TOP TEN JACK RUSSELL TRAINING MISTAKES · Also, your dog may be better motivated by something other than food treats. There are other ways to motivate your dog more effectively depending

TOP TEN JACK RUSSELL TRAINING MISTAKES

The Ten Simple Things That Can Sabotage

Your Training Efforts

By Tom McSherry www.jack-russell-lover.com

Copyright 2010

http://www.jack-russell-lover.com/

Top Ten Jack Russell Training Mistakes 1

AUTHOR’S NOTE This material is copyright. You are free to copy and redistribute this ebook, as long as you:

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TOP TEN TRAINING MISTAKES JACK RUSSELL OWNERS MAKE

10. Feeding and exercising at the wrong time. Many Jack Russell owners start out with the best intentions when it comes to training, but they run into a wall that stops them in their tracks – their dog won’t even stay still for five seconds, let alone sit on command. Sound familiar? Hyperactivity is a common problem in Jack Russell training, and it happens when you try to train a dog that is carrying too much pent-up energy. You need to time your exercise regime just right so that by training time your dog is not too hyper, but also not too tired. What does feeding time have to do with training? Well, your dog’s level of focus is closely tied to how hungry he is. If you’re trying to tempt your dog with treats just after she’s had dinner, she’s unlikely to cooperate. Also, if she’s too hungry at training time she’s likely to become distracted easily, as hunger makes it harder for a dog to focus. This is of particular importance for Jack Russells, because there are typically a thousand other things in the environment that they would rather pay attention to. And that brings me to the next huge mistake owners make when training their dogs.

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9. Training in the wrong environment. Now, there’s no hard and fast “right” environment to train in. But there are right and wrong environments for your dog’s level of training and attention span. What I mean is, if you try to start basic obedience training out in the back yard surrounded by trees full of chirping birds, you’re not likely to be very successful. As soon as she hears and sees those birds, her prey-hunting drive will kick in and you’ll lose her attention. You must control the level of distractions in the environment at all times. This is also the key to training dogs who are perfectly obedient at home, but suddenly can’t seem to hear a word you say at the dog park. 8. Not building a strong bond with the dog. This is absolutely essential. If your dog doesn’t feel like you two are both on the same team, she won’t pay any attention to you. This is just the way Jack Russells are as a breed. They don’t respond well to any attempts to dominate them or force them to behave. Your best training results will come from building a strong bond and friendship with your pet. 7. Not laying a solid foundation of basic obedience. Sit, Stay, Down, Stand, Off, No. These are the absolute minimum commands your dog should know. Now, you might be thinking, “My dog won’t stop tearing up the furniture. How is teaching these commands going to change that?” You’ll be amazed at the side-effects that a solid foundation in basic obedience have on all the other behaviors of your dog. For one thing, drilling through these commands will make the bond between you and

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your dog a lot stronger and make her see you as his leader, so that when it comes to dealing with problem behaviors, you have a lot more control. Plus, when you train your dog in basic obedience, you may even start to find that many of those annoying problem behaviors disappear on their own. Why? Because your dog is starting to learn what is and isn’t acceptable in the human world, as opposed to the dog world. What we call “problem behaviors” are really just the result of your dog following his canine instincts, instead of acceptable behaviors taught by a human who she sees as a leader.

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6. Not providing enough mental stimulation. This is critical. Jack Russells were bred to hunt foxes, and foxes are smart. So, Jack Russells had to be smarter. They are thinking dogs. So it’s very important that you provide lots of mental stimulation as well as physical exercise. Some people will take their Jack Russell for two long walks and wonder why he’s still full of energy at the end of it. It’s because mental stimulation is also needed to wear these dogs out. Have you ever done a long day’s work at something that was mentally challenging and found yourself totally exhausted at the end, even though you may have been sitting at a desk all day? The same thing is true of Jack Russells. If you don’t wear out the body and the mind, that pent-up mental energy will come out in other ways – probably ways you don’t like, such as destroying household objects and furniture. 5. Not exercising enough. Not only is the timing of exercise important, but also the amount of exercise your dog gets. As I mentioned, Jack Russells were bred for fox hunting. Now, fox hunting is a very long, drawn-out affair and takes place over long distances, so the Jack Russell had to have a lot of stamina. That’s why these dogs are so hard to exhaust. Unfortunately, walking often just isn’t enough for most Jack Russells, unless you’re happy to spend a few hours a day walking. But you will tend to get tired before your dog does, and we don’t all have that much spare time on our hands. You need some techniques that require little effort on your part, but which wear your dog out quickly. This alone will take care of many problem behaviors. I’d say over a quarter of problem behaviors in Jack Russells are the result of boredom coming from a lack of physical exercise.

