When I told my mum Russellโs sass, determination, independence, boldness, energy – letโs face it, outright naughty behaviour – was standard for his breed, she said she needed to Google that ๐
And aha, itโs all true.
Like literally, I just reached down from my perch to pat Russ and turned back to typing so he โdugโ aka scratched the heck outta my toes (yoooch!!) to get my attention back!!
Looked at me, then walked over and scratched the office door to be let out of the room, since you know, he realised heโd gotten all he could from me – and someone else is in the kitchen.
โJACK RUSSELLS ARE THE CHEEKIEST DOGS EVER.
– Says EVERY Jack Russell owner on the planet.
And I’ve got the dog park reviews, street walking random comments propelled at me and the Google articles to prove it.
Seriously.
As a teeny tiny little guy right on my heel, Russell and I would trot around the beach (him!) looking cute as pie, loyal as can be and people would swoon over him. As soon as I mentioned the breed Jack Russell Terrier, Iโd get a look. The same look, in every bystander’s eye.
โOhhhhhh. Well, good luck with THAT.โ
โOh no is he.โ
โOh dear, youโve got a hard road.โ
โPrepare yourself!โ
And as he grew into his paws a friend of my mums saw a photograph of him one date claiming, โHe looks like a Devil!โ
Devil dog is now one of his nicknames.
Let’s reframe that negative mindset about the Jack Russell’s challenging character.
I do like a positive reframing of this judgment of the little Jack’s character, and this article from loveyourdog.com nails it with their statement:
โThe Jack Russell is a livewire, insatiably curious, and has an extremely high prey drive. Jack Russells are notorious barkers and diggers, and they are also accomplished escape artists. That’s not naughty or abnormal behavior; that’s just a Jack Russell being a Jack Russell!โ
www.loveyourdog.com , 19 Aug 2021
Meanwhile, to keep you updated on the real Russ right now, Iโve had to pause my keyboard tapping to bring him back inside because 7am on a Sunday morning he is out there barking his voice out.
He is now incessantly chewing, biting, and getting harder and harder on my toes. My reaction may have been slow, hence the harder, since this has kinda become our norm.
Took me a sec to recognise I need to insert discipline.
Ugh. Not my personality style to have to keep at that, thatโs for sure! lol
The articles that confirm –
a challenging breed is thou lil terror, I mean terrier.
- Further internet digging shows that Country Life UK nominated a Jack Russell as โBritainโs Naughtiest Dog of 2019.โ
- Wiki How use the descriptors: high energy, and stubborn in their 14 Step care instructions for the breed.
- This conversation has owners sharing about the tendency of the breed to escape, run away and hunt prey.
- A site called Terrible Terrier (LOL!) shares detailed insightโs into the breed including a list of 5 Terribly interesting facts, including notes on aggression, digging, and the need for more than usual exercise.
The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America recommend reading about the history of the breed before purchasing your own little guy, to ensure they donโt end up at the rescue shelter. I think this is sound advice, that, erm, we didnโt do ourselves.. Whoops..
8 Reasons why we adore our Jack Russell!
To end Iโd like to turn this article upside down and add my positive words.
Because we do love our devil dog, although we would have him any other way, slightly, but you know, we must celebrate who he is now and how he comes.
Those celebration-worthy bits include:
- Russellโs energy to play with my son for as long as my son is interested because letโs face it – the human will be the one to wear out first, not the dog.
- This energy means I can have a small dog that does long runs with me. I wanted a jogging companion and although we are working on the nonstop sniff pulling (Hey he is only 10 months old still), he can do the distance.
- Russell is super loyal and in love with my son. He was obviously sad when my boy left for the holidays and quite obviously joyous when he returned.
- We wonโt ever have a mouse in the house again with this little guy around.
- Heโs small and can come on our road trip adventures.
- This size also means he is one of the more inexpensive breeds to feed and care for, her, smaller poops too!
- He adores children, from the moment Russ laid eyes on my son as a wee little pup that was it, he was in love. And from living with a kid this dog adorrrrres kids, like cry your eyes out till they pat me admiration.
- He loves meeting other dogs at the dog park because we got him socialising regularly from a young age. So remember, a lot of these negative traits can be curved by getting on top of them early.
So, despite all the truths about the energetic doggy-ADD-like (Attention Deficit Disorder) tendencies we know our lives are full of so much more joy and love with Russell around.
Did I mention, entertainment? So so entertaining. ๐
Our Jack Russell adores children, most of all my son. The leg up in the car is no accident, this is how he props himself every time we roll. hah
