Jack Russell Terriers are sometimes considered difficult to train because of their high energy. However, if you use their energy to your advantage training your Jack to do almost anything is possible. Despite their short attention spans Jack Russell Terriers are very intelligent dogs that learn quickly.
Conquering a Jack Russell Terriers Short Attention Span
When training a Jack Russell instead of forcing them to train longer, train them in short bursts. Start with one trick, “Sit” is best if they don’t already know it. Many tricks revolve around “Sit”. Train them this trick in short five minute bursts. Minimize distractions when training a Jack Russell. It should be only the person training, the tread present during training, when they are first learning a trick. In later training sessions introducing distractions are fine but at first you want to make sure both easily distracted eyes are on you.
Jack Russell Training Treats
When training a Jack Russell Terrier don’t overload them with treats, since they are a smaller dog they will get sick if they eat to many. So to minimize how much they are actually eating break the treats in half. Or before their meal take a handful of regular dog food and make them do some tricks first. Liver treats are often recommend, I find that my Jack Russell Terrier really enjoys carrots and celery. So for five minutes of training I would just cut up a baby carrot into ten pieces.
In addition to food treats Jack Russell Terriers love to chase toys. If you use their toy as a treat, and only throw it after they perform their trick this will minimize food rewards. Prior to letting a dog out the door for walks, make sure that they sit and/or speak. Not only is this a way of rewarding a Jack Russell it will also train your terrier that when they need to go out to let you know.
The last reward and the best an owner can give a Jack Russell is attention. Alternate tricks for treats, with tricks for praise and pets, so that your dog will not expect a food treat every time. If your Jack Russell Terrier will only perform for treats, he may not listen if you are stuck without a Sausage.
Jack Russell Training Commands
When training any dog do not push their bottom down to make them sit, or pull their legs to make them lay. The best way to train Jack Russell Terriers to do these things is to always make the same motion, and to move the food to make them perform the way you want them to. This way when they hear sit, they don’t think, “When my butt is pushed I will put it down.” They think “I will sit, when my master points at the ground.” It might be a little tricky to move the food at first. However, once you know how to position the food it will make the training process much easier than trying to force your Jack Russell to sit.
Training Movements
To make them sit, when your Jack Russell is facing you move the food slightly above and behind their head. They will follow the food with their nose and naturally they will sit. To make them lay down from a sitting position move the food from their nose down their chest and toward the floor. To make them rollover from the laying position, move the food down their side and over their back.
If your dog doesn’t respond bring the food back and try again repeating the command. Do not give your Jack Russell negative feedback by saying, “Not like that” or “No.” These additional commands will only confuse the dog. When your Jack Russell does sit, say good boy and ONLY then give him the treat. If you give up, and give out treats prematurely you are only reinforcing your dog not to listen to you.
Advanced Jack Russell Commands
Teaching your dog to speak or to do other commands where you cannot use the food to maneuver your animal are slightly trickier. If you want your dog to speak, find something that you can control that will cause your dog to bark, for example an audio clip of a dog barking, or the door bell. When you say “speak” perform the action that will make your dog speak already. When the dog speaks reward and praise him. Eventually command your dog without your tool.
Speaking is not usually a problem for Jack Russell Terriers. For commanding them to be quiet, pick a command and praise them immediately when they begin to let up barking.
Training Jack Russell Terriers NOT to Chew Things
Often people have problems with training their dog not to chew things that matter to them. Jack Russell Terriers have short attention spans and often this becomes a problem. When they get bored they will find your leather shoes to occupy them. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to train your Jack Russell not to chew everything in your house. Fortunately, you can train them what you DO want them to chew. It is easier to train a Jack Russell to chew one thing than to teach them NOT to chew fifteen things. As long as they have their toys to chew they won’t chew yours!
My dog loves squeaky toys, but another popular toy especially if you are going out for a while, is a Kong . Kongs are great because they are nearly indestructible and will outlast squeaky toys by far, they can also hold treats. Smear some peanut butter and put some treats in a Kong and you will occupy your Jack for hours. The reason dogs chew things that don’t belong to them are because they are board or lonely. The money on toys you spend occupying them will pale in comparison to what you will spend if they eat your cell phone or your couch.
Jack Russell Terriers are extremely intelligent dogs. They are very energetic. However, as long as you approach this energy in a positive way by training in short bursts, you can overcome this obstacle and have your Jack Russell sitting and speaking in no time.
