Jack Russell Terrier Temperment

Why don't you get her fixed, and then you don't have to wonder if she is pregnant. She will also be more docile. And it seems wrong to me to even consider getting rid of her when the new puppy is clearly causing the problems. Why not get rid of the puppy? Also, your kids should give the dog space and not shove toys in its face. Nipping at that does not mean the dog is bad, it means the child is not being supervised enough.

C.,

I breed cockers and cockapoos, and have puppies all the time. I also have 5 children, ages 9,7,5,3,and 1. I have found that if a dog nips, he needs to be put in a cage or removed from the area quickly, and told he can come back when he knows how to act.

Of course, I am not saying to get rid of him, just put him in a kennel/cage or somewhere away from the puppy, you and the children, where he knows what he did is not acceptable, and it has to be done RIGHT after he does the growling before the nipping...

He needs to know the line of power in your house. Of course the Children, especially the smallest one, comes way before either dog, in your eyes. I am sure. but with the pup, he is confused.

It sounds like he is worried that the other pup will take his rank, or place with you. He now is the boss dog, and if you are making him play with the puppy, when he doesn't really want to, he thinks you are choosing the pup over him.

Jack Russell Terriers, are great dogs, but they like to be the only dog. Have you ever seen a Jack Russell be sweet and lovable to a cat? Me either. He is a smart dog, and hopefully will figure out very soon, what is not acceptable behavior, and grow to accept the pup as well.

Maybe you could just let him be, and make sure the puppy leaves him alone. If the puppy is playing with your children, they he will eventually join in and want to play too.

Just wondering, what happens when/if the puppy hurts someone by mistake? Does the Jack Russell come to their aid? He should. I think he is just worried about loosing the love from you, and his family.

Dogs are a lot like kids, (or men haha) They need to know they are special to you. Maybe you can take the Jack Russell for private walks, without the other puppy. That would make him special. Also, I know some don't believe this, but talk to him and tell him what the situation is. He will understand you eventually, hopefully.

The thing is, if he nips once, and does not get a negative response from you right away, he will think it is acceptable behavior, and do it again to your 3 yr old, for something else, more minor.

He may also have the puppy and your youngest son on the same level in his mind. (there to annoy him)

Good Luck

Since a dog's gestation lasts 9 weeks I doubt she is pregnant. you didn't mention just when you got the new puppy. so it is very possible she is feeling displaced and territorial. as for the nipping at your child scold her but also teach your child not to put anything in the dogs face. since your child is three it is a very good idea to teach him about giving the dogs their own space. just like us animals like their personal space especially when they are upset about something.
don't worry about the puppy it will just have to learn when enough is enough. also dogs have to establish their own pecking order. I have three males and they constantly are testing their limits with each other. two are a 1 1/2 yr old mutts and a 6 month old sheltie. so unless they get into a very aggressive fight i'd just let them figure each other out.

as for the issue between the older dog and your son just teach him to offer the toy from more of a distance and teach the dog commands like gentle or be nice. my dogs know that if i say baby be nice they have to be gentle.

PLEASE Spay and Neuter your dogs. NOW. There is no reason they should NOT be. NONE. PERIOD. You mentioned you thought the female might be pregnant. SPAY NOW. And if the male is not neutered, NEUTER NOW. 5-7 MILLION dogs/cats are destroyed in the USA EACH YEAR. There is no need for MORE puppies!

Neutering will also calm a male dog's personality. No more frustrating drive to mate, mate, mate...

I don't have any good advice for dog training, except that I really like Ceser Milan (the Dog Whisperer) and his techniques.

DO try to fix the issue because if your 'get rid of your dog,' it most likely be destroyed due to behavior issues.

Hi, I have a friend who had a dog of your breed for some time, like at least 3 years, and one day it bit her. They did not do anything and then it bit her daughter who is about 8 or so, then they had to get rid of it. I would not keep a dog with that temperment around my kids if I were you.

