So you want to own a Jack Russell?

So, you want to own a Jack Russell?

Penn
March 2010

So you want to own a Jack Russell, the cutest, most cuddly of little pups. Read on before you take the plunge and select your totally fearless little rebel. They are not the little lap dogs one would expect from such a wee scrap of white and tan.

Jack Russell’s are probably the ‘biggest’ dogs you will ever own. They have the heart of a lion, the tenacity of a honey badger and when occasionally at rest, prefer a satin cushion or a velvet covered sofa. Tucked up with a goose down duvet would be nice, and best of all, love to burrow under the bedclothes at night and curl round your feet.

They were bred in Britain as small hunting dogs, going back to the mid 1800s and were used for digging out red foxes, rabbits etc. Be well aware that their hunting instinct is still very much in their genes, and their smart savvy works overtime.

These 6-8kg warriors are perfect for an active person and almost essential to include with the farm dogs. In fact they go well with most dogs and will be the first to sound the alarm of any excitement about to happen. They adore a trip in the truck, hang out the windows and woe betide any idiot who puts their hands through the window to pilfer their owners possessions. They will almost certainly be minus a few fingers.

Do you have a problem with moles? Get a JR. They love ‘em and will spend most of the day intent on eradicating every critter from your garden. They are the world’s best diggers, with the remarkable ability to excavate trenches, tunnels, furrows, and mineshafts at an incredible rate. Of course you won’t have a garden lawn, pretty flower beds or vegetable patch left after this amusement. JRs are not cruel killers. Once latched onto the critter they give it a quick shake, toss it in the air and it’s dead. Like magic, it may not hit the ground, that’s because it went directly down the gullet into JRs tummy.

Do you have a problem with rats and mice in the feed barn, garage, garden shed? Get a JR. They are excellent climbers and will scramble up feed bales and even up the steel girders like little monkeys to get at their quarry. Sniffing out the vermin from every little nook and cranny will keep them quivering with excitement and entertained for hours. They are way better than the lazy barn cat who prefes to snooze in the sun.

If you have chickens, rabbits, and other domestic pets be sure the JR pup is introduced to them at a young age or one day you will come home to utter carnage and a happy little chappie greeting you with such excitement….”Look mum, look dad, look what I’ve done, been such a fun day”

I was sitting on the cliff tops one day watching the whales. My labradors were roaming around finding sticks to be thrown for them. Marley, my female JR, as always, scurried off to excavate the molehills and harass the dassies (rock hyrax). I listened to her hysterical barks of pure delight from the steep rocks faces. Upon wanting to leave, I called, shouted, whistled, yelled, all to no avail. JRs are stone deaf when on a hunting mission. Finally little itty bit Ms Marley scrambled over the cliff top, bounded up, puffing and panting, big smile on her doggy dial, with a veritable gushing fountain of blood spurting from the top of her nose. I reckon that she cornered a dassie down a crevice and it bit her solidly on the nose. What a bloody mess. A friend said, “It serves her right, she will never do that again”. Not so with a JR! In that willful canine brain developed an utter hatred for dassies, to be forever eradicated from the planet and an all out vendetta was cast. She never did catch one, but sure had a good try at it, enjoying every moment.

So, you still want to get a JR? If you have the time and energy to devote to them or are able to keep them at your side for most of the day, they are fine companions and might be around for 15yrs, sleeping on your bed, head on the pillow. Happy, cheerful, funny, full of character, devoted and fearless warriors. It is essential to socialize your pup from a very young age, and to impress upon it that YOU are the pack leader, Alpha #1 top dog. They are smart and able to usurp the position of top dog, thus easily becoming a willful canine, and not pleasant to have around. They enjoy being busy and love having a job to do. A JR will either make you laugh a lot or cry often in utter frustration! It is up to you to make sure it is the former.
But please, please, give it a lot of exercise and things to do! It is really not a ‘little lap dog’. They need plenty of activity and never cage it up on a small property or an apartment. For that, get a Yorkie or Toy Pom.