jack russell 7mths old behaviour problem

Question
Our 7mth old jack is quite hyperactive he has an indoor cage and is walked regularly he is bright but when callers come he jumps up and down he takes a long time to settle we have tried ignoring him when we come home but this is difficult as he accidentally scratches when jumping we have had him castrated recently as we do not wish to breed from him this behavior was prior to this he is a great dog and we need help i have had j.russells before and they did not display this kind of behavior do we continue with indoor cage he is not aggressive with people or other dogs and walks out wellborn problem is this hyperactively in house and when we visit other houses.

Answer
Dear Julie,

I think you've been lucky with your previous JRTs -- all the ones I've ever met have been pretty jumpy and hyper during their first year of life!  In any case, you can get very specific positive reinforcement instructions on how to stop jumping at my site http://www.dogdaysUSA.com in the training articles section.  It's good that you've tried ignoring the behavior -- that's going to pay off in the long run even if you're not seeing the benefits quite yet, but there are specific exercises you can do with him that really work quickly and harmlessly.

Take him for longer walks and get him into a reputable and cage-free dog daycare to help him expend that extra energy.  Get him into an obedience class for more control, and then sign him up for agility or better yet, tracking to let him really use what he's genetically designed for.  

You are doing a great job and I love that you are bringing him to visit other houses -- please keep it up.  Just get his seemingly endless energy exerted and you should be fine.  

Thanks for writing and good luck!
Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT\
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com