Top Activities For Jagdterriers

Introduction

Jagdterriers were developed in Germany as all-around hunting terriers, compact and fast enough to hunt small animals like rabbit and squirrel but tenacious enough to confront and hinder boar and black bear. They are energetic and strong-willed animals with a relentless prey drive and although they are generally agreeable with people, they can be contentious with other canines. These little powerhouses, like many of the terrier breeds, need a great deal of physical and mental activity each day in order to keep them out of mischief.

Flyball

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Moderate

Normal

15 - 45 min

Items needed

Flyball Jumps

Flyball Box

Activity description

Jagdterriers have a great deal of energy, stamina, and a serious drive to hunt. They are known not only for their ability to go to ground after fox like many other terrier breeds but also their skill at tracking, particularly blood tracking and their strong desire to retrieve. The fast-paced canine sport of Flyball takes fetch to a higher level with teams of four dogs who each race down a flyball track relay-style. The tracks used in flyball include several hurdles, which are based on the height of the shortest dog on the team, and a flyball box, which the dog activates to get a tennis ball to retrieve. Joining a team has an expense, but is affordable and allows your dog socialization along with the exercise.

Step

1

Health check

This is a strenuous activity, and it is crucial that your pet is checked by a veterinarian before they begin participating. Your veterinarian will want to examine your dog’s cardiovascular and respiratory system as well as their joints and bones. Dogs that are still in adolescence, generally under eighteen months of age, should not participate in this activity as the jumps may cause permanent damage to the joints of dogs who’s growth plates have not matured.

Step

2

Train

In order to participate in the canine sport of flyball, your canine companion is going to have to master jumping over the hurdles and also how to activate the flyball box so that they can retrieve the tennis ball. Many people who are familiar with the sport suggest that training this activity is easier if you initially train the dog jump the hurdles from the end of the flyball track to the beginning. In a team environment, your Jagdterrier will quickly pick this concept up.

Step

3

Register to compete

The speed at which flyball is run makes it extremely difficult to judge with the human eye alone, so they are judged utilizing digital or electronic scoring systems. Both of the two official major organizations that host flyball tournaments, the United Flyball Association (U-Fli) and North American Flyball Association (NAFA) each require separate registrations in order to keep track of the points that each dog earns when they enter a competition.

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Speak and Quiet

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Free

Normal

5 - 15 min

Items needed

Treats

Activity description

Looking for a free activity that will offer your clever dog a mental challenge? The bark of the Jagdterrier is a loud, penetrating sound, meant to be able to be heard by hunters over long distances when the dog has reached their quarry. While this is a helpful trait in the field, it can be quite distressing at home, especially as they are not shy about giving voice if they feel like anything at all is out of the ordinary. Although it may seem counterintuitive, one of the most effective techniques for training your dog to quickly quiet down is to first teach them a command to bark on cue, then teach them a command to quiet down.

Step

1

Speak

The first step is to offer your dog one of their favorite treats and state your chosen command to speak or bark. When your dog begins to bark, give them their reward and enthusiastically praise them. In order to completely cement the behavior in their minds, this step should be repeated several times over the next two or three days, until your dog barks each time that you ask them to. During this stage of training, do not reward other barking behavior with attention of any sort, instead, ignoring the behavior completely.

Step

2

Quiet

Once the training for the command to bark is well established, you can begin the training that teaches them to stop barking on command as well. It is important that this step is first learned in an area that is quiet and distraction free in order to ensure that their focus is completely on the training. Enclose a treat in your hand and give your Jagdterrier the command to speak at which point they will bark. Give the quiet command as you approach your dog with the treat still enclosed in your hand the dog typically stop barking in order to sniff or lick your hand. As soon as they are quiet, open your hand and give them the treat and praise them heavily. Continue practicing both the speak command on its own and on the speak and quiet commands together over the next few days in the distraction-free environment until your pooch consistently responds to both.

Step

3

Quiet is next

You can take the training up a notch once your dog is consistently responding to both commands in the quiet and distraction-free environment. Working with the commands in an area that is still somewhat familiar, but includes a few distractions, somewhere like a quiet nearby park or a familiar hiking trail. It is typically most effective to slowly work your way up to more active environments like within visual distance of a dog park or a within hearing distance of a noisy playground or even a completely unfamiliar environment with a lot of new smells, sounds, and sights.

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Search and Rescue

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Expensive

Hard

2 hrs

Items needed

Certifications

Safety gear as needed

Activity description

The Jagdterrier is a fearless dog which was developed to be an excellent tracker along with their other helpful hunting skills, a skill which in some cases makes them eligible to assist as a Search and Rescue animal as well, although they are smaller than most. Search and rescue dogs do need to be non-aggressive towards both people and other canines and as Jagdterrier dogs are not always particularly friendly towards other canines, early and consistent intensive socialization is key. The training for search and rescue dogs, while based on positive, reward-based methods, is also extremely consistent, which is helpful when working with this breed of dog.

Step

1

Eligibility

Both the human and the canine member of a search and rescue team are required to be both physically and mentally fit in order to handle the stressors of the job. Physical evaluations will be needed for both members of the team before they will be approved to start working, and will need to be renewed periodically as time goes by. Dogs also need to be well-disposed towards people and non-aggressive towards other canines, as well as being generally calm and composed in multiple situations. Dogs that are overly excitable or have developed aggression issues will not be cleared for this kind of job.

Step

2

Get your certifications

There are several skills and certifications that will be needed for the human half of a search and rescue team to be effective. Typical certifications that will be needed by handlers include first aid and CPR, but depending on what type of search and rescue that the team specializes in the handler could also benefit from certifications in backcountry survival skills, urban search and rescue, navigation techniques, and even avalanche awareness.

Step

3

Train and certify your dog

There four groups located in the the United States that officially provide certification for dogs that are able to complete their training and pass the evaluations; FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Certification program, the National Search Dog Alliance (NSDA), the National Association of Search and Rescue (NASAR), and Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS). There are several categories of Search and Rescue that your dog may end up specializing in including area searches, trailing, and human remains.

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More Fun Ideas...

Group Training

The Jagdterrier breed tends to have a rather aggressive temperament towards other dogs unless well socialized. A good way to help ensure that they have good experiences with other dogs is to enroll your dog into group training sessions, giving them a safe and controlled environment in which to be exposed both to new people and new dogs. This is most beneficial when your dog is still young, particularly before four or five months old.

Barn Hunt

Barn Hunt is an activity in which dogs search a barn-like setting for rats that are safely enclosed in protective tubes in order to simulate the experience of hunting rats in barns. While this breed was not originally developed as a pest control dog, they are sometimes utilized in this fashion. Their excellent scenting ability combined with their tenacious temperament makes them well-suited to this activity.

Earthdog Trials

Earthdog trials are designed to test terriers on their willingness and ability to go after game that has gone to ground. Jagdterriers have a strong drive to chase their prey whether they go underground, across the ground, or in the air, making them able competitors in these competitions.

Conclusion

These strong-willed and spirited dogs are fearless hunters with a strong drive to both catch and retrieve. They tend to be tolerant of kids, and if they are given enough exercise and activity each day, these little dogs can make wonderful family companions but will require socialization to get along well with other dogs and are prone to chasing other small animals.