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.

How to Crate Train Your Jack Russell Terrier Dog

If you were a new Jack Russell Terrier puppy, wouldn't you want your new home to be warm, comfortable, secure and inviting! Sure, you would, and your new Jack Russell Terrier puppy, or even a full-grown older dog, loves a nice secure home to sleep in! 

You want your Jack Russell Terrier puppy or dog to have a secure place to rest and go to, when you want them to be in a secure place while you're away. 

To begin with a new puppy, you would want to have a good size crate, one they can stand up and lie down in, and turn around comfortably, but not to big either.

You would want to leave the door open in the beginning, and just get your Jack Russell Terrier Dog used to the crate. You would put a treat at the opening of the crate, and let your puppy or dog go and eat it. You would continue until you are putting the treats in the back of the crate, and your Jack Russell Terrier Dog feels comfortable going inside. 

You want them to get used to getting a treat for going inside, and then later turn it into praise. This will be their home. You would put their food and water inside, and with training, it will become their own little den, a place they like to sleep. 

After you have, your Jack Russell Terrier Dog going inside, it is time to shut the door jut for a very short period of time, 1 to 2 minutes.  You would give your Jack Russell Terrier Dog a treat while inside, and praise, then open the door back up. You never want to use the crate as punishment.  Don't put them in the crate when they have been bad.  They will associate that with being put in the crate, and you want them to feel good and secure in their spot. 

Put their crate out of the way, but not very out of the way. Somewhere in a room the family shares, but in his or her own little corner, make it a nice home for them. 

If you are going to be gone, and have to leave your Jack Russell Terrier Dog in his crate for a long period of time, try to get them their favorite toys.  A toy with a snack inside, that takes time to get out, so they are occupied for a while, because you want them to associate going into their crate, as a fun place to go. 

Are Rawhide Treats Good for Your Jack Russell Terrier Dog?

Give your dog some rawhide treats! They are good for them, and dogs love them! Rawhide is great for cleaning your dog's teeth, and it gives your Jack Russell Terrier Dog something to chew on, besides your couch or favorite pair of shoes! 

When looking at rawhide, try to find the biggest pieces, because you do not want the smaller bone fragments that break off the smaller ones for your Jack Russell Terrier Dog. You would be smart to ask your vet, or shop around for the best quality rawhide you can find. It comes in many different styles, and even fun filled treats inside some of them, to keep your Jack Russell Terrier Dog entertained! 

It is best to supervise your dog with a rawhide chew, as it could come apart and are lodged in the dog's throat, but that is extremely rare, but still could happen.  Just as any toy or treat you give your pet, should be supervised. When your dog has chewed on a big piece of rawhide, and it is soft and gooey, take it away, and give them a new one.  Let the old one harden up again, and you can give it back to them later. 

The good thing about rawhide is it is good for your Jack Russell Terrier Dog’s stress level. A bored Jack Russell Terrier Dog will have more stress, because he or she is bored, and a rawhide treat will keep them more occupied and entertained! 

It is hard to tell if good rawhide comes from the United States, or other countries, so it is best to get the best quality you can find. 

The Jack Russell Terrier Standard

As stated by the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America (JRTCA), the largest breed club devoted to this breed, “Jack Russell Terriers are a type, or strain, of working terrier. They are not considered purebred in the sense that they have a broad genetic make-up, a broad standard, and do not breed true to type. This is a result of having been bred strictly for hunting since their beginning in the early 1800’s, and their preservation as a working terrier since. The broad standard, varied genetic background based on years of restricted inbreeding and wide outcrossing, and great variety of size and type are the major characteristics that make this strain of terrier known as a Jack Russell such a unique, versatile working terrier.”  

 Still, there are physical characteristics every Jack Russell should have in common, and these are described in the breed standard. The Jack Russell must be compact and in totally balanced proportions. The shoulders should be clean, the legs straight, and the chest easily spanned by average-sized hands at the widest part of the dog behind the shoulders. The chest must be compressible. This required conformation allows the terrier success below ground, where he must be able to maneuver underground in narrow dark tunnels to get to the very flexible fox.   

In the following section, the words in quotes are taken from the breed standard written by the JRTCA. It begins by saying the Jack Russell “should impress with its fearless and happy disposition.” The Jack Russell Terrier is “a sturdy, tough dog, very much on its toes all the time. . . . The body length must be in proportion to the height, and it should present a compact, balanced image, always being solid and in hard condition.” 

The dog should not be slack of muscle or overweight. Nothing should be exaggerated about the dog’s appearance. A dog with a long back and stubby, crooked little legs is not acceptable. The dog should be a nice-looking, harmonious package, with everything in proportion. 

He should move effortlessly, with both pull from the front end and drive from the back end. The topline of the dog (that is, the line of the back) should move smoothly when viewed from the side. The legs should be straight, without turned-in hocks or turned-out front feet. 

The Jack Russell’s head “should be well balanced and in proportion to the body. The skull should be flat, of moderate width at the ears, narrowing to the eyes.” There should be a defined but not overly pronounced stop—the area where the muzzle meets the skull. “The length of the muzzle from the nose to the stop should be slightly shorter than the distance from the stop to the occiput,” which is the back of the skull. “The nose should be black. The jaw should be powerful and well boned with strongly muscled cheeks.” 

The dog’s eyes should be almond-shaped, dark, and “full of life and intelligence.” The ears are “small, V-shaped drop ears carried forward close to the head.” The ears should not stand up straight nor be thick and large like hound’s ears. 

The mouth of the Jack Russell Terrier has strong teeth and a scissors bite, which means the top teeth overlap the lower ones. A level bite, where the upper and lower teeth meet, is also acceptable. The neck of the Jack Russell is “clean and muscular, of good length, gradually widening at the shoulders.” The good neck allows the dog to spar with quarry below ground and adds to his athleticism while at work. 

