Skip to main content

Terrier Puppies

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 the death, well, a terrier puppy probably isn't for you. While Rat Terriers aren't anywhere near as intense as a Jack Russell can be, I still direct folks that are interested in a puppy to the JRTCA website to read their Bad Dog Talk.

And so I am led to wonder about terrier people. Folks who talk about their puppy say in the same breath, "She is awful and into everything and I just love her!" People who relish the toughness and hardiness of a breed that will never be for just anyone. People who love them for what they are and what they are not. It is why so many terriers end up in rescue; very few people can appreciate a terrier in its "natural state."

And as I type this, I am missing my dogs. I wish I was back at home or in the field with them, just enjoying them for themselves and appreciating all the happiness that they bring me.

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