Re: training and children

In Reply to: training and children
Posted by:  Alexis
Posted on:  March 29, 2001 at 22:40:54

: Will getting general training help a jack russell deal with a child under the age of 3 or is it just in there nature not to get along with small children?

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Hi, Alexis,

Training doesn't have much to do with how a JRT gets along with a child. I mean, you need to have a dog that is respectful of human beings, but even the most obedient dog may not have a lot of patience with a small child (of any breed). That being said, Jack Russells are notorious for not being particularly good with small children. SOME people end up with terriers that do okay with their small kids, but that has to do with many factors... the temperment of the dog (which cannot be trained into them... they either have a patient temperment, or they don't), the breeding behind the dog, the consistency of the owner, the activity level of the child, the maturity of the child, the amount of exercise a dog gets (a well exercised Jack Russell is a well behaved Jack Russell) and the vigilance of the owner.

You cannot train a Jack Russell to like small children anymore than you can train me to like mosquitos flying around my head. I am almost instinctively annoyed by them, I don't want them to get too close for my comfort level, and while we can both coexist in this world, I'm just not a big mosquito fan and they shouldn't be forced on me.

Hope this helps.