Hurricane Deck

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...

I took the Rat Pack down to a section of state land not far from where I keep my horses so that they could run and play in the creek and try to beat some of the heat we have been having! This was also Fritz's first time out without his splint, and he is doing very well with his healed leg. Bye Mom! My main men! Time to cool off. Fritz loved playing in the water. I love the movement on this dog - even in sand it is practically flawless. Fritz spent most of the hike perched in my arms, watching the big dogs. Raccoon tracks Jada invites Rodear to play Sniper surveys his kingdom Cooling off the pitty paws Rooster tried his best to catch some minnows but was unsuccessful! While pretty, it is not nearly green enough. Bring on the rain!

Happy 4th Birthday to Sniper! A little under 4 years ago, Diana brought a litter of 4 week old puppies to Tracey’s house, and of course I was there! I had wanted a puppy from this litter since the idea of it was first bandied about – a puppy from two of my favorite dogs? HELL YES. There were 9 puppies in the litter. Diana brought in an x-pen and set it up and then she brought in the crate full of baby Ratties. Before she had even opened the crate, a crowd of adult Rat Terriers had gathered around the x-pen to see what the newbies would look like. When Diana opened the crate door, one puppy bounded over the rest and was out of the crate like a flash! For a moment, he decided that he was bigger and tougher than any of those other dogs, and decided to bark and growl at them to tell them who was the boss! When the other dogs didn’t respond to his display of power, he decided to change tactics – he was outnumbered, so Plan B was to go into a play bow, wag his nubbin and try to make ...

Dr. Willer = Magic. Just to let you know how delicate the work is that he did on Fritz is, five of those screws are 1.5mm and one is 2.0mm. The plate is so small that it fits on a 3lb dog. I think that Fritz will be just fine. 2 months of rest and a few x-rays to make sure that the pins aren't causing any problems and Fritz will be good to go. Wow. Just wow. The plate.

My tiny baby who won a Toy Group Two in the Beginner Puppy Class competition last Saturday took a tumble down a flight of stairs on Sunday night and broke his front front left leg. He goes into surgery today at 2pm with one of the best veterinary orthopedic surgeons around, Dr. Randy Willer. Dr. Willer does not own his own practice these days, rather he travels around to different practices performing surgery with the two techs that travel with him. Such expertise is not cheap, but he comes highly recommended. The vet that recommended him noted that if he broke any bones in his own body, he would go to Dr. Willer and not anyone else! If you've ever had a conversation with me about the rising cost of vet care, you might have heard me say "I would NEVER spend over X amount on a dog." Ha! I am pretty big until it comes to my dogs, I guess. I will say though that Fritz's quality of life will most likely not be diminished by this surgery, nor will he be in pain once it is ...

It is almost time to hit the road for the Rocky Mountain Cluster in Denver this weekend. I am so excited to be going - with over 2,000 dogs in agility, rally, obedience and conformation there is certainly something there for everyone. This is my first time going, I have to say that I am excited to go shopping! I've heard that there is so much there to buy that you have to make a few rounds first before you start spending your money - you might find something you wanted later but already spent your dough. The dogs have been bathed, and let me tell you there is nothing like bathing 4 pounds of furious Toy Fox Terrier! But, with the new shampoo I bought he looks outstanding and no longer smells like a dog. Sniper was the first to get his bath - he knows a bath means show time! He LOVES to show, so he is having an absolute fit running around the house waiting for me to load him up. Look for updates - the Miscellanous class is huge this year!