Wife thinks it's time

To get a dog. She found a Jack Russell and that's one breed we had talked about so its probably going to happen but figured I'd see what experiences y'all have had. Let's hear you opinions on Jack's.

Here is the one she wants.

Had a Doc Russell it was a great dog they have grit. Some can be very hyper.

We have one and he's a great little dog . Have a tendency to shed .

Thats a cute pup!!!

I don't have the energy for one of those.

But, to each her own!

Have Fun!

Hi energy. Super smart(sometimes to smart). As mentioned plenty of grit. My old jack is 14yr old an half blind and totally deaf but still has a nose

Very, high strung dogs

She likes it it's a done deal even if everyone said they were worse than having a cat.
I have never had one so cant comment personally but hav heard they ate great high energy dogs.
It's a cute puppy enjoy it.

I grew up hunting/raising jack russels. My family uses them for den hunting for fox in the winter and groundhogs in the summer. Very high energy dogs that are smart for the most part. They can be stubborn as they have one thing on their mind and that's finding something to kill. Tons of fun though if you're at a place you can let them run and hunt. They wont back down from anything and have no hesitation locking on to a nasty fox or coon and they will hold their own!

All of the above and more. I would not trust them around very little kids, do not let them go nose to nose. JMO

Tougher and faster than a MB550, and will bite just like an MB. I would want to see the parents before getting the puppy and if they are nuts I would rethink it. Jacks feed off of the environment they are in. If the environment is total kaos they will be crazy, but if its laid back and structured they will most likely be laid back. Kids and cats make them crazy. Mine (Moonshine) killed a cat twice her size, and I found 7 pieces of cat. They can go from asleep to like a chainsaw with a stuck throttle in 1.5 seconds. Getting the Jack as a puppy gives you a chance to limit the craziness versus getting an older dog someone ruined when a pup.

Heres Ours, He is pretty laid back in the house and we got him yard trained from early on so he is great to have around.

I’ve had one before. High strung for sure but was a good dog. Now have an Australian shepherd and just as high energy but great dog. Needs exercise daily. Great baby sitter when the grandkids come over. Wherever they are he’s right by them.

Old penny dog. She has seniority over the kids lol

Have had 2. First one died of cancer. The one I have now is six years old. Two of the best dogs I have ever had. Sleeps with my wife and I. The one I have now grew up around little grandkids and is very good around kids.

Long passed but I always said I wouldn't give him up for a million bucks or pay a plug nickel for another. BEST DOG I EVER HAD! Knew 5 seconds on what I was thinking before I even knew. Very intelligent but was the hardest dog I've ever trained (stubborn) Had a huge heart and always kept me laughing! Sure miss that little guy!

How could you not buy that cute pup?

Here is my 15 pound turd. Love my jacks, this is Dolly, ruff coat and must have a bit of something else in there, as she has silkier hair than most ruff coats. Little ball of fire and fearless, and great around kids and people. They are. a hoot, enjoy your new family member!

I've had a couple of JRT's

Great dogs , very intelligent. I was able to housebreak my first one in several days. The way I was able to do that was bribery. I took the dog out very frequently at first , if the dog did its business , it immediately got a kibble of food. By the 3-4th day it learned how to 'fake it'. She would squat and look at you for the food. That is how smart they are.

Some idioms about JRT's -
'A big dog in a small package ' they can take on bigger 2X-3X sized dogs and win consistently.
'Happiness is owning a JRT-Happiness is being owned by a JRT' They will very quickly become the Alpha animal in the pack. Even if the other animals in your house have been there for years and are larger , the JRT becomes the alpha. Almost Chuck Norris type status , you are the alpha in your household just because the JRT lets you be the alpha.

The neighbor across the street had one. Every morning my wife went to get in her car, the dog would jump their fence, cross the road, and bite her.
A few mornings I found myself siding with the JRT.

stubborn headstrong dogs, after the first three years they calm down somewhat, but not much,lol. they do not understand their size and will take on just about anything, mine has gone down badger holes and come back out with some very mad critters, they are also very territorial and too protective. i love mine, she's awesome, but next dog will absolutely not be a jrt.

Well we went and checked him out parents not on sight good looking dog but was told dad has eye problems. Left and the wife got a rash from either the dog or the shampoo as he had just had a bath. Doesn't look like we will be getting that dog but now that My Wife and The Boy have it in their heads the hunt is on.

The fella I bought pheasants from also raised JRTs. When the flight pens were emptied, he’d let loose the dogs inside to kill rats that were living there. Those thing would go crazy....digging, chasing, flinging rats in the air. In a few hours, there were 40 dead rats to gather up.

look into a nice black Labrador mix from a shelter.

they come in two styles....lots of energy and lazy as "heck".

oh yeah...the puppies CHEW!

Yeah we are looking for a medium at most sized dog but one with at least some prey drive. I dont really care if it's a mutt just dont want a house only dog. I'm not gonna feed another animal who doesn't have a job.

One white foot buy him two white feet try him three white feet be on the sly four white feet pass him buy but I don't hold with that (True Grit).

regardless of what you choose...please look at several shelters.

bunch of really good canines who need a good home!

all of ours have been shelter dogs, and with the right love, ALL have been GREAT companions!

edit: the last two have/had white toes on more than one foot.

