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Eddie

A friend of mine emailed me for some advice about her dog Eddie, a 3-year-old, non-neutered Jack Russell (Parsons Terrier) and Rat Terrier mix. She said he used to stay in the yard with them, but lately has been prone to running off.

"Is it spring fever?" she asked.

No. It is definitely not spring fever.

The first question to ask yourself if youre encountering such a problem is, have I done any active training, using a positive reward method, to teach my dog that hes supposed to stay in my yard?

A dog does not inherently know that his territory has boundaries. Thats the first thing that needs to be taught. Secondly, he needs to be proofed against any and all distractions that he may encounter while in the yard.

What do I mean, proofed against distractions? Well, how about rabbits, deer, birds, other dogs, cats, people walking by the road, etc. If he saw a rabbit in the backyard and it took off running into who-knows-where, what would he do? Dog law says hed probably chase it. That much is inherent. And so, you have to train against it. Usually, you do this with a recall command. And remember, whatever youre asking your dog to do has to be more attractive to him than whatever it is you dont want him doing. So ask yourself, does coming to you for a dry dog treat compare in the least to chasing wildly and freely after a bunny rabbit? Probably not. Chasing a bunny is probably a 10 on most dogs scale of awesome things to do; getting a dry dog treat from you in exchange for coming when called is probably like a 4.

This means you need to activate the prey drive in order to train against the prey drive. I followed instructions in Culture Clash (book by Jean Donaldson) and used a brand-spankin new toy — a stuffed animal rabbit, just to be cute! — to train the recall. I put Sensi in a sit-stay, starting at about 5-feet away from me, and when I called him to come, I spread my legs out (and brace for impact!) and tossed the toy through my legs and behind me, creating a tunnel for Sensi to run through in order to chase after his toy. Now, youre activating the prey drive while teaching the recall command. I gradually moved him and practiced at different distances. Then, Id surprise him while he was just moseying around in the backyard. Then, we practiced the same exercise in the front yard, the side yard, etc.

But theres a problem with this training, and that is the fact that it relies on your presence to call the dog. If you want to be able to just let your dog outside and feel confident hell stay within the confines of your yard, its not going to help. You can instill the strongest recall in the world, but if youre not there to give the command, the dog is going to do as he pleases.

Personally, Im not sure its possible to proof against every distraction that could possibly show up while in the yard. You cant control the world outside your house, right? So how can you be sure youve proofed against every possible situation?

Because of this, I do not condone the theory that you can just let your dog out to do his thing, totally unrestrained, and trust him to follow human rules that he really doesnt know and hasnt been taught. If he spots a person walking a dog in front of your house, how is he supposed to know that its rude to walk over to them and introduce himself? How does he know that hes not supposed to follow that scent of rotting flesh from a dead raccoon deep in the forest? He doesnt. He just doesnt.

Fortunately, theres a myriad of solutions out there to help you keep your dog in the yard — fences, zip-lines, chains, invisible fences, etc.

But, why is that Eddie is doing this now, as a 3-year-old, when he has no history of doing this before? Its hard to say why, but this is something I often try to express to dog owners: why matters very little. Why is not necessarily going to let you know how to fix the problem. What you think may be "why" may have nothing to do with the behavior problem at issue anyhow, and we cant really check with our dogs to find out whether were right or wrong. So go ahead and muse about the "whys" but understand theyre not critical. The critical element is finding a way to fix the behavior problem. Why the behavior problem exists may or may not be something you ever figure out, so its best to put that question in the rearview mirror and drive on forward for the sake of solving the issue at stake.


Either way, the fact that Eddie is not neutered is going to contribute SIGNIFICANTLY to whether he can learn to stick around. Non-neutered male dogs are the most likely to roam and the most likely to cause trouble while theyre out and about. You cannot turn off the sex drive on a non-neutered male (unless you neuter him, of course!) and being as such, he has an inherent, instinctual need to find a mate. And dogs will travel miles to find one.

