If you can tell me anything about Jack Russell terriers and/or rat terriers, I need to know!

[Radio_Lady]

I need to know about your observations on breed temperament and characteristics. Your personal experiences would be helpful.

Yesterday, I fell in love at first sight with a mostly-white, shortcoated terrier with black-and-tan face markings, a beautiful, evenly spaced blaze face, pricked-up ears and a cropped tail. I complimented her owner in a consignment store yesterday. The woman told me she was looking for a new home for Bellissimo (or maybe it was Bellissima). I am language-challenged in Italian. We would call her Belle.

She's a three year old spayed female, housetrained and understanding the commands "SIT" and "DOWN". She was found by her current owner in the streets of NE Portland. I petted her and she licked my hand. Darn, I know that my heart bounced a couple of times when I touched her. We haven't owned a dog since the 1980s, and I'm thinking of a co-ownership with my daughter, who could have permanent custody, while we have visitation.

Please don't laugh, but she matches my furniture! Short white, black or tan fur won't be a problem on our white tile floors. Of course, she will track in clay... but not in July...

The woman and her daughter have to make a decision about whether to give her away. I don't know the circumstances of this decision, but I'm trying to convince myself to take a try at dog ownership of a more mature dog.

Help me if you can.

P.S. I have going to wash the dog beds being held for my daughter. Her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, sweet Porter from Portland, passed away this spring.


Photo of similar-looking dog posted on a web page; this is not the actual dog.

[Bullwinkle925]

1. The only thing I know is that my daughter spent some time on one of her excursions

to someone else's home that had a JR terrier and she found that dog to be completely outta control and very very hyper. Don't know if that is a regular feature of that breed or if that particular dog was spoiled by its owners. I'm sure you can find info. on that breed on the net somewhere.

BTW - what do you know, if anything, about the life of French actor Jean-Pierre Leaud (The 400 Blows)? I viewed that film last week and became curious about him and whatever became of him. I found only filmography listings on the web (so far) but haven't found any kind of biographical info. He intrigued me.

Thanks - glad to see you are back online.

:hi:

[democracyindanger]

3. Feature of the breed

Jack Russells are wound up buggers. Remember the dog from "Frasier"? I remember reading an article about how it increased interest in JRs, but when people brought them home they found out what a handful they were, so took them back.

[Radio_Lady]

6. Democracyindanger, I appreciate your input. I guess I'd have to have some involvement with this

particular animal to see what she is like individually. Remember, this is a mixed breed, hopefully with a good personality. Boston Terriers were pretty active as I recall. I had two of them when I was age about 7, through to college. My daughter has a fenced in yard and two children, ages 6 and 9.

[Radio_Lady]

4. Thanks so much, Bullwinkle. I know that terriers like to run and dig, and the question would be

how willing I am to train her as a three-year-old, and how receptive she would be.

Of course, they would have to agree to a temporary situation while we try it out. My daughter has a medium size crate for transportation, as well as collars and dishes, etc.

And, what do you know? Not one but TWO pet stores have opened up in our neighborhood. Now I might have a reason to actually go in to those stores.

Re: The 400 Blows from 1959. We did see that film when it was released that year. I was attending the Theater Arts division at UCLA. Here's a link that may help you -- looks like he is still alive and active as of 2005.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0529543/

[Bullwinkle925]

11. Thanks . . .

I've been searching trying to find his personal history - marriages, etc . - to no avail. Seems he is very secretive about his private life. I will be putting more of his movies in my Netflix queue. For some reason, I just became very enamored with his performance and then watching the auditions for this film on the DVD.

[femmocrat]

2. Two words: High energy!

Jack Russells are soooo cute, and I want one, too. But I have resisted, knowing how much work they can be and how much training and exercise they require.

If you are very active and will provide lots of activity, I think you could have a great little companion. Since she is three years old, a lot of the puppy behaviors should be outgrown. Did the lady say why she was giving her away? It could be the cute little critter is a little demon! Ask a lot of questions first!

[Radio_Lady]

7. Thanks, Femmocrat. One of the reasons this would be good for me

personally is that I would be forced to train her. The cardiologist said, "Walk more and eat less," however, he didn't mention getting a dog, as I recall.

[skygazer]

5. Very smart, a lot of energy

One of the things I've found with smart dogs is that they test you a lot. They like to push the boundaries - like smart kids. Jack Russells and terriers in general are high energy as well but I've known a lot of them that were great pets for people as long as they could get them outside a lot and burn some of that energy.

I would suggest looking at the breed descriptions on the AKC web site - they offer a lot of info.

[Radio_Lady]

8. Hello Skygazer. I raised and trained two Boston Terriers in the 1950s, then

charged money to walk dogs in New York City when I was pregnant with my daughter in the late 1960s. I don't recall any terrier breeds that gave me trouble. It was a great job for me and I enjoyed it.

So this might be an arrangement with my daughter and her family to co-own and perhaps co-house this dog. I never took her other dog into our home -- hair was too long and the house was new.

Now I feel much differently about the whole situation.

Thanks for your advice and counsel.

[riderinthestorm]

9. I've owned a few. I love them but I live on a farm with a lot of space to run

so they're high energy wasn't a big problem for me.

Some general advice: I have found that the American bred Jacks are high strung, difficult dogs. Elegant, long legged and gorgeous but the two I've owned were not good dogs.

On the other hand, the English bred Jacks were usually short legged, bandy dogs - not very elegant looking but very, very calm. The best sort of terrier - smart, attentive, loyal and affectionate. I've owned 3 of these and would do so again in a minute if I could find one I could afford!

