Free JRT - Decisions, Decisions...

[jweese]

I have a friend of a friend who had a litter of JRT pups recently and I have been offered one.

I don't want a little, yappy, house dog however, I've always been a firm believer that dogs should have a purpose. Companionship is a purpose, but its not a job! I mentioned this and he assured me that his friend does indeed hunt with his terriers. I admit, I don't know much about the breed so I asked him, and he told me they're a great little hunting dog for rabbit, squirrel, or even raccoon and fox.

How specifically do the dogs hunt? Are they flushers? Chasers? Pointers? Diggers? Barkers? I'm sure I could just Google it, but generally this forum seems to offer better, more varied answers than Google - and all in one place.

I'm still trying to decide what I should do; this is a free pup. From what I understand he's selling the others for $500 and up (the reason I'm being offered a free pup is in lieu of payment for work I did for him). Are they worth $500?

How are they for condo living? I mean, not like I care - I've got a hound tearing apart my yard right now. How do they get along with cats? Other dogs? Bigger dogs? Kids?

[last5oh_302]

As long as they have all the health checks from the parents and grand parents then I say go for it. If you have another dog make sure the pup is the opposite sex.

My 2 cents.

[bdog]

They are tuff little buggers, they can hunt, chase,dig, bark, when they are hunting, some do some don't, but they do get along fine with other animals n kids if introduced properly...

[Dakota Creek]

Well ... you could always run hunt tests .... http://www.retrievertraining.net/for...-one-s-for-you!!

:-)

[CptSydor]

I had a JRT as a teenager that came from working/hunting stock. I never specifically hunted with him, but did have him involved in various trials when he was younger (a fair bit of involvement with the JRT club of Canada). He also spent lots of time trampling through the bush with me, so I had a good appreciation of his working skills.

I also currently have 2 rescue dogs that are each 1/2 JRT. One is JRT and Westie, the other JRT and Cattle dog.

These dogs are about the toughest little basterds you are going to meet. They are very independent, stubborn, intelligent and depending on breeding, could have an immense prey drive. They need to be socialized with other small animals (like cats) from early on, as well as good solid obedience training from a confident leader. They need lots of stimulation/exercise, or they can become destructive.

I always said my old terrier had one thought process. If it's moving, I try to kill it. Everything else he did was in support of that primary goal.

They are yappy little buggers as they were generally bred to be that way so when they went to ground to bay animals (fox, badger, ground hog etc) they could be located/dug up pretty easily by sound. So generally if they are being active, there a good chance they will be vocal.

Certainly any behavior can be managed through appropriate training, but you likely aren't starting with a generally quiet breed.

In terms of hunting. Their instincts are generally to seek and destroy rodents and other small animals. So if you can harness that to suits your needs, they will certainly find prey for you. Treeing racoons, squirrels comes naturally. I've seen videos of them flushing birds.

A couple stories about my old JRT. At 6 months old he went straight down a hole. Not sure what was down there. He was a good 8 feet in. The noises that game out of there, I thought he was a gonner. He came out bloody, but only one scratch on his noise (I had to run home to get a shovel, he was standing proud when I got back).

I saw him sprint across the yard, dive into hedges at a height of 4ft and come out with a sparrow. He was one of the fastest JRT around, including canadian puppy champ (we raced him).

I was out on a long hike with one day. He ended up baying a raccoon in some tall grass. He was doing his job baying the raccoon, waiting for me to come 'dispose' of it. I just wanted him away from it, but every time I went to grab him, he jumped on the coon and chaos ensued. I finally got him by the scruff of the neck to pull him off, but the coon latched onto his back leg. I had a chain of a pissed off terrier with a raccoon attached, both hanging from my arm. It took me a couple swift kicks to get the coon off, but it had done damage to the rear leg. I had to carry my JRT home for repairs as he was limping bad. Except when he saw a deer, he bolted after it like nothing was wrong, then 3 legged it back the 100 meters he chased it.


I'd love to have my old JRT back and put the proper obedience training into him. He would have made one hell of a great outdoor companion.

If you've never had a 'working' terrier, I suggest getting a little more information on them to truly decide if they will meet your needs.

[terrym]

JRT's think they are pitbulls. Crazy little buggers with the heart of a lion but the body of rodent. I'm sure Sharon can give you better details. We had one wander into deer camp one year. Someone was using the thing on deer...really.

[jaycee]

They are tuff little buggers, they can hunt, chase,dig, bark, when they are hunting, some do some don't, but they do get along fine with other animals n kids if introduced properly...

they can hunt, and bark, chase, and bark, dig, and bark, when they are hunting they bark , oh did I mention that they bark!

[Sharon]

My advice is to say "No". I have had 4 and have one now. I love the breed for a variety of reasons , but..........for you....They require a LOT of attention year one, and LOTS of exercise . I know how busy you are with your tracker. Can be noisy, until trained, so not good for close living situations. It will wrestle with your other dog incessantly year one which = some noise.

Ps Just got back after an hour in the woods with mine; never barked once. .They bark when they have a reason.

edit > Mine have all but one been good with kids. All have driven the cat crazy.

Casey , 1998-2012

[Cass]

JRTs are awesome little dogs but need a TON of exercise. Your hound has nothing on a jack russell. They have insane prey drive, insane energy (most people get rid of them because they think they are hyperactive), and are not the most forgiving dogs with children (I know I am making generalizations here but I have owned them in the past and have a few friends with them). They are a LOT of dog to handle, especially in a condo setting. A free dog is tempting, but if it was me I would have no problem saying no. They are a very tenacious, high drive dog (even if not even remotely close to working lines). Not something to even think about considering unless you have been preparing for one for a long time.

[last5oh_302]

Pfft, grab a couple of them.