hi guys, so, my little jack russell rex turned 3 months on the 3rd of may, (yesterday) now all the naughty behaviour witch was seen as cute, needs to end now, and i need to give my dog the right direction to become a great companion for life... there are lots of issues i have, and training i need to do, from behaviour training, to playtime training, to showmanship training!! if any of you have the time to read this,,, or made time to read this, and offer some advice, id be very grateful here goes rex seems to want to bite the leg of my trousers when i walk, and hang off me, when i tell him no!!!, he argues with me!! and i have to put him in his pen for cool off period also, he bites my hand and ears as he licks me, witch needs to be stopped, any tips ??? he has been living in his out house, until he had all his jabs, but now he is outside, he goes back inside the out house for toilet.. any tips??? Now, on to playtime, he will run after the ball, grab it, but wonder off to sit on his own and chew it, and when out in the park, he will run after the ball, but just smell it, and trot past it!!!! any tips on this?? he HATES the lead, and puts the brakes on when trying to walk him.... any tips? sorry for all the questions, was wondering if there was a link to a book i can buy, that covers every aspect of training a jack, and what techniques can i implement, what has been successful for you?? thanks for your time guys
NILF training. You can google it and youtube. Training should start the day they come house and is a never ending goal.
Rex is behaving like a normal Terrier puppy, and you are expecting far too much from him at this age. Did you expect him to be able to retrieve the ball? Some obedience trained dogs take months to learn this on their own ground, let alone with all the distractions of a public park! Rex will need to be trained to use a lead. You can let him get used to wearing one by letting him run around trailing it at home, or my own preference is for attaching a lightweight line, (about 6 ft), and encouraging - not pulling - him to come towards me for a treat, and then gradually starting to follow my hand for a few paces. Reward, reward, reward. Would you work for nothing? Do I take it that he is kennelled? If he has been shut in until he has completed his vaccinations, he will have also learned that this is the place where he does his pees and poos. It is now up to you to teach him that you want him to go somewhere else, which will mean standing outside with him until he performs, so that you can reward him, and tell him just what a clever boy he is for doing a 'quicky', (or whatever word you use), in the right place. If he grabs at your trousers, why not offer him an alternative, and take a little time to have a short game of tuggy with a rope toy. It is much easier to offer an alternative than to have to discipline a baby. No doubt others with breed insights will be along with further suggestions for you.
This is typical JRT behaviour [I have 6 JRT's] as soon as Rex start to bite your trousers distract him by squeaking a toy/ blowing whistle/food [basically what ever your using as a training tool] if he continues tugging on your trousers then give a firm but gentle NO [the tone of your voice will tell him to stop] stand still & ignore your pup [don't look or touch him] If you only have him on collar & lead then you will have lots of problems, as JRT's don't like anything tugging on their necks, they are hunters not prey so will try to try to get out of the collar, best to walk him on a harness & lead This is easy just yelp every time he nips you, this is what his litter mates would of done, he soon learn that nipping is not allowed. If he has been living in a kennel/outhouse since you have had him & not been allowed outside to go to toilet then he will continue going to toilet in his kennel/outhouse, you are going to have to go back to basic training & take him outside every 10 mins/after he's been fed/when he wakes up, giving him a toilet command ie be quick/go wee/go toilet/bum bum or any other toilet command. I used a rolled up t-towel [rolled up & sewn along edge] I found it was lot easier then pup trying to hold a ball [gentle on their mouths] using the t-towel to play puppy tuggy [lightly holding t-towel & letting pup doing the pulling] they soon realized that the t-towel meant playtime. The answer is simple NO as all the books I have read about JRT's state they can't live with cats/small furries - my 6 JRT's live with 3 cats, 3 rabbits 4 rats & 2 macaws. After saying all that I do have one JRT that has to be muzzled when on walkies because she's not keen on other dogs invading her space when on walkies.
There are a lot of general puppy training books. I think one of the best, which has been in print for quite a long time, is Gwen Bailey, The Perfect Puppy.