December 2004 and we heard a truly horrible story about a little Jack Russell puppy called Patch. You see Patch had lived the entire first year of his life in a small kennel outside of his previous owners house. He was allowed into the house for half an hour a day to play with the teenager whose puppy he was supposed to be. Patchs problems did not stop there however as the owner had a new boyfriend who used to hit patch and shout at him for everything.

To the happy part now, the owner realised that she couldnt keep Patch anymore and that is when he came to us.

We gained our new addition to the family in December 2004 and we think it is one o the best decisions we have ever made. We have owned Jack Russels before and for those who do not know what they are like, well let me tell you. They are renonowned for being the naughtiest and loudest dogs around and they are full of character. This is not what Patch was like when we first had him.

For one he didn't bark which we found out was due to stress from his previous home. He was very skittish and did not like to come to people so he would go and hide.

The first improvement came after only a few days when he made friends with our other dog, a big fat old westie called Hamish. He started to sleep next to Hamish and follow him around. He even decided he was not going to go into the garden for a wee without Hamish going with him. Whether Hamish liked his new found company was another matter but he dealt with it well.

Then within 2 weeks me and my sister cracked Patch and after nearly 3 weeks of constant love, Patch started to bark and act like a normal Jack Russell puppy.

Now it is June and Patch is the best little dog i could have ever imagined. He is confident and lively and very very intelligent. You see Jack Russells have a penchant for working things out and he does this all the time. My favourite thing to do is to put a dog biscuit on a shelf and watch him work out how to get it down and he does it all teh time.

Jack Russells are defensive and very confident. They will want to protect their owners but they also need to be trained from a very early age otherwise they will think that they own you. They also need you to play with them alot as they are full of energy and beware that your house may seem like you have a toddler living there. We put all of Patch's toys in his basket and five minutes later they are all over the house.

If you ever want a best friend who is lively, loveable and full of character then go for a Jack Russel. They are very appealing dogs but beware both of the Jack Russels we have had are very loud. The only bad thing about them is they shed hairs like mad but when you have a friend so good you really don't mind. They are great to have around the house and really liven the place up wherever they are.

xxx

A few facts abou Jack Russells;

* They are a terrier.
* Typically they are energetic, intelligent, independent, and stubborn, and loves to chase.
* A Jack Russell Terrier makes a good watchdog. Hence he will bark at every new sight and sound. And your neighbors will definitely not appreciate a yippy dog in the neighborhood!
* A JRT needs plenty of physical exercise too. Long runs to work of those troves of energy!
* This intelligent dog needs mental stimulation. His busy mind must be kept occupied with interesting things to do.

A great site for information is

http://www.jack-russell.com/mainmenu.html

Thanks for reading.