First off, I have to say that I don't trust the terrier breed, any terrier breed of dog at all, so I am going to try to put that feeling aside while giving you some advice. I would try to take the dog to a trainer to have an evaluation done. We got a dog from the pound and after having him home for about 2 weeks, we noticed that he had a really bad temperment and had a biting issue that we didn't notice when we picked him out. Fortunately, we didn't have children yet so the biting was mostly done at me. We took him to be evaluated and he was labeled as we suspected. But, there is good news. The trainer that we took him to was able to work through his biting and temperment and got him turned around where we were able to keep the dog. He did great for 7 years, he was awesome with my daughter and would let her bounce on him, pull on his ears, etc. Once my son was born though, I noticed an immediate change in him. He started getting aggravated very easily and very moody. I was going to get him another appointment with the trainer to see what we could do, he was our family pet and was still a great dog and I didn't want to get rid of him when I knew that it would just take some work from the trainer again. Well, the dog was afraid of thunder storms and one night it was storming pretty bad, I was making dinner and my daughter was standing in the doorway to the kitchen watching me. My son, who was less than 2 weeks old, was taking a nap. I heard a big crash of thunder outside and then I heard my daughter screaming. I looked over at her and she had blood dripping down her hand, the dog apparently got scared from the thunder and he got her good in between her fingers, he actually went down to the bone. We rushed her to the ER, and this really surprised me, they usually will not do anything for a dog bite except clean it out and have you check back with your doctor for a follow-up. Well, needless to say, that was the last straw, I couldn't take anymore chances and we did get rid of the dog. I really hope that your situation works out, I really miss my dog, but I can't risk my kids safety.

I think it really depends on when all this behavior started. Just because you saw a male dog in the yard with her once doesn't mean he hasn't been there before or since, or that there were other males roaming the neighborhood lookin for a 'good time'. If it started when the youngest addition to the family was brought in, it may very well have a lot to do with that. She could be in the early stages of pregnancy or just in heat & happens to be acting quirkie lately. In any case i would definitly talk to your vet about it. Just my random opinion. Good luck, they are great dogs.

Your Jack Russell is probably upset that there is a new puppy intruding on her space. If you had to get rid of a dog, I would find the puppy a new home, and your JR would probably go back to being her old self again. Giving up a dog that is attached to their home and family can have permanent psychological repercussions. I know this first hand from my Rat Terrier. We had to give him away and then we got him back, and he never was the same. If you give the puppy to someone else, he will have an easier time adjusting to a new family. Also, if you find out that she isn't pregnant...get her spayed. Then you won't have to worry about that again. Good luck.

We have a Rat Terrier who is a very active dog. The only time he would bite was when he was threatened or his tail pulled. It sounds like the alpha dog syndrom. She is showing your puppy that she is the alpha dog and letting everyone else know also. Please don't get rid of your terrier...it will be so much harder for her to adjust to a new family than the puppy. Reasure her that you still love her and love on her too. If she still doesn't change her attitude then get rid of the puppy. Good luck and God Bless.
P.S. We've had our Rat Terrier for 4 years and he is the best...I had a home child care business and the kids loved and played with him and he played with them according to their playing...like if they weren't old enought to pull the toy hard, he didn't pull hard either. It was great. He loved the kids...as long as his tail was left alone...he has issues but has never really done anything out of true malice. We are now fostering a dog in our house and she is older and he tries to play with her and she won't have it, but he is okay with it. They get along great and are learning from each other. Take care.

Is the older dog getting her fair share of attention? She could be jealous of the pup. You oldest might even have to split the attention time between her an the pup. I have the older female an then got stuck with a heinz 57 pup, an he was twice the size of her but I made sure she still got her fair share of attention. They are now the best of buddies. Hope this helps some.

Hi there! My husband is a vet in the area and so I posed this to him. He said that Jack Russells are spunky (if not super cute) to begin with. His thoughts are that the dog has a heightened sense of asserting dominance due to the puppy. In most cases (within reason) this is fine and well left alone for the puppy and adult dog to work out and is a normal process. However, it is not okay for the dog to assert dominance over a person - 3 years old or not. The Jack Russell needs to be taught firmly that asserting dominance over the pup is okay but forbidden over a person. This will take a lot of supervision by you the parent. If the dog acts in any way dominant (growl etc) near the child you are to correct firmly and immediately. Consistency is key here. FYI the biggest triggers for the adult Terrier will be over attention, food, treats, and toys. My husband also stated that during heat cycles a dog has periods of increased moodiness which may be exacerbating your situation. Hope this helps out. May the force be with you! Smile.