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4. Being inconsistent. Inconsistency will kill even the best training efforts. There are two elements to being consistent in training. The first is to always use the same command for the same action. For instance, you shouldn’t train your dog to go to the toilet on command with the word “Toilet” and then start trying to use the word “Pee.” You will only succeed in confusing and frustrating your dog. Choose your commands and stick with them. The other element is consistency in your training schedule. Even if you don’t have much spare time, you should be able to fit in a little bit of training at a regular time every day. Teaching a command and then waiting a week until the next training session is not going to do your dog much good. Jack Russells thrive on having a routine.

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3. Using the wrong motivation. This is another huge one. If you are trying to motivate your dog with a treat he doesn’t even want, you can’t expect to get results. Also, your dog may be better motivated by something other than food treats. There are other ways to motivate your dog more effectively depending on his personality. Each dog is an individual and your training approach needs to be specific to your dog’s personality. 2. Trying to train from a position of weakness. You can have the best training method in the world and the most motivating treats on the market, but if your dog doesn’t see you as his leader, you won’t succeed in getting him to obey you. Dogs are pack animals. They either need to follow a leader, or be a leader. There’s a lot of nonsense in many dog training books that suggests a dog’s pack hierarchy is the same as that of wolves – this is not true. But, dogs do have a hierarchy, and they do obey a leader. Now, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about establishing yourself as a dog’s leader, whether you are training a new puppy or you have an older “problem dog” that you want to reform. Here’s a tip: You don’t want to be dominant over your dog. There’s a big difference between dominating and leading. The difference is that dominating implies making your dog do something, whereas leading implies making your dog want to do something. You can’t dominate a Jack Russell – end of story. Trying to will only make any problems you already have worse.

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1. Using negative reinforcement. That means punishing your dog. Harsh punishment just doesn’t work on Jack Russells. It’s not in their nature to be put off something they want to do just because it might end in physical pain. As I said, they were bred to hunt foxes. They had to go down a hole and face an angry fox in its den. They had to stay there at risk of bodily injury, or even death. This is what they were bred to do. So does a harsh punishment put them off something when they set their mind to accomplish it? Nope. If anything, it just makes them more determined. The secret to getting your Jack Russell to behave is to reward the behaviors that you want to see more of, rather than harshly punishing the behaviors you want to see less. To get rid of a problem behavior, you have to create a training scenario where you can reward your dog for doing the right thing.

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Now, there is a place for punishment in training your Jack Russell, especially with dogs that are very aggressive. But these are not the typical harsh punishments that involve hurting your dog. These punishments simply involve taking away something your dog wants. This is the correct way to punish an especially difficult JRT, but most dogs will never require this type of training. Does all that sound a bit daunting? Sounds like a lot of hard work, doesn’t it? That’s what I thought too when I set out to learn all this. So that’s why I’m saving my fellow Jack Russell owners a whole lot of time and energy. I’ve figured out how to do all this stuff the right way. I’ve done the hours of study and the painstaking trial and error, so you don’t have to. THE JACK RUSSELL LOVER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TRAINING In my new, full-length (158-page) ebook, I explain in detail how to correct all of these mistakes. I tell you how to get a picture of your dog’s individual personality and understand why your dog behaves the way it does. Plus, I explain exactly how to deal with those “problem dogs” that resist training at every turn. The tips and techniques in this book will completely transform your relationship with your dog, freeing up more spare time and relieving all the stress that misbehaving pets can cause. It’s easy to follow – anyone can use this information to bring about improvements in their dog’s behavior straight away. No matter how much or how little you know about training, this guide can work for you. Find out more about "The Jack Russell Lover's Ultimate Guide To Training" and order your copy today. All your Jack Russell training

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http://www.jack-russell-lover.com/Report

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problems can be gone in a few minutes with just a few clicks and a quick download. I hope this information helps make your life easier. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely,


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TOP TEN JACK RUSSELL TRAINING MISTAKES · Also, your dog may be better motivated by something other than food treats. There are other ways to motivate your dog more effectively depending

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