Puppy advice

Try joining a group like 'petforums.co.uk' , there are some very knowledgeable people on there who gave me invaluable advice on taming my two feral kittens. There's a 'dog' section (as well as 'cat', and rabbit, and reptiles - and pink elephants too I imagine) anyway I found them very helpful.

Maybee I looked for advice on the JRT specialist rescue website. The advice is okay and I can do. My problem is my bubble person excites and spoils the dog during visits and takes offence rather easily .

Sounds like the neighbours are trying to take control and bully you. Politely stand up to them, as with most bullys they will most probably leave you alone

Dogs not digs, although it might still apply!

There are lots of online training classes now. We once bought a Burmese kitten and were given the runt of the litter for free. He didn’t live for long and all it brought us was sadness. Having said that we’re all jumping to conclusions now and what’s been done has been done. Also, if there are two dogs when they eventually stop working from home the digs will hopefully be company for each other (doesn’t always work, though). I wonder if she could get in touch with a JR rescue agency: not with a view to rehoming one but just for advice as no one will know the breed better than them.

I’m worried about the “runt” story too. I can see difficulties ahead. My MIL bred Jack Russells from her own much beloved
Jackies and this sounds all wrong.

I think your daughter needs to think about whether she can manage the training that two female Jack Russells will need.

I know it’s not your decision but can you encourage her to do some serious research on the demands that lie ahead.

Thanks once again. Sounds worrying. They’re at the vet for a check up this week so I’ve told her to speak to them. They run training classes.

Sadly, Sheepandcattle is correct.
This doesn’t bode well Forsythia. Jacks can be a challenge, even for experienced handlers.
Your daughter needs to invest in a trainer. Tools to help stop pulling don’t work without good handling

Sadly, I think it’s very likely that your daughter may have been fed a line regarding their little runt that no one else wanted. It rings my alarm bells that the pups could have come from a puppy farm and possibly from different litters. No sensible breeder would allow 2 pups to go to the same home, let alone spin a yarn about no one wanting the runt. (I’m guessing they still paid full price for it) There is a possibility that the 2 bitches could start fighting as they reach puberty and once 2 bitches start fighting, they will continue ( more so than 2 dogs or a dog and a bitch). I would urge your daughter to consider reforming (sensibly) one of the pups sooner rather than later.

Dogs not digs ?

Thanks to recent posters. I’ll pass all advice onto my daughter. Meanwhile, she has bought two muzzle type things for walks on the lead to stop them pulling etc.
Yes, she’s a first time owner but her partner has had digs before, he wanted a dog. When they picked their chosen puppy up there was a sad little tiny one left that nobody wanted so he bought that one too. They are sisters.
Personally my DH and I know it wasn’t thought through properly especially as they moved one week later into this house but we are where we are.
I pass on all the advice you’ve all given me, telling her I read it in the internet so she doesn’t know I’ve been telling tales as such on here!
Thank you all.

I echo the comments from Sheepandcattle. I currently have two dogs, one of them a 16 week old pup. In the past, often has three dogs, one of them a foster dog here for assessment.
Jack Russells are clever, like many small dogs, they like to bark. The key with dog training, is don’t let the dog practice any behaviour you don’t want.
Never leave dogs out in the garden without supervision. Go with them, straight back in after toilet and immediately if they bark.
If these are litter mates, advise your daughter to read up on litter mate syndrome. I’d read that even if not litter mates because training two pups the same age will present similar problems.
If your daughter is a first time dog owner, she’s taken on a lot. A trainer is a good idea and join classes as soon as that’s possible

I agree Scentia positive reinforcement is the way to go, no muzzles or deterrent collars,

Please don’t use a mesh muzzle to stop barking or use a deterrent collar. Positive training is all that is needed. Praise when they are quiet, don’t when they bark. But dogs do bark it depends how much. My neighbours dogs bark constantly if they are out and it does drive you nuts to be honest! But I understand that dogs bark when playing and when excited so they need to be out there with them and train them to bark only when asked or when someone is a threat, but to be quiet on command.

