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 dogs and some of the other noises that they make that are headache inducing.
Racing
Watching and participating in the racing was fun. My dogs absolutely loved it - especially Tracker! Thankfully the husband got to watch and he enjoyed it also. We will be building a racing box and lure machine soon, I think! There is no terrier racing yet in Colorado and Wyoming for the UKC, and I think it would be awesome for the Rocky Mountain Rat Terrier club to host them. There is also practically no expense involved once the materials are bought except for ribbons, as you can run a race in any park with little to no cost. But I digress... The JRTs are very intense about their sport and fun to watch. I ended up with a good bite to my arm though from a little guy whose muzzle slipped off! From then on I handled by the scruff of the neck almost exclusively. No blood, just bruising, and a lesson learned.
Conformation
No surprises in the conformation ring. I was interested that the judge on the first day seemed to judge the dogs while they were just standing there, while the second judged what I would consider "more traditionally" with emphasis on movement. Unfortunately, I did not get to speak with the first judge about his style. I was thankful that I got to learn hands on how the proper way span a terrier! It may be a silly thing to others, but I learned the hows and whys and the ins and out.
And I have to say, I applaud the judges on their bravery - there were some JRTs in the ring that did not want to be touched and let the judges know! I felt sorry for those dogs who had poor socialization - what a negative experience for them.
One of the highlights of Sunday's conformation classes was the "matched pairs" class; it was a fun class with people bringing out two terriers that looked most alike. The host of the trial decided to play a little joke on the judge, and brought out her husband's lab puppy and a Shih-tzu! The judge was intently watching the dogs come around and did not see them sneak into the ring. His double-take almost snapped his neck! I am still laughing thinking about it.
In all, there were many beautiful JRTs there, and I was very glad to learn so much about them from the judges and the dogs' owners.
Barn Hunt
The Barn hunt is set up in a small area with items in it that you would find in a barn - old saddles, haybales, feed sacks, buckets, etc. There are three plastic PVC pipes that are capped on each end with holes drilled down the sides (think breathing holes). Only one of those pipes has a live rat in it, and all of the pipes are hidden in various places around the hunt area. The dogs are timed starting when the dog crossed the starting line, and it ended when the handler called time.
The Barn Hunt was a blast for me and my dogs - it is where Rat Terriers excel. Well, all except for Little Man and Tracker. Little Man was so unhappy about all the barking and screaming (he was SURE someone was going to get into trouble for it) that he wouldn't hunt. Tracker was more interested in finding a rabbit and dug his way underneath the plastic fence to go and stick his head under a nearby building, where spectators confirmed rabbits had been seen earlier. All of the others found it in their own way. Heidi and Rooster went right to the pipe with the rat in it, sniffing it intently. Rodear found it, pawed at it, then decided to roll on it (yeah, she's special in her own way!). Baylo signaled his find with his ears! He sniffed and sniffed, all the while with his ears down and when he found the rat BOINK! his ears went right up. The judge and I had a good laugh over that one.
It was fun to watch the JRTs work. They all know what to do, and most look for those plastic pipes, do a quick check, and then onto the next. They aren't really "hunting" per se, but they are showing lightening fast decision making and lots of instinct.
Go To Ground
Go to Ground involves tunnels and a rat in the cage at the end. The complexity of the tunnel depends on the experience of the dog. The novice dogs have one turn and no obstacles, while the more experienced the dog, the more turns, dead ends and obstacles he may meet. The tunnels are small so that only the terriers of the correct size and height can successfully navigate the tunnel. It is a timed event. The terriers have a certain amount of time to find the quarry, and then must "work it" by digging, barking, screaming, etc. for another period of time.
I only put Little Man in GTG on Friday night (before he decided he was freaked out) and he failed miserably. He had zero interest in that rat - after all, it wasn't a rabbit, was it? I am a bad Rat Dog Mama! He went through the tunnel at my encouraging (even though he wasn't familiar with the scent) and got to the end and was like WTF? He got to the rat, decided he wasn't interested, and somehow turned his body around and came right back out. No rabbit in there Mama! Time to go somewhere else! The judge and I tried to show him the rat a little closer and get him excited about it but no dice. He sniffed it intently then almost peed on it!
This is where the JRTs really went wild. They knew what they were going to do and they had no problem showing their enthusiasm for the sport! They would go through the tunnels with lightening speed to get to their quarry and then work it like their little lives depended on it.
My only reserve for GTG for that was that the dogs had no caution going into the tunnel - and I would hope that if they were out in the field, they would show a little more restraint. Bolting into any open hole is likely to get a dog into trouble and digging up a skunked dog is no fun for anyone involved. I imagine though that at a trial, they know things are different, they are confident of their skills and quarry and they get to it.
In conclusion...
A very fun weekend and there were lots of nice folks to meet. (Some weren't so flattering about the Rat Terriers, but hey, to each their own!) I learned lots of great information about several of their sports, and I will probably be back next year to help out again!
I realized that Jack Russell Terriers are like children for me. They are fun to have around for a while, but it's nice to be able to send them home.
Edited to add:
Here are some pictures that I took. No, I was a slacker and didn't get pictures of any JRTs, but at least you might get a feel for the area!
