hello from the Turks and Caicos

[Wolakrab]

Good to see you again, Gringo.

[cataholic]

We had never had one of the small breed dogs before. I never had much use for the yippy little critters, always had labs, couple spaniels, etc. Then we knew we were going to be travelling a bit and decided to try this Jack Russell Terrierist. He was only about six weeks old when we got him.

Terriers are different. Based upon a lifetime of experience with mostly black and golden labs, and now having spent over five years with this JRT, I have some ideas on that. Most of the breeds I have had in the past were basically dogs bred to help with hunting. I shoot the duck, or pheasant, and the dog runs or swims out and brings it back to me. Or leads me to the birds and stands still while I shoot them. Labs seem to live to make you happy. That's their thing.

JRTs are bred to be independent killers. Watching this thing kill six rats in something like two minutes was really startling. No playing around like a cat, these dogs are all business and hyper efficient. A quick, violent head shake, then a skull crunch, and move on. They are looking for the next rat before the last one has stopped shuddering. He thinks he can kill anything his size or smaller for sure, and some things bigger than he is. I really don't think he pays attention to size. People have told me of them killing squirrels, for example. Close enough to a rat, I guess. He will charge three or four sixty lb dogs, barking and growling with his hackles up and it's rare that they don't all run from him. ( I think he tells them he is a lawyer from New Jersey)

When he smells a rat, he becomes totally focused on tracking it down. He will stay outside way past his dinner time, til midnight or until we go get him, patiently working to find a rat. It becomes his whole reason to be there. He wants to kill it. Not fetch it, not point it out to me so I can kill it. HE wants to kill it. It's an obsession. The whole attitude is different. I know it's funny to think of a seventeen pound dog as being a natural born killer, but it's true.

Little SOBs are way too smart for their own good, too. His major saving grace is that he is almost fearless ( except for thunder-related things) and loves boats and loves to swim.

I can relate. After having labs, bird dogs, etc., we got a West Highland Terrier about 4 years ago. Kin to a Scottish Terrier I think, but they are white.

He is a total ###### (P R I C K), let me tell you. Thinks he weighs about 150 lbs. I have never seen him back down from a confrontation, no matter how big the other dog was. And his teeth hurt!!

[Gringo]

If there were 250# JR's running around mankind would still be in caves.

No kidding. We have the short haired, short legged version. At least I can be reasonably sure that once he got up to around sixty pounds or so his feet wouldn't reach the ground any more.

Oh, no doubt he would figure something out, but it would buy us some time to run.