Dealing with a Barking Jack Russell

Dealing with a barking jack russell can be a real headache. Teaching him to stop barking is one of the hardest things to do.  After all, vocal communication is natural to all dogs, just as it is to humans.  We don’t want dogs to completely stop barking.  There are times when barking is a positive thing — when they warn us there’s a stranger at the door, when the house is on fire, when your dog “speaks” to you.  However, you do need to know how to stop your jack russell from barking when he is barking all day long while you’re at work, bothering your neighbors, or when he won’t stop barking at squirrels.

Dogs bark for a lot of different reasons, so how to stop your jack russell from  barking will depend on the reason he is barking.  Your jack can bark from boredom, from frustration, from anger, fear, because he’s lonely or because he’s hungry, or from some combination of these reasons.

Many jack russells get into trouble with barking during the day when their owners are at work.  They may be either indoor or outdoor dogs, but they bark continuously.  They may literally be barking to hear themselves bark, as a way to entertain themselves.  These jacks are usually barking mostly out of boredom. They may also be lonely.  You can help this kind of barking by making sure your jack has plenty of toys at his disposal and safe things to chew on.  It also helps if you can come home during the day to break up your jack’s boredom.  If it’s not practical for you to come home during the day you may wish to consider hiring a dog sitter to check on your jack russell.  A dog sitter can spend some time with him or take him out for a walk.  Doggy daycare is another possible solution, where you can take him to spend the day in the care of a professional who watches over a number of dogs.  The dogs spend the day playing and resting and don’t have the problem of being bored — or of barking and annoying your neighbors.

If your jack russell is barking out of boredom you should also make sure he is receiving plenty of good exercise when you spend time with him.  Let him play to the point of near exhaustion.  Dogs who have an active play life are more likely to sleep peacefully at home when you must leave them.

Barking jack russells are most often times frustrated.  This usually occurs when there is something your jack wants and he can’t reach it.  It could be a bowl, a toy, another dog, or squirrels in trees.  You may or may not be able to do something about frustration barking, depending on whether the item is something you want your jack to have or something you can give to him.  If your jack is addicted to barking at squirrels or a neighbor’s cat it may be difficult to make him stop.  If something or someone is teasing your jack and making him bark — such as neighborhood children — you should certainly take steps to make them stop.  If other people are allowing dogs to run loose in the neighborhood your jack russell will probably bark at them both as warning and out of frustration in not being able to reach them.  That’s an animal control issue.

You can teach your jack russell to stop barking and come to you when he’s barking at cats or squirrels, but it requires a great deal of patience.  Your jack may not like to give up barking at something he may consider to be prey or an intruder.  It’s best to begin by making sure he is reliable on the “Come” command, which can be taught with a long lead (15-20 feet).  You can teach the “No Bark” command indoors, using a clicker.  Let a friend do something that makes your jack bark, such as ringing the doorbell.  When your dog barks ignore him.  As soon as he stops barking, use the clicker to mark the behavior, praise him and give him a treat, saying, “No Bark!”  Do this several times until your jack russell begins to associate the clicker, praise and treat with the “No Bark!” command.He will begin to catch on.  You can transfer the “No Bark” command to other things that make him bark indoors.  Once your jack russell is secure with the command you can start trying it outdoors where things are less under your control.  Finally, you can put the “No Bark” command together with “Come!”

Owning a barking jack russell can be challenging, particularly since they can bark for so many different reasons.  Once you discover why your jack russell is barking you can take the best steps to stop the barking.