Great write ups.

I have two relatives that thought they wanted a dog and both got JRTs. My cousin and her husband got one many years ago. As DINKs (double income, no kids), both of them worked and they lasted 2 months before they gave it back to the breeder.

Most recently, my sister in law (the liberal one in MI) got a JRT mix from a shelter to keep her company because of the COVID lock downs. I laughed out loud when my wife told me then, I felt really bad for the dog. Sure enough, the dog went back a few months later. Her experience with dogs has been visiting ours and her other sister's. She loves ours and has remarked how laid back and well behaved they are. Of course that was a result of natural temperment and training. She at least tried training, professional even. She thought she was getting a minature version of ours, a GSD/Husky mix and GSD/Golden Retriever mix.

On a positive note, my pastor and his family got there first dog, a JRT. They have two young boys and the dog fits right in.

Nothing wrong with JRTs, but people really need to do their research before getting one or any dog for that matter.

My little boy is all grown up and quite handsome. I’m getting better at grooming him. He is getting better at letting me give him haircuts. The eyebrows and face are the hardest part but thankfully my little dude is slowly getting used to the process.

This breed is incredibly easy to live with. Nothing like a Jack Russell. I will say (and this is not an attack against schnauzers) I notice a slight intelligence difference between the two breeds. The schnauzer is not at all a dumb dog but the JRT’s level of intelligence and ability to understand English is truly extraordinary. The breed is just so damn smart.

I miss having an explosive ball of energy in my house but for the time being my new little dude has vastly exceeded my expectations.

My older brother had two JRTs. My ex-fiance and I ended up with his first, and I'm not exactly sure how it happened any more (it was 1992). His name was Crowbar, and he was super-smart. He figured out how to untie his lead rope when he was briefly tied to a low rail because we were moving stuff and he was getting underfoot. Thinking maybe we had not done the job properly, we tied the same simple "knot" and he immediately undid it again. We got unengaged, she kept Crowbar, and being a first-year veterninarian student, she personally was involved with his getting fixed. Hah.

His second JRT was named Kirby, after the vaccum cleaner. He was, tragincally, killed when he jumped into the path of a neighboring kid having some batting practice (baseball bat to the head). Sweet dog, only a few years old.

Fearless, full of energy, and super smart. Too much dog for me...

The JRT is definitely not for everyone. They take a tremendous investment of time, energy and attention but at least to me they are 100% worth it.

Here is another pic of my beautiful JRT. I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t think about him or miss him.

My brother used to have two JRTs. Those dogs acted like they were on fire most of the time. He got one from a guy who had his two JRTs chase a mouse into his Subaru and then commence to completely dismantle the dashboard and wiring. Such energetic little rascals.

My brother built a chicken coop out of an old satellite dish, the big ones. The coop was an octagon with the dish as the roof. One night he came home to the chickens in a fury. He and Toby, his little JRT, went inside and found a huge raccoon. So there he was fighting a giant raccoon alongside Toby in a confined space. The raccoon was the same size as Toby, but he didn’t back down, hanging in there until the end. Finally my brother was able to stomp the coon’s head while Toby had him busy.

Because the brain was smashed, they couldn’t do a rabies test, so for his troubles, the county wanted to euthanize Toby. My brother said they could step over his dead body to get at his little soldier. They ended up quarantining Toby for ten days, and he was fine.

He ended up living out his days as an old dog, barking in his sleep while fighting that raccoon all over again, I’m sure. Man, JRTs sure love a fight, no matter the odds.

The JRT in The Mask was the smartest and most talented actor in that movie.

He's a great looking pup. Already has that "old soul" look to him with the long beard and all..

Years ago the Houston Gun Collectors Assn. monthly meeting had a safari guide speak. He had pictures on the screen as he spoke, all the typical safari guide things you would expect to hear were said.
Then he put up a couple pictures of Jack Russel's that were used to hunt Cheetahs!
He showed a group of four Jack Russel's that had treed a Cheetah, they were giving it hell but just could not get up high enough to the Cheetah. I had always understood they were smart and heard they were brave but this was an impressive demonstration to see.

HK Ag

Sigcrazy7, Milo in THE MASK was one of the main reasons I got a JRT. That dog put on a masterful performance. Oscar worthy IMO.

I had JRT’s for years. Smartest dogs around. Fearless. Always made me laugh. But they are stone cold killers. Nothing is safe from them including kid’s hamsters, love birds, and guinea pigs. Don’t ask.

So smart that one night I came home after working a double shift and was beat. Nipper the JRT just wanted to play. I ignored him so he took his tennis ball, dropped it in his water bowl, picked it back up, got up on the back of the couch and dropped that wet ball on my neck. He knew how to get attention.

Then there was a time that I was working in the attic and he was standing behind me. He climbed up that steep pull down attic folding stair.

Posted by Wreckless

quote:

I had JRT’s for years. Smartest dogs around. Fearless. Always made me laugh. But they are stone cold killers. Nothing is safe from them including kid’s hamsters, love birds, and guinea pigs. Don’t ask.

Yepp! I already knew JRT’s were smart dogs before getting one (this is what I found alluring about the breed) but my little dude would often amaze me with his intelligence.

