# Hound, Bird-dog, JRT owners??? Help!



## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/stories/199466-adoption-story-special-thanks-rebelgsd.html

Do any of you own these breeds? If so, I would love picking your brains from time to time. Above is the link reg. my new puppy, Natty Boh - story and pictures. Our best guess is that Natty Boh is Beagle, Brittany, and JRT. What a combination, right? 

I need to ask questions, like....Can I even walk this dog on a leash? I have the Beagle that walks with his nose to the ground, the Brittany that stops and points, and the JRT that thinks everything is a big joke (always at my expense.)

Thanks in advance!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

I had a Beagle growing up. My sister had a big mixed breed dog at the same time. I taught my sister's dog to walk, trot, canter, change leads, go over jumps. My Beagle taught me to leave her alone. :rofl: 

Since then, I've learned more about dogs and have had Chow mixes who have not always wanted to participate fully with me in my goals for their behavior. I have fostered 1 hound mix puppy (Coonhound) for a short while and what a sweetie pie he was! Derp! I still see him - his mix was GSD so that helps. His owners use a head harness, which I think must help a lot even though it looks awkward. You might want to see if there are any that might work. If not, the front hook type harnesses work nicely - but really the nose on the ground thing is only a problem if they won't walk with you while sniffing (to me).

But with the less into training, more into their thing, or their instinct thing, clickers work so well, NILIF, training classes that are FUN (hate ones that are not) but effective, and finding the things that your dog likes and rewarding them with it. Your dog might excel in something like nosework - but I would definitely be looking for something he can DO (agility, flyball, rally, etc.). Even if it is not competitive, just for fun - I don't compete but will do fun classes (trick classes too). 

Are you near enough to Pat Miller's place? I would love to go there for classes! 

He is adorable.

PS - one thing that is different with people who have some of the breeds or mixes, and people who only have GSDs, is the expectation that your dog is going to make jokes at your expense and outsmart you, but not be polite enough not to point it out like a GSD...so get ready to laugh!


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Thanks Jean. I had a beagle growing up too. Got him when I was 4. Had him until I was 21. He had issues - poor neurotic dog. Not the brightest crayon in the box, but we loved him.

I've had the hound, Northern breed and GSD. I was expecting, almost hoping Boh wouldn't be so smart. It is almost like having a GSD. I have to keep him mentally and physically challenged all the time. The main difference is in the desire to please. I do laugh at Boh. Ya can't not laugh at him. He is very funny.

Honestly, the nose is the only hound thing about him. He doesn't bay or howl. He doesn't have a high prey drive. He sits quietly at the kitchen door and watches the birds and squirrels. He has met our two pet rabbits. He is interested, but not obsessively so. He greets them and walks away.

Every day, I start with "Mind Games". We have a training session after breakfast and one after dinner. He knows, sit, down, stay, come, wait, leave it, drop it. His tricks are rolling over, standing on his hind legs and dancing and the combat crawl. We only made two pieces of agility equipment, but he does those, every time we go out in the yard. We are also working on getting into the car, without getting sick. He used to drool as soon as he got near the car. We have progressed to him willingly climbing into the car, listening to the radio, starting the car and moving the car forward and backward. No drooling. Our next step will be to drive around the block.

I have never done clicker training before, but I intend to. I need to move away from the treats. I think Boh would love nosework and I would like to try that. I know what Boh likes. He likes to climb, run, track and eat. I pet sat a shepherd and hoped that Boh would learn a thing or two - like how to catch a ball. Shepherd catches ball. Watch Boh. Catch! Ball bounces off of Boh's head. Definitely not his thing.

Boh is probably the most destructive puppy I have ever seen. Much worse than the shepherd. If a toy has even a small bit of stuffing in it - he pulls it all out. He chews off their faces and appendages. He proceeds to rip any surviving fabric to shreds. His tennis balls are naked. Needless to say, he gets no toys unattended. I buy him good quality toys - Kong toys. They are no match for him.

Sadly, I do not live close to Pat. I have enrolled Boh in a class that starts in two weeks. I have never used them before, so hope we like it. At least I know enough to not let anything transpire that isn't fun for Boh. 

Thank you for the kind words. We think he is adorable too.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Thank you for moving. 

What, no hound or JRT people? I know that ain't so. Come out, come out, where-ever you are!


