When you bring home your new puppy, the first thing on your mind may not be training a Jack Russell, but it should be something you should start considering soon. Indeed, your puppy may be a sweet and cuddly ball of fluff, but it won't take long for that fluff ball to grow and become much more destructive, building bad habits and creating quite a struggle in your family.

Remember, your puppy is completely dependent on you for training a Jack Russell to fit into your world. You need to provide leadership and guidance to allow your Jack Russell puppy to understand what is expected of him or her, and to help him or her to develop a strong character, pleasant temperament, and healthy habits for desirable behaviors. It is at this time that you build the foundation for the rest of your dog's life.

Training a Jack Russell is also essential to help your puppy to adjust into your family life. Otherwise, he or she will feel like an outcast, and will never develop the proper habits and behaviors to be a great companion.

While some parts of training a Jack Russell will be a lot of fun, you'll need to understand that there will be other times that it will be challenging work. Remember that Jack Russells are intelligent, but they're also very determined and strong and no matter what you do, they will behave like dogs some of the time.

Before training a Jack Russell begins, these puppies will be heavy chewers, loud barkers, criers, diggers, and will need to go out to "use the facilities" very frequently. From day 1, you'll need to begin setting the ground rules. This will mean that you'll always be giving directions and outlining boundaries for your puppy to follow and respect throughout his or her life.

Keep in mind that there are many different techniques for training a Jack Russell, but no matter which one you choose, you'll need to select one based on positive reinforcement and that does not include punishment. Jack Russell terriers are extremely clever dogs and they do not respond well to negative reinforcement. This only instills fear and prolongs the training experience as their self confidence quickly sinks when they are punished. Instead of negative reinforcement, it is usually recommended that gentle corrections or ignoring techniques be used for undesirable behaviors.

When done properly, training a Jack Russell will help you to create the perfect companion for you and your family.