You refer to ‘the puppies’ so I assume your daughter has bought 2 litter mates- if so, this is seldom a good idea as they are likely to wind each other up and be far harder to train. I’ve owned dogs (have had up to 9 at a time - mostly working dogs) and have had a JRT so appreciate that they are a breed who generally like the sound of their own voices! Your daughter needs to really get on top of their training NOW before it becomes a much bigger issue. They are intelligent dogs so will learn quickly. Personally, I would only let them out in the garden one at a time to start with and supervise them when they are out. At the first bark, they get a stern, sharp ‘Quiet’. If they continue to bark they get bought straight back in. I would tie a light lead to its collar when it’s in the garden initially so that she can pick up the lead and walk it back into the house briskly without having to chase and catch it. Repeat, repeat, repeat!! It worries me that you say that your daughter and her husband are working from home - is this long term or just due to COVID? If it’s temporary, then please ask her to think if it’s sensible to have the puppies. If the neighbours are complaining already then it’ll get a lot worse if they have to go back to work at some point and leave the dogs alone at home.

It's always hard training two puppies of the same age at the same time. I think it's called 'litter mate syndrome ' I may be wrong though.

I do the same as a poster further up thread. Finger to lips and a shush quiet command, as soon as they are quiet I throw a toy for them or have a game of tug.

So long as they are not out there on their own, barking their heads off I can't see the problem.

Do they bark when they’re let out together? What if they’re let out one at a time? Are they barking at anything in particular? My daughters Miniature Schnauzer barks at any birds that dare to enter her garden.

I don't think that those collars are a good idea, if you're talking about the ones that give an electric shock. I that the RSPCA are ant them too.

PS teach the simple command "Bark" then teach the simple command "Shut".

started

I have trained dogs to stop barking on command by initially praising them for barking. This helps to let the dog know what he is being told to stop doing.

I have just stated fostering a JRT . He is a very quick learner but too independent to make training as easy as it is for a GSD or collie.

Thank you all. I’ll pass on all helpful tips.

Some good advice here about training dogs not to bark so much. I think the neighbours are being difficult so don't let your daughter get stressed about it Forsythia.

I agree about JRs being demanding Redhead and how I wish our boy was still here to boss us around.

I've had dogs all my life and I've found that smaller dogs do seem to be more barky (not a word, I know).
I now have a one year old Cavapoo who will bark when I let her out into the garden, only for the first 10 seconds or so, then quitetens down, if your daughter's dogs are only doing this, I can't see much wrong with it.
I have a smaller yard area at the back where she can't see out and she's quiet out there, so I make sure I only let her out into the garden after 9am and before about 8pm, the rest of the time in the yard, to be fair to neighbours.
Some advise on bullying neighbours. When I moved here over 20 years ago my next door neighbour warned me that a neighbour across the road would soon be asking me to cut down the tree at the front of my garden.
So, I was ready for her, she came over and complained the tree was too big and blocked her light (I'd already checked and any shadow from the tree went nowhere near her house) so I just told her I loved the tree and no way was it being cut down, smiled and walked away. She's still across the road and not another word said for 20years.
What I'm trying to say is, tell your daughter to not be apologetic about the dogs, (unless they are barking non stop night and day)
and just smile and say, "they're only let out between 9 and 8 so as not to disturb anyone, and barking is what dogs do", then walk away. If she acts as if she won't be bossed around, they will get bored and back off.
She will have to be honest with herself though and if they're letting them out at 7 in the morning to charge around the garden barking their heads off, then they need to walk the dogs on lead at that time, to calm them down. They could also try going in the garden with the dogs on leads until they stop barking and only let them off when they've quietened down.
Long post but hope it helps, don't let them bully!!!

Thanks about the mesh muzzles. I’ll tell her about those for in the garden. And about the collar attachments. She’s in all day working from home. They sit beside her in the dog bed cushion and don’t bark indoors. It’s when they go in the garden for a short spell. We’ve offered to go over and take them out during the day so they’re having extra walks. Thank you for all your support and suggestions, it’s really helpful.