Re: Cats (again . . . )

In Reply to: Cats (again . . . )
Category:   Behavior Problems
Posted by:  Mary Paddock
Posted on:  February 20, 2003 at 11:35:36

: I wish I'd found you sooner. I have been the owner of a 12lb JRT/min Dachshund mix for about a year. He displays almost exclusively JRT traits--except for one. He is absolutely wonderful with small children. I don't think nipping or biting a human being has ever crossed his mind.

: Scrappy belonged to another family for the first year and a half of his life. During this year he was allowed to run loose unaltered, was nearly killed by coyotes not just once, but twice, was lost on more than one occasion and nearly run over too many times to count. The owners finally got themselves another dog and decided to re-home Scrappy. Great people, but not experienced owners . . .

: I fell in love with Scrappy's brains, his sweet spirit, his boldness and his loyalty. I truly believed most of his problems could be "fixed" with firm consistent training (I am not an inexperienced dog-owner, but Scappy makes me feel that way) and adequate exercise. I was not prepared for his consistently terrible recall or his ability to escape out any opening at light-speed (bolts out the door at every opportunity, scales fences, digs and so on), nor his penchant for dead things (He nearly died of rabbit fever from a road killed rabbit that we caught him eating during an escape last summer). Also, after a year of living with no incidents with my five cats (even has a feline friend or two), I was also not prepared for his recent attempt (and near success) at killing one of our cats (he slipped out a very briefly open door late at night, chased the also escaped cat up under the house . . . ) I now understand that these are typical JRT problems. I've neutered him, housebroken him, taught him leash manners, and several involved tricks. However, I can not seem to get decent recall and even though we are not on a busy road (well-off of it, in the woods, in fact), this worries me endlessly.

: Scrappy is currently "under house arrest" (drags a line at all times). I am a big believer in dogs earning everything they get. The "you're grounded" program is a daily part of our four dog household of a GSD, a rescued bloodhound-mix, a rescued beagle mix, and Scrappy. Over-all, our dogs are well-behaved and pleasant to have around. The biggest thing that has changed in Scrappy's life--since the cat attack---is that he is no longer allowed on the furniture, or in our beds or (for long periods)in our laps. We are policing him much more diligently and expecting much more from him in hopes that our approval will mean more to him. The issue isn't so much with the cat (which we understand as not only JRT, but the result of a dog running loose) as it is with his bolting out the door and, though he clearly hears his name, even looks at us when we get in his path, chosing not to come when he's called.

: Sorry it took so long to get here, but this is the question: (And please know, that I don't typically advise punative methods of training). Would a shock-collar help us with our recall problem with this little dog? I have a couple of dog-training friends who would be happy to teach us how to use it. I don't want to create phobias where there aren't any and I'm afraid that this expensive solution may make no difference, but on the other hand, I'm a little desperate for a solution.

: Thanks in advance for listening to this tirade and any advice.

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Response:

Dear Mary,

As you have discovered, being an experienced dog owner doesn't necessarily mean that the training methods that worked for the other breeds will also work for a JRT. I truly appreciate that you adopted Scrappy from a BAD situation; I suspect you saved his life. And while I also appreciate that you have seen to his health and manners, I'm not so sure that you fully understand what you're dealing with.

First, all JRTs have the instinct to hunt though WHAT they hunt can vary from a fuzzy toy to the family cat to pretty much anything that runs. Second, JRTs are extremely smart and learn quickly which means that they pick up on every little thing we do or don't do. Third, while JRTs certainly love and adore their humans, our "approval" ranks, at best, second to chasing prey.

Teaching Scrappy to come when called requires that you understand and accept his history -- not only because he's part JRT but also because he spent the first 18 months of life doing what HE wanted to do. Before you use a shock-collar, I suggest you try some basic obedience training. If you can teach him tricks, you can teach him to sit/stay long enough to close an open door and to come to you when you call him.