In addition to this, you have take breed into consideration. He is part Jack Russell and all terrier and what does that mean, folks? He has energy that will never wane, a fierce independent streak and a strong prey drive. This is a breed that needs not just daily exercise, but VIGOROUS daily exercise. He also needs some good mental draining exercises too to satisfy the independent hunter in him — hide and seek in a sand box (bury toys, make him find) is an ideal exercise for these breeds, which originally were used to dig varmint out of the ground. Treat dispensing balls, hide-and-seek with treats inside the house, agility and similar activities are also excellent outlets for these dogs.

Ive known at least one person in my life who has adopted a Jack Russell, only to find they cant handle the breed and wind up giving it back to the shelter. Dont let the size and cuteness fool you — these guys have some serious energy. As always, the first step in improving your dogs behavior is to make sure its needs are met. With a Jack Russell, that can be a challenge.

Of course, nothing is impossible. Check out this story about a North Oakland woman who trains her Jack Russells for agility: Stray brings home luck

And, heres some previous posts about why its so darn important to keep your dogs in your yard:
Another good reason to keep your dog in your yard
Dont let your dog go
Does anyone use a leash?

There are many ways you can reward your dog other than giving him his favorite treat. Generally, the more reliably your dog has learned a behavior, the more you can give him rewards in place of foods. For dogs who love certain things more than a treat, rewards can become a more important primary motivator than food. Many dogs will turn up their noses at treats if you offer him a game of catch.

Below are 10 examples of great rewards that you can give to your wonderful pet:

1. Chasing a ball or a Frisbee

2. Playing with other dogs

3. Chewing a chew toy

4. Digging a hole

5. Going outside or coming inside

6. Playing tug-of-war or chase

7 Taking a walk or going for a car ride

8. Swimming

9. Chasing birds in a safe environment

10.Anything else your dog loves to do

To "make a Champion," or, more correctly, become a Champion of Record, a dog must win a total of fifteen points. These fifteen points must include two major shows and be won under at least three different judges. A major show is a three, four, or five-point show, and since the maximum number that can be won is five, it must take even a top winning dog at least three shows to finish his championship.

Insisting that a dog win two major shows convinces us that the dog is capable of winning at shows where, because enough dogs are entered, you can reasonably expect to find an entry representative of the breed. Points are awarded to the dog who goes Winners Dog and to the bitch who goes Winners Bitch - and to these two only.

There are five regular classes in each sex in each breed: Puppy, Novice, Bred by Exhibitor, American Bred, and Open. The winner of each of these classes competes for Winners Dog or Winners Bitch. For example: the winner of the Puppy Dog Class, the winner of the Novice Dog Class, the Bred by Exhibitor Class, the American Bred Class, and the winner of the Open Dog Class will, immediately after the judging of the Open Dog Class, come into the ring to compete for Winners Dog and Reserve Winners Dog. Then the classes for bitches will begin. The winners of the Puppy Bitch Class, Novice Bitch Class, Bred by Exhibitor Bitch, American Bred, and the winner of the Open Bitch Class will, immediately after the judging of the Open Bitch Class, compete for Winners Bitch and Reserve Winners Bitch.

The judge, immediately after judging winners, also names a Reserve Winners Dog and a Reserve Winners Bitch, and this dog, the Reserve Winner, will receive the points if for any reason, usually infraction of certain rules of eligibility, the points are taken away from the winner. The Winners Dog and the Winners Bitch, immediately after the judging of Reserve Winners Bitch automatically go into the Best of Breed Class, the class in which Champions are entered, and will then compete for Best of Breed together with any champions of that breed that may be entered in the show.

Immediately after choosing Best of Breed, the judge will choose his Best of Winners from the aforementioned Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in the event that neither of these two was placed Best of Breed. After selecting Best of Winners, the judge will choose a Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed.