The good news (bad news? lol) is that I quit my job (it was really crappy and the pay was absolute minimum, not a penny above what law says is bare min.).

Starting tuesday I will have ample free time to train my (now 2 months and 28 days) puppy, Kimi, to go where she should, and starting from September 19th, one week after her last vaccine shot, I can start taking her outside and teaching her that is preferable to go outside rather than inside!

Anyone have any advice on how to teach her to let me know when she needs to go so I can take her out?

Also, I'm not sure if this is normal, but ever since yesterday or the day before, she started doing the "curious ears look" that is so typical in JRTs. Before her ears where always sort of tucked back, like she was afraid or alert. I'm not sure if it's an age thing or if she is finally comfortable in her new home (she's been here only 3 weeks so far!), but it makes me extremely happy, as that is the trait I love the most about JRTs, the extremely cute "curious ears".

And also, just as a funny thing, I noticed that if I scratch her back from back to front, that is, against the direction of her hair, she will shake as if she was wet and shaking the water. It's so cute when she does it!

All in all, I'm extremely happy with my pup. After some frustration, I armed myself with tons of patience, and followed your incredibly valuable advice (not letting her see me cleaning up after her seems to have done the trick somehow!), and now I got a puppy that absolutely adores me, she will furiously wag her little stumpy tail whenever she sees me, and will walk with me wherever I go.

I just love her so, so, SO much!

And I thank you deeply for your advice! I'll keep practicing and hopefully I'll get a 100% success rate on the potty trainning!

Think it was about a week ago I wrote about Maggie having swollen nipples within a few days of finishing her season, well over the few days they seemed to get a bit bigger and had hard little lumps underneath, being worse and fuller near her hind quarters, I discovered it is quite common, but did ring the vet who said it may be a phantom pregnancy, he said to see how it goes and take her in if necessary, her behaviour is a little odd, she is sleeping much more than normal, and is very clingy, she has times when she playful and active, and still happy enough to go on her walks, but likes curling up and sleeping much more than she did, she seems to be drinking just as much as normal, still enjoys her saucers of tea, her eating is not much different, am constantly anxious about whether she ok or not and just need to know if it sounds like we have any health problems

We tried everything else to get him to eat it and all failed - vet said if it works keep it up, anyone else have to do this - how did you wean from spoon to bowl?

Maggie has just about finished her first season, she stopped bleeding about 10 days ago now, but about 3 days ago I noticed her nipples swollen, particularly at the "bottom" end, she is def not pregnant. I looked online and saw it was quite common, but I just wanted to check that it was, she is still very moody and hormonal trying to mount coats and arms etc but is much better than she was.

Just wondering, has anyone heard of a predominantly chocolate coloured JRT before? It didn't really occur to me at the time I bought him but I'm getting more and more people telling me how unusual my Rumo is, and after a bit of internet research I've noticed that the most common colours for JRTs are black, tan and white. Rumo is mainly white, with a chocolate brown face and spots (3 big ones and numerous tiny ones) and tan eyebrows. He's also got yellow eyes - not brown. I expected him to get darker as he got older but he hasn't really.

Many thanks, Pete

The thing is, my girlfriend's vet told her (when she bought a JRT aswel) 6 months ago, to wait until the pup has had all her vaccines and is 4 months old to take them outside for walks and potty trainning.

I just hadn't heard this before, and it seems strange to keep a puppu confined to the same areas for 4 months before finally letting her see the world with her own eyes.

Is this correct? or should I disregard that wacky vet and take my little Kimi girl out for walks?

My question comes from a problem actually. Kimi is very young, she's only 2 months and about 12 days old, and she's been with me for just a week now. The problem is, she is going potty ALL over the appartment, there is no pattern, she just goes whenever and wheverer she pleases. This is a big problem for me, as I cannot possibly be watching her at ALL times, even though I really try, but it seems like the very minute I look away, she takes a leak. I have only seen her going number 2 a couple of times and I did as read, gave her a firm "no", picked her up and took her to the area designated as potty area. This didn't seem to help at all, because she just doesn't go where she's supposed to, never ever.

Also, she's a scaredy one, sometimes when I catch her going number 1 I try to interrupt her by clapping semi-loudly and giving her another firm "no", then picking her up and taking her to her spot, but most of the time she seems very scared by this, and won't continue with her "business", even if I very calmly stay with her and talk to her and point at the newspaper in the floor.