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 dogs and some of the other noises that they make that are headache inducing.
Racing
Watching and participating in the racing was fun. My dogs absolutely loved it - especially Tracker! Thankfully the husband got to watch and he enjoyed it also. We will be building a racing box and lure machine soon, I think! There is no terrier racing yet in Colorado and Wyoming for the UKC, and I think it would be awesome for the Rocky Mountain Rat Terrier club to host them. There is also practically no expense involved once the materials are bought except for ribbons, as you can run a race in any park with little to no cost. But I digress... The JRTs are very intense about their sport and fun to watch. I ended up with a good bite to my arm though from a little guy whose muzzle slipped off! From then on I handled by the scruff of the neck almost exclusively. No blood, just bruising, and a lesson learned.
Conformation
No surprises in the conformation ring. I was interested that the judge on the first day seemed to judge the dogs while they were just standing there, while the second judged what I would consider "more traditionally" with emphasis on movement. Unfortunately, I did not get to speak with the first judge about his style. I was thankful that I got to learn hands on how the proper way span a terrier! It may be a silly thing to others, but I learned the hows and whys and the ins and out.
And I have to say, I applaud the judges on their bravery - there were some JRTs in the ring that did not want to be touched and let the judges know! I felt sorry for those dogs who had poor socialization - what a negative experience for them.
One of the highlights of Sunday's conformation classes was the "matched pairs" class; it was a fun class with people bringing out two terriers that looked most alike. The host of the trial decided to play a little joke on the judge, and brought out her husband's lab puppy and a Shih-tzu! The judge was intently watching the dogs come around and did not see them sneak into the ring. His double-take almost snapped his neck! I am still laughing thinking about it.
In all, there were many beautiful JRTs there, and I was very glad to learn so much about them from the judges and the dogs' owners.
Barn Hunt
The Barn hunt is set up in a small area with items in it that you would find in a barn - old saddles, haybales, feed sacks, buckets, etc. There are three plastic PVC pipes that are capped on each end with holes drilled down the sides (think breathing holes). Only one of those pipes has a live rat in it, and all of the pipes are hidden in various places around the hunt area. The dogs are timed starting when the dog crossed the starting line, and it ended when the handler called time.
The Barn Hunt was a blast for me and my dogs - it is where Rat Terriers excel. Well, all except for Little Man and Tracker. Little Man was so unhappy about all the barking and screaming (he was SURE someone was going to get into trouble for it) that he wouldn't hunt. Tracker was more interested in finding a rabbit and dug his way underneath the plastic fence to go and stick his head under a nearby building, where spectators confirmed rabbits had been seen earlier. All of the others found it in their own way. Heidi and Rooster went right to the pipe with the rat in it, sniffing it intently. Rodear found it, pawed at it, then decided to roll on it (yeah, she's special in her own way!). Baylo signaled his find with his ears! He sniffed and sniffed, all the while with his ears down and when he found the rat BOINK! his ears went right up. The judge and I had a good laugh over that one.
It was fun to watch the JRTs work. They all know what to do, and most look for those plastic pipes, do a quick check, and then onto the next. They aren't really "hunting" per se, but they are showing lightening fast decision making and lots of instinct.
Go To Ground
Go to Ground involves tunnels and a rat in the cage at the end. The complexity of the tunnel depends on the experience of the dog. The novice dogs have one turn and no obstacles, while the more experienced the dog, the more turns, dead ends and obstacles he may meet. The tunnels are small so that only the terriers of the correct size and height can successfully navigate the tunnel. It is a timed event. The terriers have a certain amount of time to find the quarry, and then must "work it" by digging, barking, screaming, etc. for another period of time.
I only put Little Man in GTG on Friday night (before he decided he was freaked out) and he failed miserably. He had zero interest in that rat - after all, it wasn't a rabbit, was it? I am a bad Rat Dog Mama! He went through the tunnel at my encouraging (even though he wasn't familiar with the scent) and got to the end and was like WTF? He got to the rat, decided he wasn't interested, and somehow turned his body around and came right back out. No rabbit in there Mama! Time to go somewhere else! The judge and I tried to show him the rat a little closer and get him excited about it but no dice. He sniffed it intently then almost peed on it!
Little Man on a RABBIT, NOT a RAT!
This is where the JRTs really went wild. They knew what they were going to do and they had no problem showing their enthusiasm for the sport! They would go through the tunnels with lightening speed to get to their quarry and then work it like their little lives depended on it.
My only reserve for GTG for that was that the dogs had no caution going into the tunnel - and I would hope that if they were out in the field, they would show a little more restraint. Bolting into any open hole is likely to get a dog into trouble and digging up a skunked dog is no fun for anyone involved. I imagine though that at a trial, they know things are different, they are confident of their skills and quarry and they get to it.
In conclusion...
A very fun weekend and there were lots of nice folks to meet. (Some weren't so flattering about the Rat Terriers, but hey, to each their own!) I learned lots of great information about several of their sports, and I will probably be back next year to help out again!
I realized that Jack Russell Terriers are like children for me. They are fun to have around for a while, but it's nice to be able to send them home.
Edited to add:
Here are some pictures that I took. No, I was a slacker and didn't get pictures of any JRTs, but at least you might get a feel for the area!
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