Genetics

While we are not 100% sure, my boyfriend and I are 99.9% convinced that Xena is an Italian Greyhound/Jack Russell mix. The Italian Greyhound came out full force two Sundays ago when she had an opportunity to run around my grandmother's fenced in back yard and she seized the chance by sprinting as fast as she could in giant loops her body close to the ground and long legs pumping her right along. Seeing her full sprint edges me on to get at least part of our yard fully enclosed so we don't need to drive somewhere to give her the opportunity to really get going.

Luckily, her Jack Russell portion didn't result in a high prey drive towards the cats or the rats but we learned after almost two weeks with her that she adores digging. She started out slowing, pawing the ground a bit and sticking her nose into the fresh pile of moved earth but that quickly escalated into her trying to tunnel her way to the center of the planet. While we don't want little holes all over our yard, both my boyfriend and I realize trying to stop her entirely is most likely a futile effort so we are trying to teach her a few spots where digging is OK and letting her go loose. Fortunately, Xena doesn't mind being cleaned up as after she's had a rousing time of digging her usually perfectly white face turns almost black. My boyfriend finds it hysterical; I am not as amused.

I don't like to think of training in terms of a dog's breed(s) alone but also believe it has to be factored in when developing an appropriate training plan. Xena gets distracted SO EASILY (thank you, Jack Russell) but she's also immensely food motivated so Vasco and I are slowly learning how to get her to concentrate using smelly, and obviously tasty, liver treats. Xena being deaf doesn't help, of course, but thankfully her "handicap" leads her to look at us more often than most hearing dogs because she relies more heavily on sight and smell. We are also focusing on a positive reinforcement method of training since my research on Italian Greyhounds leads me to understand that they don't do well to harsh training though I think Xena exudes more Jack Russell in her attitude (she's a tough cookie) think the clicker training (done with a thumbs up instead of the noise) will produce some amazing results with our smart girl.