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Are Jack Russells easy to train? Well the simple answer is yes because they are very intelligent dogs. They are very food motivated and eager to please which means that they will learn quickly. However, although they are easy to train in the house, you may find that their strong prey drive and distraction makes it a challenge to train them out in the park. As soon as they see another dog or rabbit or whatever they want to chase they can be off like shot!
Let’s take a look in more detail at how east they are to train for all the important things including toilet training, obedience, tricks and recall.
Are Jack Russells easy to toilet train?
Yes – Jack Russells pick up toilet training very quickly. Of course if you are training a puppy you need to have more patience and allow for accidents. It could take a few weeks for a young puppy to learn where to go. For an adult dog, it can be quicker than a week – both of my rescue Jack Russells picked it up in about 3 days with positive reinforcement – treat as soon as they do it in the right place!
Are Jack Russells easy to train for Obedience and Tricks?
Yes they totally are! Start with the basics such as sit, down, stand (here’s our article on Jack Russell obedience training if you want to read that first). They will pick it up very quickly by following the movement of the treat in your hand (and eventually by your hand without the treat!).
Are Jack Russells easy to train for Recall?
The simple is is NO they are not! Let’s be realistic though, if you teach them recall off lead from a puppy they will probably be fine. But, teaching an adult Jack Russell is a whole different ball game. The problem with Jack Russells is that they were bred as hunting dogs and as a result have a very high prey drive. So they might be doing well with training outside, until they see a cat or squirrel in which case they just take off and run in the completely opposite direction!!! This can be very dangerous particularly if they run across a main road or in the path of cyclists. If you don’t have 100% recall on your dog avoid letting him off lead in public spaces until you do. You can hire fields for recall training.
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