How obedient is your JRT?

[zoeshiloh]

I have an 18 month JRT who was hand reared from 2 weeks of age. She is definately a mummy's girl - she hates daddy (normally daddy shouts at her and tells her off for no reason as daddy is a lab man) and runs and hides with mummy every time daddy shouts.

IMO what I have seen from other people's JRT's she is extremely well behaved. She walks to heel, sits, lays down etc - she knows not to jump up at people, she settles herself in the car (curls up and sleeps). The only thing is she has the occasionaly lapse where she cannot hear anyone calling her, although this only lasts for a minute at the most.

She is fully house trained, but wont vocally ask to go out - she just sits by the door, and if no one sees her, she sometimes has an accident. My OH completely overreacts to this (his labs have accidents too but they are ignored!) She also has odd days, where she might have a certain toy for months and then we come home one day and it is completely destroyed. She normally sits in the car fine, but last week she stole my sunglasses off the dash and chewed them up (in 18 months she hasn't touched them!).

I just accept these quirks - she is young, she is a terrier and she is very well behaved compared to a lot of terriers I come in contact with. I was just wondering what other forum members terriers were like?

 

[LauraWheeler]

Firstly well done with your girlie sounds like you have done well with her.
Charlie Brown is 10 months old and i think he is well behaved for a jrt (although we think he has a tiny bit of dachshund in him but is is a tiny amount) He has been able to sit, lay down, roll over, play dead and give paw since he was about 5 months old. He has been house trained for ages and sleeps on my bed at night (i was told you could not trust a dog not to have an axident till it was 1 year old he has been on my bed for months and never slipped up) The only thing we sometimes have trouble with is his recall. It is improving but it is taking alot of work. He's a mummys boy to and i often find if he won't come back i just walk off and he follows. It is normaly a problem when he knows we are back at the car because he doesn't want to go home but the other day we got in the car and started the engine and he came running over with a look of sheer terror on his face because we where going to leave him.
He can sit on my lap while i'm eating and he does not try to steal my food. (not that i let him do this often only normaly to show people how good he is) and he will ask to go out by running up to me then when i go to stroke him he runs to the door. If i ignore him he starts barking at me and jumps on and off my lap till i let him out.

 

[Vikki89]

Our JRT can be obedient, well he is very obedient when listening but if he is concentrating on something else then it is like talking to a brick wall. For example he comes to his name but we can't let him off the extendable lead as before we got him he was used for rabbiting so even though he is good at coming back, if he sees an rabbit out in the field then there is no hope of him listening.

 

[itsme123]

Rosies my third JRT and on the whole I like JRT's for their ability to actually listen whilst still having quirky personalities.

Rosie can sit (this is an immediate sit,no need to repeat myself), go down, recall and give me 'hi five'. She'll also retrieve and give a ball. She's 15 weeks old. She knows that on the way out the door she sits without command to have her harness and coat on, and on the way in sit again. It took her a week to learn that. The ONLY thing that takes her attention is another dog, but she recalled this morning from a lab with no issue whatsoever.

However I did invest in some one to one tutoring, which is being moved to group classes next month. Although I am confident in training pups, I find that classes and mentoring has given me support and other ideas in the past and allowed me to keep an open mind. On the whole all three of my JRTs have been wonderfully obedient, Rosies ONLY issue is walking out along the road as she's afraid of noisy cars so at the mo its taking us ages to get to the park. Funnily enough shes perfect on the way home. I suspect shes the kind who'd do better off lead as she's a real people dog, but I darent risk that on the pavements! However she never has to go on lead in the park as she stays by me and if she does wander off I just make a noise and she's there. I wouldnt have any other breed

 

[Zoobie]

Mines a puppy and is currently in the ASBO puppy class where she is top of the class

 

[_HP_]

My JRT's are very obedient......... until something more interesting comes along

 

[hannah87]

i have louis who is a 10 month old JRT x who ive had since 10 weeks and also Gizmo who I have only had 4 days who is 7 months.

Louis is toilet trained, never has accidents and will sit and stay on command. I havnt taught him any other "tricks" but really should. He will not eat till I say and also stops eating if i go near his bowl and backs off. Oh and he drops anything in his mouth if i say drop it.
His recall is reasonable and sometimes is v good, other times not. Usually his weakness is other dogs in close range he will bugger off to them and ignore me completely. I usually keep him on a long line if in a situation where there is lots of other dogs , say in a park. However if i distract him quick enough with a ball and get his focus back on me i can deter him. On walks where its just us if he ignores me i just keep walking and he gets v worried if he cant see me and thats usually enough to reinforce that mummy knows best!!Once at the yard he wouldnt come as he knew it was hometime...i got in my car in the end and started to drive away v v slowly..que panicked dog running hell for leather to the car!!!- never done that again!

Gizmo has been with me 4 days.. he has had a few accidents but as to be expected from a new pup in a strange house. He hasnt had any number 2 accidents last 2 days though.
He is already sitting on command and waiting for me to say he can eat - although I think he is copying Louis more than following my command but hey ho!
Havnt let him off the long line yet on walks but am training him to come back with treats. This is also making Louis better at recall as he MUST have whatever Giz gets and therefore comes bounding back to make sure he isnt missing out!!