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## LynneLittlefield (Nov 30, 2012)

I raised JRT's between 2004-2008. My dogs had four litters before I had them fixed. I still have the male who will be 12 tomorrow. My female I had to have put to sleep a year ago because of very bad glaucoma. I also have a German Shepard who is 16 weeks old. I never had any bad issues with the JRT's. they were on invisible fence with a pet door to come in and out as they pleased. They were crated when we weren't home until about four months of age and never chewed or destroyed anything in the house. I walked them but a harness works best for them. They are fearless and would kill racoons, possums or any other creature that would come into our yard. They got along fine with our cats and loved to dig holes in the yard. What other questions do you have?















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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

i also have 2 jrts, i have two harness that act like choke harnesses. they help but a correct heal is not possible , for these two. i have an airedale that heels almost as well as a gsd. in the house they are couch potatoes. i never leave them unsupervised with our cats, even though the cat and jrts curl up and sleep together.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Lynne, Your JRTs are adorable. The information is very helpful.

Huntergreen, Thank you. I was wondering if a heel is possible. 

I was hoping to find some "go to" people for these particular breeds, who could answer my questions. I know I will keep having more. Do you guys mind if I PM you from time to time?

Can you tell me if JRTs communicate a lot by growling? Natty Boh does. He isn't aggressive at all. He just growls when he talks. 

I have been feeding Boh Wellness puppy kibble. He is almost 7 months old. Should I switch from puppy food? Is there any particular kibble you recommend?

Thank you so much for your responses.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Years ago I had a JTR. He was a rescue and we thought him to be 2-3 when we got him. He was a trip. 100% hubby's dog. Very vocal, not yappy, he just growled alot. Never snapped or bit, just a lot of growling. He was great with kids. Loved any type of play, but lived for tug. He could destroy any toy within minutes. Killed and ate anything that moved from insects to cats. So he never earned the ability to be outside with out a leash. 

He loved my husband. He annoyed me, but I tolerated him because he was so good with my husband. One week he suddenly changed and stayed glued to me. I felt as though I was coming down with the flu, and just knew the dog was doing it to annoy me further. He would actually wait till I was asleep and crawl up on my body and sleep too. I kept waiting for him to suck away my last breath. Not feeling better after a week, I went to the doctor and found out I was in kidney failure. The dog knew. After I totally recovered, he was once again hubby's best bud. But after that I had a new respect for him. 

Sadly, he died after he snatched medication from my father. He truly was a great dog. My favorite story about him was one evening he was angry at hubby. I don't recall why. After we went to bed (he slept in the bed with us) he crawled under the blankets and pooped in the bed right on hubby's legs. He never did it before or again. I've never had a dog go in the bed, much less under the covers. It still makes me laugh remembering hubby's reaction..."What is this? What the hec is this? Nancy! What...OMG! The dog #$&% in the bed!!!" He was holding it in his hand!!!!!


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## LynneLittlefield (Nov 30, 2012)

My jacks did do a lot of growling and other kinds of dog chatter. They would also howl and sing with us when we sung a high pitched song with them.they always stayed in our yard with the help of the invisible fence.


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## BrennasMom (Mar 2, 2008)

I have a beagle and a pointer. 

Mollie the beagle is a bit of an oddball in that she is really quiet compared to most beagles. I never had much of an issue with her pulling on walks, in fact after the initial excitement period she usually trails behind Brenna and I. Her sniffing doesn't bother me, but I don't stop to let her sniff around unless it looks like she has to pee or poop, so she has learned to keep moving. Beagles get the reputation of being dumb, from my experience they just have selective memories and food makes them suddenly remember what they were taught. 

Spot the pointer is, uh, interesting? She is hyper but not in a nonstop way so much as very intense bursts of hyperness. She obsesses over any animal she sees outside but does fine with the cats. As far as walking goes, that's a work in progress because I took her in from someone who raised her as a hunting dog and wasn't exactly the 'take your dog on a walk' type. The few times I have tried taking her out on walks were really hard because every bird, squirrel, butterfly, etc. gets her worked up and she pulls super hard on the leash. She's also very clingy, but I'm not familiar enough with pointers to know if it's a breed trait or a result of how she was raised.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

You guys are just awesome. You have no idea how much you are helping me to solve the puzzle. Nancy, You are a riot - as always. Loved your story. Y'all are confirming my belief that the growling is coming from the JRT part of Natty Boh. So many of the traits you describe fit him perfectly - like the toy destruction. Fortunately, his make up does not include the JRT prey drive. 