He was quite good at problem solving and yeah he was also a stone cold killer when it came to any rodent sized creatures that would dare enter his domain. Our cat was even worse. Small creatures didn’t stand a chance in my yard for years.

When he’d see an animal on the wall mounted TV that would run off the screen he would check out the room behind the TV to see if it went there. It was hilarious.

He figured out how to open a shut bird cage and removed the bird inside w/o disturbing the cage layout or door.

He figured out how to push a rolling desk chair over to a table holding a Guinean pig cage. Same result.

Holy smokes Wreckless! Your JRT was QUITE the mischievous little devil! I suppose maybe we got lucky as ours never killed any of our pets. I would occasionally say “go get the kitty” rather enthusiastically and my lil dude would take off like a rocket after our cat.

Now something to consider, our rescue kitty was one hard ass Carolina kitty. He was a hard breed who lived to kill bunnies, crunch their skulls and fight with other cats. He was thrown as a kitten from a vehicle on a highway at speed right on the border between Virginia and North Carolina. My father was heading home from work and saw it happen, stopped and brought our new kitty home. I have never seen my father that angry in my entire life when he explained to us what happened. None of the other kittens survived. Our lone survivor walked away with only a few bumps and cuts on his face. I saw him fall from a tree once. Not just any tree but fall from about 100 feet up smacking multiple branches on the way down. He never meowed right after that but again he walked away mostly unscathed.

He could throw down with our JRT and I believe they actually had an understanding. Believe it or not the cat even managed to threaten my dog enough to get him to stand down once or twice though usually he would turn tail and run. They were actually best friends and often would be found curled up sleeping together on the couch.

The only issue I ever had was my dog attacked a beautiful golden retriever who he perceived as a threat to me once and just about bit his nose off. It was terrible, embarrassing and the only occasion I can think of where his aggression was an issue. They later became good friends until the golden passed away.

The life expectancy of a Miniature Schnauzer is 12 to 14 years. My parents owned four, my wife and I have owned five, both sons own two each.

Of these thirteen Miniature Schnauzers, we lost one to a quick viral congestion at six years of age and another to a large throat tumor at 10 years. The balance lived 12+ years. My younger son's dogs are 15 and 16 years old.

What people fail to realize is that the weakness of the pure breed is that they cannot tolerate a high fat diet. The Schnauzer club fails to acknowledge this by recommending a 10% to 15% fat content.

My father was a veterinarian and realized many years ago that a high fat diet was very damaging to the Schnauzers. We feed our Schnauzers a diet of less than
7% fat. Our girl is my constant dinner companion, but only gets the low fat stuff off of my plate.

One thing about Miniature Schnauzers - and Boxers - is that they are such loving dogs that when they cross that Rainbow Bridge - it hurts.

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redleg2/9, You’re right. I don’t know if I just got lucky but this Schnauzer is incredibly loving. He exists to follow me around and be near me it seems. My in-laws who have owned MANY Schnauzers over the years even commented on how affectionate my dog is compared to their new Schnauzer puppy.

Life is interesting. Never in my life did I think I would own a Schnauzer. This breed went from one I barely tolerated to one a adore.

I was flipping through old pics on my phone and came across a pic of my JRT.

There is hardly a day that goes by where I don’t think about my old friend and how much I miss him. Yes my Schnauzer is an amazing dog. He is 100% obsessed with me and is a great little side kick but my Jack Russell was special. While typing this my Schnauzer is pawing at me to give him some attention.

One day I will take in another JRT. Sure they are a handful but if you put in the work I don’t think you will find a dog that is more intelligent and rewarding….and challenging. But some say happiness comes from taking on challenges and handling them gracefully and professionally.

It always makes my day when I am fortunate enough to run into a JRT out in the wild. They are such beautiful dogs. Yeah I am biased but I think they are the best looking dogs on this planet. Just don’t tell Maverick my Schnauzer…he is a jealous dog….

My neighbor has 3 JRT, they got into the breed after going on an African hunt and meeting the JRT the guide had.

These dogs are the epitome of the "It's not the size of the dog in the fight..." trope. I know one of the neighbors dogs took on a good sized grey fox and won.

His dogs love to jump in your lap and rest, until you pick up a ball. Those dogs will tire your arm out before they quit!

We had mini schnauz, loved that dog. Got her as a puppy, she made it till 12. I still miss her. She was a spitfire, fantastic watch dog, wasn't afraid of anything. one time she ran out the front door and attacked a large working breed on a leash, and I scooped her up before she comitted suicide. She was also a food thief, and loved coffee. If you set your cup down anywhere she could reach it, she would slurp the whole thing down. Same with food. If you turned your head sideways, gone. One time at a xmas party, she ate 1/3 of a cake when nobody was looking. Another time she at a full stick of real butter. Neither time did she get a tummy ache or got the shits. Stomach of iron, that matched her temperment. She was a lap cuddler and a bed buddy. And yea, she was the runt of the litter. Prob had something to do with her personality.

They are pretty damn robust dogs. Built like a brick shithouse and ready to throw down with anything larger than it. My JRT didn’t mind small dogs but he hated most dogs bigger than him unlike my Schnauzer who will bark at anything and everything that comes near the house.