I don't know what else to do now. I give her food in the morning and then at night, around 9 AM and 7 PM, and her water bowl is available at all times. While I'm working my brother and mom are around, but she's locked up in the hallway with a doggy fence, with her designated area at the end of it (near our own bathrooms).

What could I be doing wrong? do you think she might get sick if I take her out for walks at this young age? Some neighbors have dogs too, and in this country it's not required to pick up after your dogs when they go, so perhaps the vet is concerned she will pick something up from the other dogs droppings?

I will look into buying a crate and taking her out every half hour or so, straight to her area, but right now money is tight, so that might take until next paycheck comes in. After all, I made the decision to get a puppy, and all costs are mine to take care of.

[EDIT] I am starting to think she doesn't want to go while I'm around, and that is unbelievably frustrating. Just now I woke her up from her nap, and took her straight to her designated area, I then kneeled and pointed at the floor and waited. 4 minutes and then I sat, she also sat, then she got bored and lay down, so I picked her up on all fours and pointed, then I waited another 5 minutes, then I stood up, and looked around as if I was not interested and didn't give her any input except from looking at her every few seconds so I could greatly praise her when she went. Another few minutes passed and I though I could walk a little down the hallway to jog her bladder, and she followed. When we got back to her area, I turned to fix the position of the newspaper that had shifted a bit, and when I turned around to her she was already peeing!!!! So unbelievably frustrating! So I told her "no" and picked her up midstream and put her on the newspaper and nothing, at all. I stood there, sat, kneeled, talked to her, ignored her, pointed at the newspaper, and nothing. Then I went inside my bedroom for literally 15 seconds to get her blankie to tuck her in for the night, and when I come out, BAM, there was a big pool of pee on the floor. What gives? Could she possibly be shy or something? She's holding it in until I'm no longer looking at her! Why is that? I can't possibly praise her or scold her if she won't absolutely go when I'm around! I've waited 45 minutes at times for her to go, and the very minute I look around elsewhere, she goes, and I missed my window to praise or correct her behaviour... I just don't know what to do anymore, is that normal for 2 month olds? [/EDIT]

Thanks for reading my post, and I thank you beforehand for any advice you can give me!

What a great website this is.

Our names are Sam and Jirinka from Northampton and we have a 8.5 weeks old puppy called Mylo. He sleeps in his crate at night, which is covered by a blanket. First night he whined a lot when we went to bed and then twice more during the night and the morning his bed was covered in poo.

Then last night he only whined for about a minute when we left him. But then woke up at around midnight a whined a lot for about an hour. Then again at four. His bed was soiled in the morning.

Now my question is - do I leave him to it at night or should I get up and show him the toilet? he is using traing pads during the day by the back door and seems to be doing really well with those (better with wee then poo - tries to poo elsewhere). I don't want him to get used to seeing us during the night but on the other hand I don't want him sleeping in bed with poo all over it. Any advice please?

He's sleeping a lot at the moment - he'll have a wee and a poo, little food and bit of play and straight to sleep again....Today his poo is runny as well?

Thank you in advance and again thanks for such a great site! Jirinka, Sam and MYLO

Heidi

I'm new to the forum and new to Jack Russells. My wife and I have had lots of other dog experience, she grew up with a Jack Russell, I grew up with Westies and we have had a German Shepherd and our current dog and ex racing greyhound. The thing is they have all been older dogs so the whole house training crating thing is new to us.

My main question concerns the pups early days, having read the crate training guides it seems that the introduction process for the crate can take some time and should not be rushed, and having read the housetraining guide the pups urge to not poop where he sleeps is key....right this now seems to sound like a chicken and egg scenario... what do you do in the first few days / weeks when the pup isn't used to the crate enough to be left in it overnight but cant be trusted not to wander off to pee poo and chew?

I hope that makes sense. All I need do now is find a good breeder in the North East and I'm all set.

Thanks Tony

Ta very much from a paranoid kiddy and puppy mum ......

Trina

xx

Otherwise his house training is coming along well - he is down to only one or two accidents a day (mainly at night).

Has anyone else had this?

Thanks so much for all your great advice regarding whether or not to get a pup, as I have a young family.

We'll we went ahead and now Alfie has arrived, which is great fun - he's a real character, seems to adore us all, we certainly all adore him, he seems to have really quickly settled in, and is generally very very well behaved...... however he is chewing everything! Also unfortunately when he is realy excited to see us he seems to want to eat us - not so bad for the grown ups, but it's worrying my girls - his teeth are sharp, and they are closer to his level.

