Our lovable 2-year-old Jagdterrier: the good, the bad, and why she stole our hearts

I have to start with a bit of a sad backstory. If you're a softie and get easily emotional, you might want to skip the first paragraph.

Our grandfather's old little dog, Chan, had passed away. It was a pretty respectable age of almost 15 years! And it was loved by everyone in the family, well-fed, and had its belly rubbed every day. Chan was a stray dog that was rescued on the road when it was still a puppy.

After that, our grandfather decided to take a bit of a break before getting another dog. That was about six months ago.

To keep grandfather and grandmother from being lonely, we decided to get them a puppy. It was just about a month before grandfather's birthday, so we searched for a suitable option on the classifieds website. Dad, a former hunter, suddenly remembered that his friend used to have a German Shepherd. And as a 'distraction' from the German Shepherd, he reminded us of the story about how this German Shepherd was left alone in a car for a few minutes, and it managed to chew through all the seatbelts and interior of the back seats.

I'm not sure what reaction he expected to see on our faces, but it was shock and surprise. When he said 'Well, it was fun, wasn't it?', we ruled out that option. I suggested a small Cocker Spaniel or a Beagle, but brother wanted to give a Jack Russell. However, these breeds didn't fit our budget, so we had to go back to the German Shepherd. Dad said 'I promise everything will be alright!' so we trusted him, agreed to buy from the breeder, and the next day we were already driving 100 km to another city to pick up our puppy, as there weren't any breeders nearby.

We were left with just one girl, so we decided to buy her. It's funny how all our previous dogs and our current elderly German Shepherd are females, so we decided not to experiment and went with another female puppy, this time 1 month old.

We were worried sick about how the puppy would behave on the long drive, as when we brought our German Shepherd home as a puppy of the same age, she cried nonstop for a couple of minutes, and now we were facing a drive of over an hour, maybe even two hours. We took water, a small bowl, and some puppy food with us, lined up a box with a blanket, and hit the road.

When we met the breeder, I was surprised to see just how small the puppy was! And how smart and obedient her mom was, who greeted us with the owner, never leaving his side and following every command.

Our puppy's momOur little one fit in the palm of our hands. She was a sweet, sleepy little ball of black fur with huge, shiny eyes! I'm not used to such tiny puppies, as all our German Shepherds as puppies were the size of a grown-up Jagdterrier (as it turned out). So, yeah, I was blown away.

My brother and I sat in the backseat, while dad drove. We took the box with us and laid our little one inside, which the breeder had just fed. She fell asleep almost instantly, so we breathed a sigh of relief. But not for long.

We were in for a surprise when our little jagd started to get restless in the box. So we put her on the passenger seat and she just fell asleep. She slept all the way, occasionally waking up to take a sip of water. I mean, no fuss, no crying. She didn't even make a mess on the seat. It was like a little sunbeam just snoozed! We were prepared for anything, but not for such a peaceful ride. Fast forward to our walks in the woods now, and she's a whole different story - she starts barking excitedly and jumping all over the place, only to calm down as soon as we reach our destination.

On the way back home, we were brainstorming names and consulted with mom via messenger. We finally settled on the name Tessa, which mom thought was a great choice, saying "It rhymes with princess, she'll be a princess".

Spoiler alert: she's not exactly living up to that princess title, more like a little demon.

We finally made it home, and our mom was waiting for us. She was just as blown away by the pet's small size as we were. But then we hit a problem - our backyard is surrounded by a fence, no surprise there. The thing is, there were some pretty big gaps at the bottom, and we knew our little escape artist could slip through them and make a break for it.

Because of that, we had to keep a close eye on her for the first few days. My brother, who was on summer break, was basically her full-time babysitter. He spent most of his time outside, playing with the dog, and only came inside when she was asleep and he could lock her up in a little enclosure.

