Questions about training, allergies, fear of other dogs, etc

Question
Hello, I have some questions about my Jack Russell.  She's a 3 year old spayed female that we've had since she was 8 weeks old.  I've had (and trained) many dogs, including a variety of terriers, but she's my first JRT.  She's the most wonderful dog and we absolutely love her, and really want to solve these problems to make her life happier.

1. After a bath she is very itchy for about 2 days.  Per my vet's recommendation I bathe her in cool water with sensitive shampoo, which seems work the best, but she's still itchy. She's fine after day or so, and never has any visible symptoms.  I wash her as infrequently as I can but I can only take so much of a dirty dog!  Any suggestions?

2. Immediately after she eats, she has some weird habits... she drinks a TON of water, to the point where she throws up.  If we withold her water for 10 minutes after she's done eating, then she drinks normally.  She also frequently spends about 5 or 10 minutes (with or without drinking water first) licking at the air like she has something stuck in her teeth.  I've checked her mouth many times and never find anything.  Any thoughts on what's causing either of these behaviors?

3. She loves other people, especially children, but she's afraid of meeting new dogs (she alternates between fearful and aggressive posture, growls, snaps, then runs away).  The severity of her behavior is directly proportional to the size of the other dog-the bigger the dog, the more aggressive/fearful she is.  I've tried introducing her to other dogs as much as possible, and if the other dog ignores her aggression and she gets to know them after a few hours then she's fine with that dog, but this isn't really helping the problem.  

4. She's been very difficult to obedience train (I think because we reward with praise, and she doesn't seem to care much if we're happy with her or not). By now she's doing very well on-leash, and off-leash, she's good with heeling, stay and recall from a stay.  But if she's running around more than 10 feet away she ignores the recall.  We've been working with a 50-foot parachute cord and she's getting better, but off the cord she still competeley ignores the recall.  Do I just need to stick with the parachute cord training until it's really sunk in, or is there anything else I can try?  I'm leaning towards using treats as the reward (we had to use treats to get her housetrained!) but I'm concerned that this will undermine my authority with her.

5. She has a very dominant personality, and my husband and I have really worked on this using every technique I know (she's crate-trained, sleeps in her own bed, has to wait for permission to eat, lots of obedience training, etc). She has a pretty good understanding now that she's not in charge, although she still tests her position in the family frequently.  At this moment she's the only dog we have.  We had a german shepherd dog up until a few months ago (she died), who took a lot of abuse from my JRT, but if she went too far they would 'fight' for about 30 seconds, which always ended in my GSD pinning my JRT to the floor until she gave up (never any bloodshed).  We plan to adopt another puppy soon (probably another GSD), which leads me my final question-because of her aggressive personality, would she be best with another dog who will take the dominant position in their relationship, or should the new dog have a submissive personality?

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Marti,

1. Washing her as infrequently as possible is good, because they're coats are really good for self-maintaining. They don't need a lot of coat care or grooming. Definitely use a dog baby shampoo (I use Crazy Dog brand Baby shampoo) and double rinsing is best because even a little residual shampoo can make them a little itchy. The natural process of air drying feels funny to them and the first response is of course, to scratch too.

2. Definitely withhold her water from her after she eats and when you do put it down, only put a sufficient amount in the bowl to satisfy her. The air licking sounds funny and I've seen it before! Maybe she feels like something is stuck in her teeth! Maybe she got some water up her nose and she's trying to "lick" it out or maybe it's just a funny thing she likes to do! She's unique! If it isn't bothering her or anyone, just chock it up to her individuality. Sometimes they just have weird little tics.

3. You are doing exactly what you are supposed to do. Keep introducing her to new dogs, the more exposure the better but it's a very common JRT trait to want to BE the big dog even when their are bigger ones around. It's in their genes to want to dominate. Her behavior sounds pretty normal and as I said before, the more dogs she interacts with on a daily basis, the better she will adjust to being around them. Dog parks are great for breaking them in and over exposing them to other dogs of all shapes and sizes. Keep up the good work.

4. Again, you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing! Repetition and reward are the only things that work when training and there is absolutely nothing wrong with rewarding with a treat. It will not undermine your authority whatsoever but enhance it! YOU decide when she gets it, and she only gets it when YOU say she can. It's elementary to teach and reward and there is no better reward than using a treat. Eventually, maybe in a few months you can alternate the reward by giving a treat sometimes and a great big rub and pat on the head the next time. You can definitely wean out the treat reward but there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing whatever works best..... and food ALWAYS works best.

5. It's in a Jack Russells nature to test her position of authority in the family. A firm reminder once in a while will put her right back in her place. I'm sorry about the loss of your shepherd, that must have been hard. If you do get another dog it's absolutely PERTINENT to get a submissive breed or you will end up with two dominant dogs vying for top dog spot. Now that your Jack is THE dog, she won't give that position up very easily. Try to go with a puppy and a submissive one will keep more peace in your house! You can find an entire list of submissive breeds online at DOGBREEDINFO.COM  - click on 'FIND THE PERFECT DOG' and then click on QUICK REFERENCE and it gives a brief but accurate description of most dog breeds.

You sound like a wonderfully caring and experienced dog person and your Jack sounds like a great dog. Patience, consistency and love go a long way. Best of luck in everything!
Take care,
Carol