No matter what kind of dog you have, jumping is one of the behaviors that’s not desirable and typically is nothing more than annoying.
Unfortunately, for those of you who recently adopted a Jack Russell Terrier, jumping is a behavior you will have to work on.
Jack Russells are a dog breed that not only jumps often but is extremely good at it and can get some serious hang time when they decide to leap.
The rest of this brief discussion is going to be geared toward making sure you have the knowledge necessary to reduce this jumping behavior as much as possible.
We will cover what not to do and what to do so you can effectively reduce jumping behaviors as much as possible with a Jack Russell Terrier.
Understand Jumping Will Occur With Jack Russells
One of the most notable behavior traits that Jack Russells will typically have, and display is energy and jumping.
The Jack Russell Terrier is a high-energy dog.
Jumping is typically one of the ways a JRT will burn off energy or show love towards the family and owners.
Especially when they are excited.
For some of you, this may not be the end of the world or it may even be welcomed.
For most of you, I would imagine you would prefer that your Jack Russell reduces this behavior due to the many reasons it can be an annoyance or a nuisance.
Here is a few examples of what I mean and why I personally prefer to continue training my Jack Russell not to jump as much as possible.
Jumping Can Be Annoying For Several Reasons And is Worth Reducing
Everyone is different and may have different reasons as to why jumping behaviors may bother you but for me personally, I wanted to cover the 3 most significant reasons that jumping drives me crazy.
Here’s a look at them.
Furniture and Belongings Are At Risk
One of my biggest pet peeves is animals on furniture they shouldn’t be on.
Especially those light-colored newly purchased couches.
While jumping doesn’t necessarily mean you have a dog on furniture issue, it certainly encourages that issue to arise more frequently.
If your Jack Russell knows they can jump freely and get away from it, what’s going to stop them from jumping onto the couch?
Then you have a Jack Russell doing zoomies on a brand-new sectional with muddy paws.
I’m not a fan.
It’s no good no matter how you look at it from my point of view.
Escaping A Yard Becomes More Likely
This is annoying, dangerous, and time-consuming.
If you don’t train your Jack Russell or at least attempt to train jumping behaviors out of your Jack Russell, you are going to have a JRT that is much more capable of escaping the yard.
I have had my Jack Russell Terrier jump onto a hot tub to leap the fence, use my firewood stand to leap the fence, and even just use pure speed, and a running start to leap the fence (in pure Air Bud mode)!
Trust me, these dogs have crazy hops.
You need to train this behavior out of them and work on it actively purely to keep them safe and contained in your yard.
It Annoys Your Friends and Family
Even if you are okay with jumping or maybe you just accepted you can’t train it out of the Jack Russell, that doesn’t mean everyone else will be.
First, I disagree and think you can work to reduce the behavior greatly.
Not all your friends and family that meet your dog want to deal with this little dog jumping in their face for attention.
This isn’t an issue with aggression or biting.
It’s an issue of annoying everyone this dog encounters.
Yes, some will enjoy it, welcome it, and even think it’s adorable.
Most will not.
This leads us to my first big tip to begin reducing this behavior.
Never reward the behavior or allow anyone else to reward the behavior.
Let’s dive into those details next.
Never Reward The Behavior
Rewarding a Jack Russell Terrier for any behavior can be a great training tactic but can also be used incorrectly.
When it comes to jumping, this is a behavior you do not want to reward nor allow anyone else to reward.
Keep in mind, rewards don’t always come in the form of treats.
Simply showing love and affection is enough of a reward for a Jack Russell to try and continue jumping.
If they believe they are going to get something they desire from a situation or behavior, they are going to continue to do it.
Make sure that you never show strong affection or praise for jumping to help begin teaching the JRT that this is not the desired behavior.
Find Ways to Reward Behavior That Reflects The Opposite Of Jumping and Excitement
On the flip side of not rewarding jumping behavior, you have another strong area of emphasis to work on if you want to curb jumping behaviors.
Reward the behaviors that are nearly the opposite of jumping behaviors.
Make sure you are rewarding behaviors such as sitting, staying and lying down.
You can even reward any behavior that simply indicates that Jack Russell is behaving calmly.
Be sure to reward quickly and effectively so Jack Russell can have a clear understanding of what they did correctly.
Trust me, this is a very smart dog breed.
If they get a reward and can understand the reasoning behind it, they will continue to attempt the same behaviors in the future so they can be rewarded again.
Remain consistent with this reward approach.
Just because you feel as if they are beginning to grasp what you want them to do daily, does not mean that it doesn’t help to continue reinforcing the behavior in the future.
The more the better to really get the point across in my opinion.
Also Read: How To Get Your Jack Russell to Listen
Keep At It And Accept It Will Still Occur With Jack Russells
Jumping comes with the territory when you own and raise a Jack Russell Terrier.
No doubt about it. All you can do is actively continue to try and reduce the behavior.
This comes mostly at the effort of rewarding behaviors that reflect the opposite of jumping such as calmness, sitting, and laying down.
Nonetheless, I have been raising a Jack Russell for almost 4 years and I do my best to reduce this behavior.
I haven’t fully been able to get my Jack Russell to stop jumping nor do I believe she ever will.
However, it has gotten much better over time, and believe it will for you as well.
Luna and I wish you the best of luck with your Jack Russell Terriers and the journey you have ahead of you.