My brother took these photos :)

This is the enclosureMy puppy, a German Shepherd, was howling and whining nonstop for the first few weeks, especially at night. But when it came to playing fetch, she'd only howl to ask to go outside. Initially, we kept the two dogs separate - Tessa on the backyard and Dart (the German Shepherd) on the front yard. They never met, and we made sure of it. But the German Shepherd somehow sensed that a new companion had joined the family. We didn't plan on introducing them, as we were considering giving the puppy to my grandfather. But after just a week or two, we grew so attached that we couldn't bear the thought of giving her up. In the end, we decided to give my grandfather something else instead, and he still hasn't gotten a dog of his own - he just feeds the strays that roam around his place.

The two dogs have vastly different attitudes towards veterinarians. The German Shepherd is terrified, while the puppy doesn't care what gets injected into her. She's always up for a game, even after a shot - 'Hey, vet, toss me the ball!'

We started introducing the dogs to each other as early as the vet recommended. At first, we just showed them to each other, but we were nervous that our German Shepherd, Dart, might not take kindly to the new addition. We worried she'd get spooked or even worse, attack. But it was our little Tessa who ended up being the bold one. She'd hide behind my brother's legs and bark loudly, even though she was only about 1.5 months old. Dart, on the other hand, didn't start barking until she was around 6 months old. So, we were surprised all over again.

As time went on, we started letting them spend more time together, sometimes even allowing Dart to approach Tessa. Eventually, we'd let them play together. And to our surprise, our feisty German Shepherd turned out to be a super caring and gentle big sister! She was so patient and kind, forgiving Tessa's antics, nipping, barking, and clinginess. She even let Tessa sleep next to her and even share her bed.

By the time Tessa was 3-4 months old, we moved her to the front yard. We built her a separate little house, but she still preferred to sleep next to Dart

Our dog Darta started learning basic commands around this time. My brother and I already had experience training dogs, so we knew the ropes. She's picked up 'sit', 'stay', 'come', 'no', and 'home' commands like a pro. And get this - she never ventures out of the yard on her own or without permission. After a walk with one of us, she'll always head back home, even without being told to.

I've also noticed Darta's not a fan of being petted. She hates it when you touch her paws, and the only places she'll tolerate being touched are her head or back. Anything else, and you're in for a nip.

That's the complete opposite of Tessa, who loves being hugged. 'Give me your paw' is her favorite command, and she's also a big fan of snoozing on our laps when we're chillin' on the patio.

I got sidetracked from the topic. As for training a Jagdterrier, we were surprised again. The German Shepherd learned commands quickly enough, it took us just a couple of days to learn something new and another couple of days to solidify it. But the Jagdterrier... She's just a genius dog. Tessa knew the command after just a few repetitions, and over the next couple of days, we just reinforced it. And that's it... She learned 'sit', 'stay', 'come', 'no', 'give a paw' (her and my favorite), 'get up', 'let's go' (similar to the 'stay by my side' command), 'home', and 'fetch'. 'Fetch' was actually one of the first things she learned on her own. She just loves playing fetch. Unlike the German Shepherd, Darty turned out to be a super serious dog who doesn't enjoy playing. The only game that caught her interest, and that's only since our new neighbor's dog arrived, is chase, where she runs around the entire yard trying to catch Tessa. It's quite an entertaining spectacle!

I have to admit, I love comparing them because it's new and amazing to me that these two dogs turned out to be complete opposites, but they love each other so much that I'm just... well, I get choked up thinking about or talking about their relationship to anyone

As time went on, I started to notice some challenges with taking care of Tessa.

First of all, she needs some kind of activity all the time: games, running, or anything else, or she starts causing trouble. She chewed on the furniture on our deck for a long time, stole slippers, dug up my mom's garden, and all sorts of other things, and there was no way to stop her. The vet said she'd grow out of it. And indeed, after a year and a half, most of the trouble stopped. Now, sometimes as a game, she'll steal something from us and then wait for us to chase her. Usually it's some gardening gloves. But if we don't do that, she loses interest and we can just put the thing back. That's why what people say online about this breed not being suited for apartment living is true. If you don't want to end up in complete chaos due to your jagdterrier's boundless energy, that's something to consider.