If anyone has any tips on how to break this habit quickly, I would really welcome the help.

Thanks

Justine

Bella is now ten months old and I thought she had got all her teeth. She has just recently been in heat for the first time and is nearly doen with that. However, I think she may be getting rid of a last tooth; she really has a bad breath (the same as when she was teething at around 4 months on) and she is licking her chops like she is worrying at a tooth. She is very lethargic, has bouts of playing, but generally is very sleepy and cuddly. This last bit I contributed to the fact that she was in heat, I have understood that they became cuddly. I was just wondering if it were at all possible for her to still be teething. Has someone else experienced anything like this - a pup still teething at ten months?

At my wits end. None of my laundry is getting done as all I'm doing is washing dog bedding!!!!!

I'm a newbie on here and am looking for some general advice. We're due o bring home our little JT puppy at the start of september he will be 10 weeks old. We're so excited and trying to get as prepared as possible, we have a collar, lead, bed, blanket, toys, treats, grooming kit, stain remover, poop bags, puppy pads etc but i need to order a crate but am unsure what size to get. I thought a medium would be ok which is around 71cm long. What do you think?

I also need to get some teething toys but am unsure what kind of thing is best to get for puppy. What have you guys used?

I also need to arrange insurance and wondered if any of you guys had any preferences to companies. I have only ever insured my horses so not certain which ones to stay clear of for dogs.

I have had dogs in the past but not a JT, how easy are they to train or is this down to personal characteristics?

Sorry for all the questions just trying to find out as much as I can before he comes home.I can't really think of anything else to get so if you think of anything please let me know. I'm sad i'm running out of things to do before he arrives :)

Thanks for your advice.

Jamie

Ian

So Maggie has asked me to post and check of her teeth....

her mouth was bleeding last night and it turns out she has lost a tooth!! she is approx 4 months old.

is this normal or has she been playing with her rope to hard??

she appreciates any advice.

thanks

I'd like to introduce myself - I am Kam's Dad. Kam is an 8 week old JRT - Long Hair. My partner and I picked him up nearly two weeks ago - he is our first puppy but not our first dog.

On the whole Kam has settled in quite well into his new home. We have two cats - where some kind of mutual respect is building between them. I believe he is more or less house trained - although we have accidents - nearly everyday - but after reading sites like this I keep reminding my partner (and myself) it's more our fault than his for not noticing the little signs.

He has learned to: sit (took less than a day), his name - although sometimes it has to be accompanied with a wimpering noise, a click clicking or whistle to fully get his attention. And he has established a close bond with myself and my partner - he follows us around in the home - but he has also managed to put up with us going out together with no major issues. We have a nice stretch of land near us and so we have also tried him walking without his lead - and we have never had to chase after him - he always comes when called.

I love him madly and so does my partner - but she has been a bit preoccupied because our oldest cat got mauled by a neighbours dog the weekend following getting Kam - and has needed a lot of vet visits and care to recover. So I think my partner has had less involvement with Kam than she would like.

Anyway my main question (please believe me when I say there will be many with each new phase) is how much walkies would a puppy of his age want. I read all the info I could get my hands on before getting Kam - and was already aware JRT are lively animals. As they are small he was ideal for the size of our flat - I am very energetic and we have some great woodlands near us and I was aware people regarded them as 'big dogs in small packages.' With this in mind I was expecting Kam would want to go walkies a minimum of twice a day - but sometimes it's hard to get him out and about even once a day. Trust me after day one he has only been out once a day at most - and the day before yesterday we all stayed in. I'm presuming a puppy will want less - so naturally I am trying to adjust to his preferences for the time being - the only frustration is that he seems to get periods of high activity and starts being naughty - I interpret this that he is bored and want to exert some energy - but as soon as I put him on the leash and take him outdoors he lies on the floor and acts all pathetic. I take him back in - and he's chasing the cats and nipping my toes again. I've tried just playing with him - with his 20 or so chew toys - and sometimes that or some constructive play like practicing sit or fetch get him out of the naughty mood - but not all the time.

Sorry a lot of text. Final bit - is that he sleeps amazingly after an actual walk. If I can actually get him to come out with me - for an hour or so - the little mite will sleep like a lamb all night (with no accidents) and wake up at a reasonable time. Is he being lazy? Am I expecting too much from him at an early age?

Sorry for all the words again but thank you in expectation.

Kam's Dad ;)

When she is making the noise it looks like she is trying to wobble the tooth, if that is possible?

:(