 

[blackcob]

My old JRT (well, he was technically my grandparent's dog but I lived with them during the week while I was at school) could sit, lie down, roll over, do an extended stay from a distance, retrieve to hand, shake right or left paws, bark on command and sit back on his haunches in a 'beg' position. He would also walk to heel and recall from any distance. I would set up agility courses in the garden and do timed laps, he was really rather good!

He did have a few quirks but I blame those on my very daft and indulgent grandparents - he wouldn't eat dog food, only stewing steak (even I never got stewing steak

) and leftovers, both of which made his declining health worse in old age, and he would sit by the back door and scratch and whine to be let out every five bloody minutes (but the silly buggers would go and open the door for him every time).

In contrast their new JRT of nearly a year old is what I would politely call 'spoilt and a bit thick'.

He has that typical terrier deafness where he'll only recall if it's in his interest and as such he can't even be let off the lead. On the lead, he pulls like a train.

He too has taken to making them get up every five minutes to open the door, and of late has been food-possessive and even a tad aggressive.

In short, I think if you start them early and have a lot of time to devote to overcoming the typical terrier attitude (I was walking/training him for two hours every weekday evening after school, if not a bit more) then it's entirely possible to have a well trained terrier.

 

[Tinkerbee]

Tink isn't a pure JRT but she's fairly well behaved. She can be let off lead and recalls 97% of the time, can be called back off a scent but if she can see what she's chasing you have to wait thill she's caught it or it escapes

She's quite good at keeping a look out for you and comes back if you go out of sight.
Does the usual sit/stay etc and her only major thing is if she gets bored waiting on a walk/at a show/at a pub she just sits and yaps until you move on/kick her

 

[Charmaine18]

[ QUOTE ]
She is fully house trained, but wont vocally ask to go out - she just sits by the door, and if no one sees her, she sometimes has an accident.

[/ QUOTE ]

My little sister's JRT Poppy still does this, and she's nearly 9.

Well, she stopped for years, and has recently started again, perhaps because she's getting older. She is not obedient at all, but that might have more to do with my sister's total disinterest in training her than anything else! I've trained her to sit and lie down, attempted other things like paw and beg but she just sits and stares blankly.

Unfortunately my sister just sees her as a four-legged doll to be played with... she hasn't taken her for a proper walk (at least not without being forced) in the entire almost-nine years she's owned the poor animal. (I walk her with Leah, so she does get exercised!)

Well, this is turning into a rant about my sister's animal handling...

Suffice to say that Poppy is a pretty thick dog, no matter who tries to train her!

 

[ljpinkhorse]

Poppy knows and is quick to learn 'tricks' - beg , spin , shake hands ect which proves JRT are a very intellligent breed

She also has a very good sit .

Her recall is a bit iffy , she will come back but when she feels like it or only if i have a treat in my hand and there are no other dogs / distractions . I spose terriers are natural hunting dogs - if they see another animal they'll run up to it . And while shes good at everything else her recall is a bit hit and miss and ultimately if there is another animal in the distance she will go and say hello even if Im shouting myself blue in the face

I tend to let her socialise on walks with a flexi lead and only let her off
a) when shes tired out a bit so usually on the way home as at the start of walks shes very exitable
b) the land is clear so i can keep an eye on her and she doesnt go running off into shrubbery and get trapped down a fox hole .
c) there are no obvious distraction and
d) i have anice treat in my hand

 

[Fiona]

What a lot of JRTs called Poppy there are......

Our JRT was house trained in two weeks believe it or not

She will sit and stay, but has never learned down as a command (maybe her legs are too short)
Recall is 100% when away from home, and about 95% at home (she comes, but in her own time)
Loves food and titbits, but will not take food from a plate (even on the floor) until she is told it is hers. Will sit on my knee if I'm eating.
Has never chewed anything except her toys.
Has had one try at agility, and was getting the hang of it really well.

Couldn't believe a JRT could be so easy really - my SiL (lab lover) said JRTs were impossible, but she is the one with the dog who chews furniture and raids cupboards.

Fiona

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Clear the terrier myth is bunkum as we all have beautifully behaved JRTs!!

The good bits (to prove he is a smart cookie).

Ozzie walks to heel (off lead), sits, stays, comes when called, can be trusted to come out hacking with the horses (which includes crossing roads (where he waits back from the road till told to cross), used to run lose on a yard amongst chickens, ducks, geese and turkey and left them all alone (not sure he would be 100% trust worthy now, but wouldn't take long if in the same position again). Does a few tricks....paws, beg, roll over. Can be left anywhere car/house and won't steal even if food in reach. Asks to be let out and comes to find you if you don't hear him.

The bad bits!! -

Not 100% about jumping up as will if he thinks you don't mean it!!! Rubbish at ratting as having been brought up with Labs he tends to retrieve the dam things and bring them to you live!!!! - though has got better since one bite him!! All toys with squeaks die!! Takes up most of the bed and like to sit on your shoulder (he thinks he's a dam parrot).