Secondly, she's incredibly stubborn. As she's gotten older, this has shown up in the fact that some commands she only does with great reluctance, and sometimes not at all. For example, she loves 'give me your paw', 'let's go', and 'get up', but when it comes to 'sit', she can be impossible to get to do it. You can try kneeling down and begging her, but she just won't sit. Unless, of course, there's a treat involved.

Thirdly, toys get destroyed in a matter of days, no matter how sturdy they are. But watching her get a new squeaky toy or stuffed animal is pure joy. I'm happy to buy five new ones a week just to see her wagging her tail and antennae.

Lastly, she's always trying to escape. I've heard stories about jagdterriers chasing deer on hunting trips and then turning up in the next town over. We've had two instances of her getting loose when she was a kid. She just slips out and then we have to chase after her.

I've gotta say, it's a good thing I managed to catch the squirrel both times. I mean, what if I hadn't? So yeah, be careful out there, guys.

Another thing to note about this breed is that they're fearless. I'm not kidding. They'll take on a bear if they feel like it. So, be cautious there too.

One of the other perks I haven't mentioned yet is how low-maintenance this breed is when it comes to grooming. At least for the harsh-coated ones. We just wash them and then deal with the occasional tangles of their short fur. Although, the second part of that process is something they absolutely hate... And honestly, it takes two of us to do it, with one holding them down and the other quickly going through their coat while they're making all these high-pitched squealing noises.

So, you want to know what a total nightmare looks like after a hike? Well, most of it comes off on its own, but you'll still need to brush out a few pesky thorns She's a total foodie, just like me! We feed our dogs oatmeal most of the time, but we like to mix it up with some meat every now and then. Occasionally, we'll even spring for store-bought kibble. And get this - our Tess loves fruit, especially apples. We've got a tiny apple tree in our backyard that's still pretty young, but it finally produced two apples last year. Guess who ate them both? Yep, Tess! She just reached up and plucked them right off the tree, and then proceeded to devour them almost completely. We never even got to try one - but Tess seemed to enjoy them just fine.One thing that's really stood out to me is her incredibly high pain threshold. It's wild to see her fall from a height (like off the stairs) and not make a peep. And the craziest part? She just gets up and keeps on going like nothing happened.Tess is super curious - she loves to explore and figure out what's going on. She's always getting into things and investigating every nook and cranny.

I was pleasantly surprised by how healthy this breed is - even our vet confirmed it. This breed was developed relatively recently, and it's a rare thing, but it doesn't have any inherited health issues or special care requirements. Many breeds have their own quirks and problems, but the Jagdterrier is lucky to be free of those. Let me give you an example. Mops are notorious for having a specific eye disease called chronic corneal erosion. You have to keep a close eye on a Mops' diet, or they'll end up severely overweight and that can shorten their lifespan. Their respiratory system isn't the best, so you need to make sure they don't overexert themselves, aren't in a stuffy room, and don't get overheated in the summer.

Another plus is that they get along great with other dogs. At least our Jagdterrier gets along swimmingly with our older German Shepherd.

I want to highlight one thing. Our Jagdterrier is a hunting dog, but in our case, she's grown into something like a working dog with hunting instincts. She loves chasing pigeons, running after them, or trying to catch any frogs that wander into our yard, and she also shakes her head when playing with toys (like she's strangling them or breaking their necks – that's what a hunting dog does to its prey).

So, how did this happen? Our vet, who's been treating our dogs for years, asked the question. It turns out that Jagdterriers are extremely trainable and attentive to everything around them. Since she grew up with a German Shepherd, which is a working dog and guard dog, Tessa just picked up its habits and skills by observing and imitating it. And that's how our Jagdterrier turned out to be a mini version of a German Shepherd.

Lastly, I want to say that we absolutely love both of our dogs. They're completely different, but equally precious to us.

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That's it for now, guys.

Naturally, I hope my review was helpful!

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