Hurricane Deck

Yesterday's visit with Tim Brown made me start thinking about terrier puppies, or more specifically, what may be wrong with terrier people. I am a little ahead of myself, so let me explain. Tim was impressed with Jada because of her bad, sassy little self. During our visit, she was all over the place - attacking and getting beat up by our 20lb orange cat (she would always go back for more), trying to steal chewies away from much bigger dogs, attacking our pant legs, running through the house with toys, and when he would pick her up, she would relax into his hands and look him straight in the eye - before she decided that she had enough and would wiggle and bite his hands and fuss until he let her down. Tim said that her attitude was what he looked for in pups. I was reminded of something that I read a long time ago about terrier puppies - that if you wanted something that would run right straight down a dark hole in the ground in hopes of finding something that would fight it to

It is rare that I get to talk dogs with people who are interested, especially people who are interested in Rat Terriers. It is even more rare that I get to talk with folks about hunting with their dogs. And even more rare, and a precious experience, when I get to talk with people about hunting with their Rat Terriers. I received that rare gift today when Tim Brown stopped by on his way to his brother's house in Cody, Wyoming. It was too short of a visit! I do hope that I get forgiven for my being a little rattled when he first came, I wasn't expecting him until tomorrow; we all know how some folks can be when their house isn't in good shape - that was me. Tim soon put me at ease when we sat to talk for a few hours about my current dogs and dogs that he has had. Tim was instrumental in preserving the line of hunting terrier dogs from Milton Decker. If you click on his name above, you will read more about them and their Rat Terrier heritage. Most all "Decker Ter

After some exploring in Box Elder Canyon, I came across a hunter management area just west of it. Upon further investigation, I discovered that Duncan Ranch was owned by the State of Wyoming and that it was open for rabbit hunting. Today I went online and got my permission slip. The land looks promising for rabbits - lots of sagebrush surrounding alfalfa and hay pastures; the last time I drove by there there were no hunters in sight. My interest in hunting rabbits with the Rat Dogs is mostly recreational. I can't consider myself a serious rabbit hunter as I really know nothing about how a dog should hunt for rabbits. All I know is that my dogs flush them and give me voice that they are hot on something. I wait until I see the rabbit and shoot, and they bring it back. Tracker can sometimes hog the rabbit, but usually he brings it back to me knowing that I will gut it for him and the rest of the pack immediately. Evidently there is no better eating than a pile of hot rabbit

Otherwise known as the Great Horned Howl, a Bubo virginianus and its juvenile is in the area where I live. It has been a few months since I have heard its adult call. Last night I heard a shrieking and then the hoo-hoo-hoooo of the adult. I knew it was an owl, but I did not know what kind until today when I was able to research it a bit. If you go to the link, make sure to listen to the nocturnal shriek of the owlet - and imagine that sounding like it is coming from your front porch! It was very odd to hear an owl, and then to find out that it was a Great Horned Owl was even more odd. They usually hide in trees during the day - something that we do not have much of in Jackalope country. It is either in the cottonwoods to the south or it is roosting in an easterly neighbor's mature oaks. The latter would surprise me since those neighbors have chickens; I just can't imagine them suffering an owl to live. I found out that GHOs have no problems killing porcupines, skunks, o

Friday morning Erin of Avalanche Acres and I went fox hunting. She took along Ana Banana, and I had Sniper for go to ground and Tracker for our "lurcher" in case they bolted anything from a den. We parked the car, got everyone out, got the two ground dogs collared and then headed into the field. The dogs checked out several dens, but it was obvious by their state that no one was home and hadn't been for a while. It really was no matter - I was having a wonderful time chatting with Erin and learning more about earthwork, walking in the cool Wyoming morning air, and watching the dogs hunt. I was certain that we would know if they found something - Ana was experienced, and Tracker and Sniper had gotten a taste for fox a few days prior. We came across a small pond with about 20' of mud for a shoreline, and metal culvert that acted as an overflow pipe. I asked the dogs to check the spot, and they did - Ana first, then Tracker and then Sniper. All three gave it a qu

Tracker and Sniper took down a young fox last night. I let the dogs out around dusk and they immediately went nuts over something. I went to look and saw 3 foxes - probably a mother and her older kits. I would have let them go unmolested but foxes were responsible for killing my crazy neighbor lady's chickens. I threw Tracker and Sniper over the fence and they both took off. Pity the slower kit - he didn't get too far before he had his last moment with the dynamic duo. I ran back into the house to get my camera but by the time I found it Tracker had already taken off to bury it. Anything that he doesn't want to eat, he buries - he gets that from his mother. After a few futile attempts to chase him down to get close enough to snap a shot, I gave up. He would just grab his treasure and take off again, thinking that I wanted to take it from him. So, here's a picture of Tracker burying a groundhog instead: As far as burying things go, he isn't very good at it. He digs a

We took a trip to Converse County Park, which is really just Box Elder Canyon and the surrounding land, to do a little squirrel hunting. We made our way down the canyon, the dogs merrily traveling along while I was weighted down with my .22 rifle, our water, snacks, first aid kit, knife, bag for carcasses, the .40 in case we ran into a mountain lion, cell phone, GPS, etc. Being a lone hiker with lots of dogs I figure that it is better to be prepared for anything rather than being sorry. (My husband asked me if I was going squirrel hunting or marching on Russia!!!) Going down into the canyon was amazingly enough harder than coming back out! I had never explored the canyon before, and I was slightly disappointed that there were no squirrels to be found. The Rat Dogs, however, had a fantastic time digging up voles and ground squirrels! The babies of the group, Rooster and Baylo, were so excited when the dogs found a whole nest of voles but they didn't really know what they were excit

I've been meaning to write about my experiences at the JRTCA trial over Labor Day weekend. I spent two days catching dogs at the races and then ring stewarding in conformation. I also got to do the barn hunt with my Rat Terriers as an exhibition only type of a thing, and do some stakes racing on Friday night. It's taken me a while to process it all, but here's my stab at it: First off JRT folks are no crazier than other dog folks, they are just wired a little differently. For instance, they make no qualms about partying, for which I love them. And the alcohol at the raffle for JRT rescue had me at hello! While most dog folk are an opinionated lot and tend to congregate in small groups to gossip, JRT have no problems telling you, and everyone else in ear shot, exactly what they think, even if you didn't ask for it. They are also mostly deaf. I don't know if they were that way before they got their JRTs or after, but none of them seemed to mind crazed barking do