a lot of mess when the dog is in heat, and she would thank you dearly for getting her sprayed on time, which avoids such a mess. When you neuter the male, he wouldn’t have sexual desires, he would not mark the furniture and the walls with his urine, there wouldn’t be aggressiveness in him, nor would he want to roman wild and aimlessly. When you neuter the males, it would prevent cancer of the testicles and his prostate gland wouldn’t enlarge, so the risk of having perianal tumors can be ruled out. 

For females, when you spray them, the chances of getting breast cancer (yes, it happens to dogs as well) in the first heat cycle is minimized and prevented altogether.  She also would be saved from uterine cancer and infections as well. I hope that now you might understand why neutering and spraying the dog would be good for them.  Always speak to your vet and then make a decision on whether the pet needs to be neutered or not.