It seems to me that Jack Russell breeding has gotten just a bit dicey - you may want to spend a day with this particular dog and discover if she listens to you and has a calm temperament. In my experience, you will know within the day whether you have a keeper or not. Jacks have very definite personalities that are irrepressible and you'll know what you have pretty quickly. You will definitely get some exercise if you take her on but it sounds as though this would be joyful exercise instead of a chore (for your health).

[davsand]

10. Terriers and the word "stubborn" are often used in the same sentence.

They can be very high energy and they do require some exercise to keep them from bouncing off the walls. A lot of people fall in love with a breed based on how they look or maybe based on some TV show (or even an animal in a book!) and they have NO idea what the breed actually does until they get the animal home.

Terriers (as a general rule) were bred for vermin control or some type of hunting activity. Rat terriers were bred EXACTLY for that, and those dogs will go into a FRENZY when they start to (forgive the expression!) smell a rat. Similarly, Russells were bred to go into the warrens and holes and GET the vermin, while Patterdales (probably the MOST hard headed dogs I have EVER known and fortunately not a terribly common breed in my area!) will actually try to go up a tree to get to a raccoon.

I think that the average novice dog owner can probably do just fine with most terriers, but I do think that domestic life might be a little smoother if everybody (dog and owner both!) went to obedience classes early on in the relationship. If you are somebody that has had dogs before that were "socially acceptable" in their behaviors (meaning YOU were dealing with your dog fairly well) and you are just getting around to life with terriers, you can maybe skip the classes.

Terriers are incredibly loyal dogs, however, it seems to me that they frequently will have one person they are more closely tied to than the rest of the family. That's not to say they dislike the rest of the family--it just means that the dog will play favorites, sometimes.

I'd be careful about introducing ANY terrier to a household with cats or other small pets. I know a JR named Spanky that earlier this year ate an escapee Hamster named Elvis, and I knew a Rat Terrier that could not STAND cats (Axl was a pretty obnoxious dog to begin with, however, so I try real hard not to blame the entire breed for his rudeness. Bless his ankle copulating heart, he's gone across the Rainbow Bridge and I try real hard to remember him in happier times...) By the same token,we had a terrier when I was a kid that was walking death on the rodents and he slept with the cats--so it is not universal that all terriers hate cats.

Good luck!


Laura

[JanMichael]

12. Jean Louise Finch (or as we call her, "Scout") is a Jack mix--

she is 13 pounds, and we were scared to get her (as a grown up stray) because all we heard was "high energy", "stubborn," etc.

We cannot imagine life without her now--she is a trip! Loves our cat, snuggles, and has never chewed up something that wasn't hers after about the first week (anxiety--it was pretty obvious).

However, she walks 4 times daily, sometimes 5 if the weather is cool--she has plenty of toys--and lots of attention. She is NOT a terrorist, however, she is a dictator!

We love ours--and highly recommend Jacks!

[applegrove]

13. They are loving and kind to humans. A terror to little varmits who live

in holes (the jack russle will try and dig them out). Also, in my limited experience (I only dog sat) they are not aware of their own size and can be aggressive with bigger dogs. Much bigger dogs. Like a bouvier. But they are cute, high energy and obedient.

[Bzzzz]

14. We bought one for our daughter,,,

Brat was very, very smart, very loving, and had all of our hearts. She got along well with our other dogs, especially our Rottie. We had to have her put down a couple years ago due to a malignant tumor in her neck. They are very hyper dogs and need lots of room to run and lots of attention. She will always hold a very special place in my heart. I miss her to this day. That dog could jump like you wouldn't believe.

[pokerfan]

15. Too much dog for most people

Experienced owners/trainers only, IMO. All dogs need an alpha human and unless you are an experienced trainer this dog is likely to try to usurp that role which isn't fair to either party.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/jackrussellterrier.htm

Hey, I like Border Collies too, but would never want to own one.

For a similar sized dog that is a bit easier to handle, I'm a big fan of the Mini Schnauzer:


"Very perky and bright-eyed. Loving and intelligent. Energetic, affectionate, and obedient. Playful, happy and alert, they like children. The Miniature Schnauzer demands time and companionship from its owner."

[Radio_Lady]

16. UPDATE: Saturday, The woman who found the dog said she didn't talk with her daughter before meeting

me at the store. Clearly, she was very upset. The dog is currently living with a couple of other big dogs as well as other animals.

Daughter's boy friend is a Vietnamese man whose father had a stroke yesterday! Things were in a state of chaos in her life.

Naturally, the daughter was panicked and talks about moving in with her boyfriend.

So, I told this woman that I'd try and call her next week to see how everyone was doing.

I mostly think we'll back off this choice and consider other breeds until fall.

Frankly, I'd love the challenge of having an alert and active dog. It would be great fun. I checked the advertisements in the local paper and will rethink the whole idea next month. We're on to our next activity -- helping a young Pakistani woman who is separated from her Scottish husband, and she is trying to get help with an adorable 2 1/2 year old boy. I'm taking her to our Unitarian fellowship tomorrow, mostly to help her with daycare while we talk.

About the dog, I think the most shocked person was my husband. I had spent years saying that he could have a dog again... when I was DEAD. My daughter chimed in that she has two "high energy" children and probably doesn't need a third source that might spin them out of whtever little control.

In these last years, they got used to a mellow older dog, Porter, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel who kind of curled up on everyone's lap and played "PILLOW."

Anyway, thank you all SO much for a review of this scrappy little breed.

Now, does anyone know anything about the SHIBA INU, the little Japanese dog that looks like a red fox?