Lola

Question
Hello,

I have an 11 month old Jack Russell, who seems to have very bad behavioural problems and I really don't know what to do with her! Me and my partner both work so she is left on her own for approx 5 hours a day (in a large room). We have lots of toys and chews for her to keep her busy during the day, she goes for a walk every night (for about half an hour), but seems to have so much excess energy. If we shut her in the kitchen for 5 minutes when we get home from work she digs up the carpet to get out.

She has "mad moments" everyday, running around and attacking me (not usually my partner), biting me quite hard, nipping me, barking at me and I cant get her to calm down. If we go out for a walk and we call for her to come back she usually does, but if she is in the garden and we shout her in, she ignores us, and sometimes completely avoids us. We can only get her in by tricking her with a toy. Neither of us can get a bath with her in the room as she either repeatedly drops her toy in the bath and then barks to get it back, or digs up the floor to get out. We cant leave anything on the floor as she will run off with it. She has ruined countless shoes, bags, pens, etc. She bites my feet when I walk across the room. If there is a glass or cup on the floor she will walk over to it and tip it over with her paw. She sits and barks at us and if we ignore her she will squeeze out a wee on the floor (its not just that she is barking to go outside, you can actually see her straining to do it!)

I suppose she is top dog in our house, as we don't know how to give her discipline in a nice way, without hurting her. We tried tying her lead to a chair if she got over excited in the house, which worked for a bit, but then she started chewing the chair that we tied her to.

It sounds like she just wants attention, but she gets lots of it. And if we get her too excited by playing with her for a long period of time, she gets worse, not better. I think I could cope with everything except ignoring us when we call her, and the biting, I just don't know how to get her to stop. She went to puppy training classes when we first got her, and can sit and beg on command.

Thanks


Answer
Dear Joanna,
Thanks for the question.
I'll be blunt, (but kind)! Welcome to the world of curious, energetic, mischievous, Jack Russell terriers! These guys are turbo pups and I'm guessing that's why you selected a JRT. Although anyone who reads about your situation would chuckle, I know exactly how frustrating it can be to live with a turbo terrier. They only have two "power switch settings" off and turbo!

I live with a turbo terrier as well and believe me, it is anything but boring. These guys are so smart they will find new ways every day to entertain themselves and are very creative. I attribute many of my canine behavior lessons in life to my turbo terrier!  

For instance, the other night my wife and I were watching TV and eating. Bentley quickly snatched up her house shoe (it was off her foot and laying on the floor) and took off with it. I watched and grinned. She fussed at him and he just looked at her and stood about ten feet away, mauling her house shoe. She got up went to get the slipper and as soon as she was upon him, he abandoned the house shoe, bolted back to her chair, jumped up in the chair, grabbed the last bite of her sandwich off the table and ate it. I am convinced that was his plan!

First off, recognize that all of the behaviors you mentioned describe a very smart turbo pup that needs more exercise, more mental stimulation, more structure, more training and less freedom. Did I mention more exercise?

Tired pups don't race around biting ankles, they rest. Tired pups don't bark at their people soliciting play, they rest. Tired pups don't ........, they rest, tired..... etc. Ok, Ok , you see the pattern! (smile)    

I truly believe it is near impossible to tire these guys out unless you have hours of time to devote to exercise. Most of us do not (including me); so here are some suggestions for exercising Lola without spending your life running. Mental stimulation is a great way to keep these guys busy.  

Throw away the food bowl, have Lola work to find and obtain her meals. For example, get a Kong, place some tape over the small end, place a few small treats in the Kong, add kibble, add water mixed with one T of chicken broth. Place it upright in your freezer and freeze it. Take it out of the freezer, remove the tape and let Lola work to get her dinner. She will spend 15-20 minutes eating. She will be stimulated (mentally and physically) and will be busy NOT BOTHERING you! Use two small / medium Kongs; when she is finished with the first one, give her the other one.

If you don't have a frozen Kong ready, scatter feed. Yep, just like feeding the chickens - toss a small handful of her kibble on the patio, kitchen floor, or on the deck. Let her forage for her dinner. Don't scatter her full portion at once, scatter several small portions instead.

Teach her fetch, this is a great game to exercise pups. If she doesn't know fetch, start off by teaching her to trade a ball (or toy) for a treat. Do this many many times (no throwing it yet) Once she will drop the toy in your hand for a treat you can place the toy a few feet away and she will bring it to you (to trade for a treat!). Place the toy farther and farther away each time. Finally you can throw it and she will bring it back for a treat.

Attach a leash to her when you take her out, or better yet, go to the hardware store and buy 100 feet of 3/8 inch nylon rope. Fashion a long line and let her run and fetch- be careful not to let her get tangled up.

She won't come to you because she has learned that coming to you ends her fun. If she is not finished having fun outside, why should she come? (her view not mine .. and oh, by the way . . . . you only tricked her one time with the come in for a toy thingy.. she knows what's up!)

Teach her that coming to you does not end her fun, but adds to the fun. Always use a leash or line so she cannot run away. Pups love a good game of chase and they would just as soon be "it" as not. Call her name and then run away from her. When she catches up to you, give her a treat and send her back out to play. Call her, treat her for coming, release her back to play some more. Repeat, repeat, repeat. This will help teach her that coming to you is fun and doesn't signal the end of her playtime.

Mad moments are due to "not enough exercise" or "it's time for bed". I call em the zooomies! Pups that are impossible to redirect need more exercise or need to sleep. It's like a cranky child that has stayed up past his or her bedtime.

She barks at you because that works to get your attention. She strains to pee because that works to get your attention, she throws toys in the tub because that works to get your attention. She's screaming for exercise and attention. Teach her a polite way to get your attention and then exercise her little brain. How about giving her a frozen Kong snack when you bathe?


Start a complete training program based on rewards. Use a reward system, forget about physical punishers for teaching - you can't impress a turbo terrier with physical punishers unless you are willing to go way overboard (which has lots of bad side effects). Consider clicker training. Buy these books, Click Here: For a Well Trained Dog by Deborah Jones AND  ---- The Only Dog Training Book You Will Ever Need: From Avoiding Accidents to Banishing Barking, the Basics for Raising a Well-Behaved Dog
by Gerilyn J. Bielakiewicz, Andrea Mattei  

If you can't buy them both, buy the second one listed.

Get a crate. Lola is too young and curious to be loose in your home. For crate training instructions visit, http://www.ddfl.org/tips.htm#dog

Play biting is often the result of people playing with their pups by using their hands to toss, roll, tumble, swat, etc. . Refrain from playing games that involve your hands manipulating her body. That only teaches her that you want to play like pups play- have you ever watched two pups playing?! They bite, snap, pull, all with their mouths!

Tie a toy on the end of a rope, drag it when you walk in the house. Praise her for attacking the toy (hence she'll leave your feet alone and go for the toy).

For more tips about play-biting, go to my web site http://www.howsbentley.com and download the free playbiting guide.

I hope these few tips will send you in the right direction. These guys are very entertaining but can be very destructive and troublesome if we don't direct their energy. You can have the wonderful, entertaining, turborterier you sought - buy the books, they will give you invaluable information.

If you can't buy the books today, perform a web search on "NILIF and Dogs". The theory and explanation of this protocol is flawed, but the program is effective. Visit http://howsbentley.com/bentleyhowls/forgetalpha.shtml for my explanation.
Happy Training!
AT