BrennasMom - do you do nose work with Mollie? If so how did you start? I think Boh would enjoy that.

Thanks again!


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## LARHAGE (Jul 24, 2006)

Lol, I've had JRT's for years, they are very vocal and very self confident, to a fault, mine have always got along with my other dogs and all my cats, but their prey drive is such I would personally never let them off leash, I had one jump out my car window at the drive through bank after a ground squirrel, another time he jumped through the window at the drive through at Jack in The Box after a huge moth , life is never dull with one.


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## BrennasMom (Mar 2, 2008)

haha the words "work" and "Mollie" don't usually go in the same sentence.  She is just a big couch potato. She enjoys going for walks and her nose will get going but I can't see her doing it for a living.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Sorry Jan, I meant to come back to this thread sooner, but hubby is keeping me busy.

I wanted to touch on the 'hound/bird dog' part of your new dog. Training my Lacy has been as new experience for me. I've had all sorts of dogs, but this Lacy has been different from all of them. Not a bad breed, they just think differently. My job has been to try to get inside his head and find out how I can use his drive to my advantage. Onxygirl (sorry if I spelled it wrong) has been a great help with that. 

With out a doubt 24/7 NILIF for this dog. I am the human pez dispenser for him. I never go anywhere without a pocket full of treats. He doesn't get a morsel without doing something for me first. The first thing I taught him was to 'look'. That way I can get his attention before he focuses on something that he is going to react to. Now (a year old) 'Look' & 'Sit' are 100% solid. 

Because he is trained to track on a long lead, I am still working on not pulling on the leash. I won't punish him for natural drive. So, what I do is make sure his working lead & collar are different than his walking lead & collar. He knows the difference. When we are walking and he starts pulling (nose to the ground), I'll play the 'look' game. After 3 or 4 times, he is walking at my side watching me. No amount of correction (for this dog) could have worked better.  When I have requested for him to follow a scent, I never use the 'look' word. In fact, because he is handler sensitive, when he is on a scent, the only word I use is the command to find it. 

For this dog, I only use positive training methods. It is taking me longer to get a solid dog, but he is a thinking dog with a lot of self confidence. I rejoice over little things and never expect perfection. 

I play a lot of mind games with him. And at least once a week, I'll lay out his evening meal making a track through the house or out in the yard. I utilize the flirt pole a lot. A lot. We play a lot of fetch. We play a lot of tug. He is 100% on his release command. I still reward for wanted behaviors, but using a lot more vocal and physical rewards. 

Using positive training and NILIF really works for this dog.


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## x11 (Jan 1, 2012)

i have both hounds and a herder.

herder says - what next
hound says - what for

my herder is no match for my hound in the brains department, but he sure is a whole lot easier to train if that makes sense.

not sure yr plans but please do not try to fit round pegs in square holes that is just not fair in the dogs. 

the herder is making a surprisingly good strike dog, they are starting to compliment each other well out hunting, many would be very surprised.

here is my girl doing her thing


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Thanks to all of you for all of your input. Nancy, I have implemented many of your suggestions. Your help has been invaluable.

x11, No worries. I take my direction from Natty Boh. I pick up on things that seem to come to him naturally and he enjoys. I definitely have a circus dog on my hands. I told Nancy that if I am ever in a situation where I need my dog to sit up and beg, dance, or walk on two legs - no problem. And....that combat crawl will come in real handy, when he has to crawl under barbed wire into enemy lines. Once there, absolute chaos is sure to erupt. 

He is just one fun, smart little dog - whatever he is.


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## CelticGlory (Jan 19, 2006)

Looks like a red/white colored beagle, love that coat color of the beagle! Along with lemon/white as well! So I wouldn't be surprised if Boh is a JRT/Beagle mix.

http://cdn-www.dailypuppy.com/media/dogs/anonymous/yoshi_beagle11.jpg_w450.jpg

I totally love beagles! My sister had a GSD/Beagle mixed puppy that she ended up given back to the shelter because she couldn't handle the time it took to raise an active puppy.


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