anyone have a Jack Russell Terrier?

[huberm]

Someone I know is taking a Jack Russell Terrier to the pound if they can't find a home soon. I am considering adopting it, but I have read a lot of bad things about them.

For starters, I already have a female Golden Retriever. She is young and energetic, so I think they would probably get along most of the time. I also have a really timid cat, which is a big concern. I have read in several places that Jack Russells will try to kill and eat a cat.

I have the big yard and all the care in the world for another pet, but I'm unsure if this type of breed would be a good match for my home. Can anyone provide some insight before I bring the dog over this weekend?

Thanks!

 

[skyking]

Generalizing about any breed will get you nowhere. You need to interview that dog, with your dog and cat.

 

[Wag]

Make him race!!! I love that stuff!!! They're so cute, jumping over each other!!!

 

[BornStar]

The place that I go to fish has two Nova Scotia Duck Toller Retrievers, a Jack Russell Terrier, and two cats. They all got along although you didn't see much of the cats. The Terrier was pretty much crazy but very entertaining to watch and definitely got along great with the two Retrievers.

 

[skyking]

Our jack will chase a cat if it runs, but if the cat turns and shows a claw it's all over.
He's quite manic about "the chosen" ball of the moment. He's a fickle creature, and "the chosen one" changes quite often.

 

[doze]

Some friends had a Jack Russell and he was very smart, and very active. The dog was very loving, great with kids, and could probably jump 6 feet in the air from a standstill. He loved to dig holes and the backyard fence simply got in his way. He was probably the toughest dog I've ever seen for his size.

Every dog is different though so take this guy home for the weekend and you'll either love him or hate him.

 

[SuepaFly]

I have a Jack Russell, he's pretty calm and lazy. He was sort of hyper until he turned 1. He's really great around other people's kids. He barks if dogs come charging at him, but he's mostly good with other dogs. You really have to take the dog to your house for a trial. Make sure it's sort of long, my dog is excited for at least an hour after meeting a dog.

 

[snapper316]

we had a jack russell for about a year or two and were able to add a cat. the cat is declawed in the front so she doesnt poke his eye out. and they are relatively nice to each other until you can see the cat eyeing up the dog waiting for it to run by and jump at him...

Required Pic

But probably one of the nicest dogs i've had loves everyone would probably run away and be happy with any family just likes people

The first time he met a cat we put the 2 together turned around for a minute heard a noise and he had the cat pinned on its back, not biting it or anything but i guess it got too close

he'll run around the house darting for about 5-10 minutes if a new person comes over though. crazy crazy

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: skyking
Generalizing about any breed will get you nowhere. You need to interview that dog, with your dog and cat.

This is what you should do. :thumbsup:

 

[BD2003]

My old roomate had a jack russell puppy. They literally never stop moving. They are always running around, jumping somewhere. I tried to hold the little thing down just to see if it could actually stand still, and it was impossible.

So, prepare to be annoyed as hell. But still adorable and fun, because it wasnt my dog.

 

[RiverDog]

Everybody seems to have the same thoughts on the JR's. I love mine but they are a handful at times. I have a couple of cats (kind of inherited them when I bought the place) and the one will hiss at him and he leaves it alone. The other one rolls over and just like was said earlier, the dog will hold it down and play with it. There was another cat around and he used to play with it as well. I did see him lift his leg and pee on it once and hurt my side from laughing. They are very loyal but do seem to have attention deficit syndrome. I also have a small dog that he doesn?t bother so some of the reports about them being aggressive don?t seem to be true. If you have the room for him to run, I would definitely recommend one. Very smart dogs, Mine keeps chasing birds, he will do this for hours but it hasn?t dawned on him that he ain?t gonna catch them since he can?t fly.:roll:

 

[snapper316]

oh mine never barks as well. unless we(yeah...my brother and i get bored..) bark at the door he'll maybe growl a little bit and bark after that.

Worst thing the little bastard does is go hide in a corner or pee uncontrollably if a thunderstorm is around (florida...great)..... might be an issue of his old owner having one of those electric fences when he was little but who knows.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: skyking
Generalizing about any breed will get you nowhere. You need to interview that dog, with your dog and cat.

So uh Mister Russel, if you gain petship from my family, do you promise not to crap all over my yard?

 

[thedarkwolf]

If you want to help out adopt another dog around the same size as your dog from the pound he takes the insane JRT too so that you clear up a space. I'm not big on having a big difference in size between dogs. Big dogs have a much harder time getting adopted anyway and JRT are popular for some reason so it shouldn't have any problem getting adopted by some poor fool.

 

[alkemyst]

Any terrier can be animal/dog aggressive....it's a general trait though...with proper socialization it will learn you and your animals are pack members.

Also never underestimate the strength of a JRT...they have been known to kill much larger animals when provoked or not.

Part of the problems the breed gets is people treat them like a maltese or some toy poodle and wonder why they are unmanagable.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: skyking
Generalizing about any breed will get you nowhere. You need to interview that dog, with your dog and cat.

Actually, with dogs, a certain amount of generalizing is warranted. There are definitely traits that certain breeds tend to have that others don't.

Edit-However, I agree that you need to get him together with your pets and see how it goes.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: skyking
Generalizing about any breed will get you nowhere. You need to interview that dog, with your dog and cat.

Actually, with dogs, a certain amount of generalizing is warranted. There are definitely traits that certain breeds tend to have that others don't.

Edit-However, I agree that you need to get him together with your pets and see how it goes.

I can tell quickly if I get the animals together. My jack gets along with any dog, for example. He is never the issue. A cat with some confidence is no problem either. if my wife was not so allergic to cats, he would probably have one around the house now.

 

[IGBT]

..I was split between chihuahua and JR and went with the chihuahua (two of em). decided the JR was too hyper. The chi's worked out great.

 

[WildHorse]

yip! midnight till dawn 7 days midnight till dawn 7 days
dig dig dig, jump up on strangers exposing you to liability risk, yip! yip! yip! dig dig dig yip! yip! yip!

yip! yip! yip! dig dig jump up on strangers exposing you to liability risk, yip! midnight till dawn 7 days

yip! midnight till dawn 7 days yip! midnight till dawn 7 days yip! midnight till dawn 7 days dig dig dig, dig dig dig, dig dig dig,

sawdust for brains yip! yip!
yip! yip! midnight till dawn 7 days midnight till dawn 7 days

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: skyking
Generalizing about any breed will get you nowhere. You need to interview that dog, with your dog and cat.

Yup... All asians live with their parents. White men can't jump.

If people picked their dogs like this... well... that would be stupid. A dog is an individual just like a person. If the three personalities get along, BINGO! You win. But you'll never know if you don't let them hang out together for a while.