Skip to main content

Sly like a fox

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 shallow grave and then uses his nose to push dirt up over the object he is trying to bury. Goofy dog.

I am proud of them both! Hopefully the foxes won't be traipsing through our yard again any time soon.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

High Toes

Sometimes I get into discussions with people about dog structure and really, really, it makes me want to beat my head against a wall. However, those always make me publish those words and pictures that have been rattling around in my head for a while. Case in point – someone posted on a board that they thought that a high toe on a dog was a “cosmetic fault.” My opinion on this is fairly solid – NO! A high toe is a STRUCTUAL fault. Someone then posted that they wanted “proof.” Ah, here we go. The boondoggle of proof! Studies! Someone, somewhere, somehow agreeing or disagreeing with my point! The unfortunate thing is that it really isn’t to be found. Our Proof wanter found a website in which a couple had a Staffordshire Terrier with a high toe, and they readily admitted that the high toe caused issues with her gait, but then concluded that it was just a cosmetic issue. Hmm, really? The document can be found here , you can look at the pictures and read it for yourself. (Don't use the
6 comments
Read more

All Positive - All BS

I, in my infinate inability to keep my mouth shut, offered someone training advice on a public forum for their resource guarding Rat Terrier. I told them that when he does the growling bit, calmly walk over, pick him up by the scruff of the neck, and put him in his kennel for a few hours. In my own experience with Ratties, this works pretty well because the dog learns that if you attempt to guard something, you will be corrected and then removed from your treasure and the rest of the pack. I didn't think that this was in any way controversial. Oh, how wrong I was! I found out that I might as well have told her to punt the dog like a football across the room, because that is what "scruffing" is to the "All Positive" fanatics. Of course, their suggestions would lead to reinforcement of the behavior or out and out terror. There were two camps - the first camp said to "redirect the dog's behavior by offering it a treat to give up it's treasure
Post a Comment
Read more

Brindle and the Rat Terrier

It seems like every once in a while the topic of brindle comes up in the Rat Terrier world. Teeth are gnashed and garments are rendered because brindle is not an acceptable pattern in our breed, and the standard says that brindle is a disqualification. The standard probably won’t change any time soon, and I certainly hope that it will NEVER include brindle! Why? The UKC standard says, in the very beginning, that “These terriers probably included crosses between the Smooth Fox Terrier, the Manchester Terrier and the now extinct white English Terrier… Some of these dogs were crossed with Whippets or Italian Greyhounds (for speed) and Beagles (for hunting ability).” Let’s take a look at the ancestors of the Rat Terrier and how their standards treat brindle: Smooth Fox Terrier UKC : Serious Fault AKC: Objectionable Manchester Terrier: UKC: Disqualification AKC: Disqualification Whippet: UKC: Any color/pattern accepted. AKC: Any color/pattern accepted. Italian Greyhounds: UKC: Disqualif
5 comments
Read more