We have a German shepherd and a tri color boarder collie. The boarder collie looks more like an Australian shepherd in color. She is a great dog had killed groundhogs, will not leave baby animals sides watching over them like a protector. Chicks,kittens, bunnies, it doesn't matter. She is good with the kids and the most spoiled dog we have ever had. Very smart. Loves to run. We run them around the farm in the gator. When the Germans shepherd is done and out that little boarder collie is just getting started. She has no bottom. I recommend them


The german shepherd is larger than you want. Is not nearly as smart .she is a better watch dog. But the barking at every noise outside dose get annoying at times. She is much more intimidating when strangers are at the door and that's why we bought her for my daughter. I couldn't tell my 10 year old daughter she couldn't go for a walk and run the local ditches and water ways exploring. I also could not legally have her pack a hand gun with her. So I figured a nice large dog would make a good deterrent to any with I'll intentions.

Was looking at mtn feists too and am probably leaning that way the temperament seems to be better on average over JRT's. We live in town but have a big yard and friends have small kids not baby's but very young. I have no direct knowledge of either breed but reading about them the feists look a bit better for our house.

Opinions?

They are popular squirrel dogs. I have wanted one for a while but I'm gone from home half a month so.it wouldn't really be my dog. It would be the family's. The wife has enough to take car of. On top of that I would not have enough time to hunt it hard enough same reasons I don't have beagles.

Mines full of energy. Loves my little man and won't back down from any dog no matter the size. Only bad thing is she sheds like crazy! Especially when she went in heat. She would come inside and in 5 minutes I would have enough hair on my lap to make another dog!. One of the best pups I have ever owned.

Guess I will throw my nickle in on this.

Growing up we had 3 that I can think of. One my Mom got as a put. She ended up as a boob. Mostly a lap dog. Very high energy tho. I did have to dig her out of a rabbit/woodchuck hole once. Rather laid back for the most part as she got older. She was a small short haired one.

The next two were gotten at a couple years old. One was a small medium haired one. She took to my Dad. He couldn't move with out her being there with him. She also loved to hunt. She learned real quick that when I grabbed a gun or put on my orange I was going hunting. She would find a way out of the house and find me on the other side of the swamp. That or she would find me out shooting where she would try to dig up the bullets or jump up in front of the gun to catch the bullet while your were trying to shoot. She also loved it when we would set the trap up to shoot clays. You had to sit there with a long stick to keep her back from it or she would grab the bird out of the trap. More than once she got hit by the trap. One time she was on the dozer with Dad and they ran over a yellow jackets nest. She sat on his lap biting at them little buggers. Dad had to toss her to the ground so she wouldn't get stung any more. Dad road the dozer out of that mess. She was laid up for a few days. As much as I hated that dang dog then I sure due wish I could go hunting with her again. Out of all the dogs my Mom had that is the only one that I can say that about. Her passion for hunting and shooting was only equaled by mine.

The third one was one of the bigger ones with short hair. Again gotten when she was 3-5 years old. Not a bad dog but one that I would keep a very close eye on if there were kids around (and mine were often). She never went after them but she was very territorial. She growl and snarl if you got by her 'stuff'. A swift swat and she was back to normal. She hated cats. She would do whatever it took to get one if she saw it. She also had a quirk about touching her butt. You couldn't pet her hind quarters or she would go after you. She wasn't fond of being picked up either.

Thanks everyone this will probably be a bit of a long process but My Wife and I are not ones to jump into things without planning, and I like the personal experiences shared on this sight so keep them coming and if anyone knows another breed that is smallish has at least some prey drive I am all ears.

I have a 14 month old mountain feist. Smart as a tack, is either going 100 mph or sleeping. has so far been a pretty good squirrel dog. He is great with people once he settles down. He does like to jump up on folks when they first show up. I am getting that out of him fairly well. His worse problem is, he wants to hump everything. Drives me nuts and getting him to stop has been a chore.

Like I said though, he is great with people overall. he was very easily house broke, and although hard headed he learns about anything real fast. Just for fun I have taught him to go get my house shoes every night. Didn't take but about a week and he would see me taking my boots off and take off for my house shoes. My wife can't believe it.

He will fight about any critter he catches, but it takes him forever to get the upper hand on most of them.

I have had many dogs and I will put him up at the top or very near the top of all of them.

They eat other dogs?

Thatt's funny stuff there Crager, but all true. My trapline dog, is half jagt and half airedale. great dog and won't back down from any coyote or critter, but is submissive (most of the time) with the little turd. Dolly rules the roost, and the one I had before was the same. I really like the part you wrote, "happiness is being owned by a jrt"!

Here is zip she is the best dog I have ever owned let me rephrase that she is the best dog I have ever had the pleasure of sharing time with. I didn't pick her she chose me the day I went to pick up a pup from the litter I had some others in mind to get. Matter of fact the people that had the dog's sent me some pictures and I had mind made up and she just showed me she was going home with me.

My Jack's are awesome.