“The chest of the Jack Russell Terrier should be shallow and narrow and the front legs not set too widely apart, giving an athletic rather than heavily chested appearance.” The chest needs to be flexible and compressible to enhance the dog’s ability to work up close to the quarry in bending and winding narrow tunnels below ground. A large chested dog is limited in hunting below ground because he cannot fit in a narrow earthen den. 

“The back should be strong, straight and, in proportion to the height of the terrier, giving a balanced image. The loin should be slightly arched.” In other words, the entire structure of the dog is designed for strength, to able to hold up under hard work and move efficiently. The feet of the Jack Russell Terrier need to be “round, hard padded, of cat-like appearance, neither turning in or out.” The dog needs strong feet for digging and crossing varied terrain. 

The tail “should be set rather high, carried gaily and in proportion to body length, usually about four inches long, providing a good hand-hold.” The tail is cropped at about three days old so it does not break while backing out of earth, and the dewclaws are removed. The tail is sometimes used as a handle of sorts to extricate the dog from the earth. It usually requires holding the dog’s tail and hind legs to dislodge him from work below ground. 

The coat is “smooth, without being so sparse as not to provide a certain amount of protection from the elements and undergrowth.” The coat is so very important as the dog’s protection. Sometimes JRTs are in the damp ground working long hours. The coat makes an enormous difference to the protection of the dog at work. The coat seems to resist thorns and burrs, and the dog can easily shake out loose dirt. The Jack Russell Terrier may wear a rough or a smooth coat, or it could be a combination of both, known as a broken coat. A broken-coated dog may have some tail or face furnishings (longer hairs). 

As for color, the dog must be more than 51 percent white, with solid tan, black, or brown markings. White is handy to see when working in dirt with a dog who is face to face with a critter who is earth-colored. Brindle markings, made up of several different colors of hair, are not allowed because they indicate the blood of another breed. 

JRT Not a Latchkey Dog

This is a very adaptable dog who craves an interesting lifestyle. For example, a Jack Russell is a good candidate to go to work with you every day—if you are lucky enough to have a job that permits this. Many will be happy to sleep near you for most of the day. But you can’t park this dog silently all day while you work someplace far away from your Jack Russell. If you must leave a dog alone for nine or more hours a day unattended, this may not be the dog for you. 

Jack Russells need a job and thrive when they are given a routine and have something to do. They are worse than little children when they’re bored. A bored dog may bark to fill his days—which may also fill your neighbors with annoyance. The protests can be very vocal; this is a dog bred to use his voice when hunting to work quarry. 

You will need reliable containment if you leave your Jack Russell for even half a second. They can escape most containment that is not a maximum security setup. Your Jack Russell can dig under fences that lack proper turned-under safe wire buried under the edges of a pen or dog run. They can climb human style up and over chain-link fences. They can jump four feet up effortlessly from a standstill. 

It is unthinkable to keep any dog tied out on a rope, chain, or cable, especially the active Jack Russell. It is also cruel to leave such an active dog in a crate for long hours. This active dog does not fare well with such treatment. Expect this dog to require a great deal more of your time and attention than you ever imagined. 

Learn about and meet the breed before selecting a Jack Russell Terrier. Be prepared for the dog and what he will need. Many people can make adjustments and work out what both they and the dog require to be happy. The need to surrender a dog can be prevented with some adjustments by both dog and owner. But I cannot stress too strongly that this is not the dog for everyone. 

Jack Russell Terrier (JRTs) and Children

One of the most charming qualities of Jack Russells is their gentle and kindly nature toward children. The dog may be capable of being unusually friendly with small children provided the child understands how to handle the terrier. The intelligence of the dog and the strength of his presence mean he will not tolerate abuse from children. This is not a dog who takes well to punishment. He may defend himself if pushed too far, even from accidental abuse. Adult supervision is always suggested. JRTs fare better with children over 6 years of age. Some, however, adore their children and will allow themselves to be put in baby carriages and dressed in doll clothes.  

JRTs do adore their children, but they will not tolerate teasing or abuse. 

Management and Training for Giving Voice (aka Barking)

[The terrier’s] conduct when in the presence of rabbits is enough to make a meditative lurcher or retriever grieve….The fox-terrier converts himself into a kind of hurricane in fur, and he gives tongue like a stump-orator in full cry.  ∼ James Runciman, The Ethics of Drink and Other Social Questions  

It is difficult, if not outright impossible, to completely extinguish a dog’s desire to bark. Dogs communicate with each other by barks, growls and howls. In terriers, “giving voice” (the traditional terrier-man’s term for barking) when aroused was selectively strengthened over the generations. If a terrier chased his quarry underground, the only way to find the dog, if he wouldn’t or couldn’t come out, would be to listen for his barking and then start digging toward him. A quiet terrier might end up a dead terrier if he got stuck underground. Even more than some of the other terrier traits we’ve considered so far, this one is nearly as strong in modern terriers today as it was in their ancestors. It is also probably the most difficult one to modify effectively because most owners have unrealistic goals for the training. 

Setting a goal of teaching your dog to never bark is not fair and not realistic. It is the canine equivalent of telling a person he can never utter another word again as long as he lives. It ain’t gonna happen. Barking is the terrier’s native language and is a normal, healthy behavior that will always be a part of his behavioral repertoire. It is also a self-soothing technique that some dogs engage in when they are stressed. Barking is a behavior that causes dog owners much grief, but it can be altered to an acceptable level if you remember to be as tenacious as your terrier and stick with your training plan! 

Glitch has a lovely voice he uses quite often!