How do I keep a Jack Russell Terrier off my coffeetable?

Question

She constantly grabs things off the table, also how would I keep her calmed down a little, I know she's inherently hyper but dang man!

Answer 1

First off, I know that someone is going to post and say that you need to whack your dog on the nose or smack her around a bit to show her who is boss. Remember: you should never hit your dog. This can lead to fear-based aggression, dominance games, and can increase the chance of the owner getting bitten. There are many other ways to prove your dominance and train your dog!

The best way to teach your dog not to do something is to actually catch them in the act and correct them. As a trainer, I usually suggest that you sabotage your dog so that you can catch them in a controlled environment. Put your dog on her leash, put a few dog treats on the coffee table, and lead her over to them. If she shows any interest in the treats, tell her "leave it" in a stern voice. You can GENTLY jingle her leash (not pull!) to distract her if you need to. As soon as she looks away from the treats, praise her and offer her a different reward right away.

If your dog jumps up onto the table for the treats, tell her "off" in a stern voice and carefully help her down. Have a treat ready and as soon as all four paws are on the floor, praise her and offer her the reward. This is teaching her that off means paws on the floor and leads to rewards. The command can also be applied to when she jumps up on you, the couch, the bed, or puts her paws up on the door or counter. Be sure you always praise and reward as soon as she obeys and puts paws on the floor!

As for the hyperactivity, welcome to having a Jack Russell. I would suggest at least 45 minutes of pure exercise a day, excluding a walk. Walks are meant to get your dog away from the fish-bowl that is their life (the yard and the house) and to let them experience a bit of the outside world for scent, sound, and visual stimulation. Your 45 minutes of exercise should be tasks focused on wearing her out. For example, you could throw a tennis ball, kick a soccer ball around, go for a run, or play tug-o-war. Wearing your pup out will help keep her calm the rest of the time.

Another option would be to purchase a stress relieving supplement. There are some that are pheromone based like ComfortZone that will plug into a wall outlet in order to provide a continous release of the calming pheromone. Others come in pill form, like Pet-Eze. Most of these products can be found at any large pet specialty stores, or online.

Hope this helps you out a bit!

Answer 2

I've got a Jack Russell so I know where you are coming from. The most important thing for a Jack is that they have AT LEAST 45 minutes a day of exercise. That means playing ball, running, walking etc. My dog used to walk 4-5 miles a day (until she was diagnosed with patella luxation.) After that they are usually too tired to get into things. If she is still acting badly I would try a squirt bottle. I'm warning you though, most Jacks are smart enough to only get into things when you aren't around so the squirt bottle probably wont work. My suggestion would be to not leave anything on the coffee table that you don't want her to get into. If she does it when you are around a firm NO will work. After that you should give her one of her own toys to play with. Eventually she will learn that she should only play with her toys, not with whats on the coffee table.

Answer 3

No. This isn't the sort of breed to be living out - and I think you do have some quite cold Winters in Serbia, as well as heat in Summer? Also, if you have any close neighbours, you'll have complaints. From my experience, these little dogs can be unbelieveable noisy especially if left outside, alone. If mum isn't happy about you having a dog, and keeping him indoors where all family pets should be, then with respect, wait. Once you are old enough to move out, then you can have your companion living in with you. Add Jackies DIG.

Answer 4

Keep a spray bottle (like a Windex bottle) full of water nearby and every time she attempts to touch or grab the table, spray her with it. This will probably work better the younger she is -- if this pattern has been going on for years and years, you might need to hire the Dog Whisperer!

Answer 5

Not sure but maybe you can move the chairs away from the table when you are not eating so she can not use them to jump up. If she can jump all the way from the floor to the table, then maybe you can put the chairs on top of the table to block her from jumping up and only take them down before eating.

Answer 6

You could keep a squirt bottle full of water handy and when she tries to jump on the table, squirt her with the water. She will get the message. Just don't squirt her in the eyes or ears.

Answer 7

Set mouse traps all along the edge of the coffee table. After getting her nose and paws snapped a couple times, she should get the hint.

Answer 8

Get a squirt bottle or toy water gun and give her a good spray when she does something wrong and tell her NO! loud but not yelling - now if it turns out she likes the water I don't know but that's how I trained my puppy.
Hope this helps

Answer 9

get a spray bottle with water and put all kinds of treats on the table. when ever she goes for one squirt her in the face and reprimand her - (bark growl whatever) if you consistently do this she will learn never discipline in anger think of her as your baby really how many times did your mom tell you things before they sank in.

Answer 10

Sit her down in your lap and then turn on your television set and watch 10 hours of Frazier with that hyper dog of theirs and maybe you both could learn something from it..