[sophban]

Hi
I am currently looking at getting a puppy and we are very interested in a Jack Tzu and I just wondered if anyone had experience of this mix?
We have a 2 year old daughter and 2 beloved cats (3 yrs old) so we want to make sure that what ever dog we get is good with children and cats!

Any advice / experience greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Sophie

 

[Shandula]

JRTs are seriously intense dogs. They are a HANDFUL. They are very smart (which means they are capable of making their own fun, and not always fun that you want!) JRTs are terriers, which means they have a decent prey drive, so I would be careful about how you introduce them to your cats. They also can be quite nippy, so I would again supervise closely with your child.

Now since you are looking at a cross-breed, your dog could end up with some, none, or all of the classic JRT traits. Personally, I think a JRT would be too much for me.

Here is a thread of someone dealing with a fairly intense JRT: JRT Puppy

Personally, I don't recommend the smaller breeds to people with children as it doesn't always work out. Children react VERY different than adults, and dogs (particularly small dogs) get kind of freaked out by them. That's not to say it can't work out, but it will require a lot of work.

 

[SueM]

Shandula said what I was trying to in my reply to your other post: Keep in mind, my experience with both breeds has been those owned by others (both pet and performance/show homes). Jack Russells, like most terriers in general, can be aggressive with small animals (and sometimes with larger animals, too). They are also a very active breed. If not given enough mental and physical activity, they can be destructive. They can have an "I rule the house" attitude. Because of that attitude, I'd be leery of getting one with young children in the house.

The Shih Tzus I've been around have had very nice personalities. With that breed, I think I'd be more afraid of them getting hurt by accident with a toddler in the house.

 

[mathilda]

Jackies are really intese dogs. I'm sure it will need a lot of mental and physical exercise.
they can also be quite agressive towards smaller dogs or animals and some are a bit snappy which makes them not the greatest fit for a house with a toddler in my opnion. older children that know how to interact with a dog are probably fine.

I think in your case I'd chose a less intense breed or mix.
the slightly bigger dogs are often better with children. generally small children should not be close to a dog when you can't control it. No direct interaction.
with cats it is also a bit of luck but most dogs can be trained to leave your own cats alone (not the neighnouring or unknown cats though). Any dog of any breed can show some preydrive.

what do you think of poodles. they fluffy, they are inellingent, but they're more willing to work together with humans and are pretty good at adapting.

 

[kelly528]

I'd caution you to stay away from "designer breeds" and dogs like a Jack-Tzu are exactly why. I'd be hard-pressed to find two dogs as different in personality, energy level and grooming needs as the jack and the shih-tzu. They could almost be predator and prey!!! I think that as a society we are a little too confident in our ability to create these "franken-dogs" because we automatically assume that we will get the best traits of both breed... That is not how nature works!!! You can cross two different breeds and get completely unique results with every litter. Our quest for the perfect, quintessentially cute, totally-non-shedding, low-maintenance, highly-trainable, great with kids, perfectly-conformed, disease-free dog is little more than a puppy marketing craze that is starting to get out of hand.

Now that I've gotten that off my shoulders...

Consider some of these guys:
-Soft-coated wheaten terrier
-Havanese
-Shih-tzu
-West Highland White terrier
-Bichon frise

All are small, non-shedding, low-medium energy, and quite good with kids.