Go Bottom Go Bottom

Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
shortmagnum
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 848 Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-24          115353

Some time ago I posted a verse that went:

Before they bury me 'neith the turf
if I could be just half a Murf.

It looks like I've taken one more step toward that by getting a Jack Russell terrier pup. There's a pic of her on #2. What a wonderful smart dog. She's almost 3 months old now. I don't think I'll get two of them though. Hey that fits the half a Murf theme. :)
Dave


The reason we have a new dog is that not long ago we lost our West Highland terrier to a fungal disease called blastomycosis (link below). It's a fungal disease that dogs (and humans) get from spores in the dust. She went off her food and five days later she was dead. We started her on the expensive medicine but it was just too late. There were plenty of tears in the house that day.



Link:   Blastomycosis

 
Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-24          115356

Dave, thank you so much for the kindest of words.

My condolences, both on the loss of your Westie, and on your getting a Jack, your life will never be the same again.

All kidding aside, I know how tough the loss of a beloved pet is. Those damned little buggers really get to your heart don't they?

If you don't already know a JRT, or PRT (mine are actually Parson Russells BTW) is actually the only pure-mutt there is, and as anyone who has ever had a cross-breed probably knows, they're as smart as a whip!

Teach that little cutey early, and teach it well, they will learn anything and everything you care to teach them.

Do it and yourself a favour though, don't feed it strictly commercial food. To a JRT or PRT, commercial food is like feeding a kid at Mickey D's 3 meals a day, that pup will run around like a wild banshee, high as a kite.

I've had & bred them for over 20 years now, if you have any questions PLEASE feel free to shoot me a line or two.


Best of luck, you'll need it. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-24          115362

Dave, as a big time dog lover I'm always saddened when I hear about the loss of a beloved dog. We cried around here for weeks when we lost ours. I read an interesting (if poorly written) book entitled "Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates" that explored the question of whether we'd see our dogs in heaven or not. The authors conclusion was that we would. I like to think so since that is a comforting thought after the loss of a pet. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
shortmagnum
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 848 Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-24          115363

Thanks for the condolences guys. We still miss the little girl. She was just in her prime and was a great dog, only 5 years old.

Thanks Murf for the offer of advice. Our new JR is definately a handfull. I'm constantly telling my wife that she's got to make the dog come when she calls now or she will never listen to her. When she (the dog) ignores me I just run her down and make her come to the spot I called from. When she was 7 weeks old I could actually run her down. Now I don't think she realizes she's 3 times faster than I am and just sits there. Almost all the time she comes on a dead run but sometimes there is something that is just too interesting...

Last week at dusk the dog and I we were sitting on the deck of our place in northern Wisconsin watching four deer out in my deer plot. Suddenly I noticed the dog's hair rise up. About 40 yards away was a gray wolf looking back at us. I really had to scramble and grab the dog because I knew she was about to TRY to destroy that wolf. I grabbed the dog and got her inside. It's obvious they have no fear of humans, it was in no rush to get away from me. As it trotted off a second one that was coming in at about a 90 degree angle joined it. I'm sure they were hunting the deer, not us.
Dave
....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-24          115364

Dave, you will find that there is a very powerful connecting link between a JR's ears and their stomach.

Try, while she's young, giving her 'practice' commands, somewhere quiet, inside, where there are few distractions. Start with the basics, sit, stay, come, etc., but reward each positive response with a tiny bit of food. In very short order she will be VERY obedient, then slowly start to change it so that she only gets a treat every other time, then every third time, and so on until she is doing ti for nothing but praise, and lots of it.

As you already figured out, control is absolutely EVERYTHING.

They have some sort of eye problem that they are ALL born with, they look at another animal and no matter what we see it as, they see it as a mere fraction of their own size. It could be a 200 pound bear, but to a JRT it would look like a mouse.

We had a little episode of this here just this past weekend. My wife and I went for a little walk at the lake, the dogs caught the scent of something under the dock and away they went, suddenly there was the most horrendous noises coming out from underneath. They had found and cornered a racoon, and a big one at that. By the time I was able to call them off of it, poor Rocky was missing several clumps of fur and one of them came out with about 2" of it's tail in her mouth.

To make matters worse, when we got home sunday night, my wife let them out for a pee and they surprised a chipmunk, the poor creature made the last wrong turn of it's life, it ran in the open door of the sunroom. Before my wife new what was happening the Chippie was dead.

If it's any consolation, JRT's are so fast, as you probably have already discovered, that they seldom get into any serious trouble. My two have had several run-ins with coyotes and such here, it always ends up the same, nothing can run fast enough to get them. There was one close call with a Red Tail hawk, but the dog saw it swooping in when I yelled, she laid real low and at the last moment she went straight up and snapped at the poor bird. I dont think that hawk will ever look at another animal the same way ever again. It shocked the bird so bad it flew into a tree trying to get away.

If time allows, try spending an hour a day, three days a week working on obedience. It doesn't ahve to be all at once, it can be 15 minutes 4 times a day or something.

BTW, I updated my pictures and now you can see both the little buggers, it is my new picture # 4.

Best of luck. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2005-08-24          115372

Dave
Me too, sorry to hear your loss! Our lab is on her last few months herself. Been trying to prepair the kids and wife but they seem to zone out when I want to discuss it. The endless love the dogs bring into our lives is priceless.
Once again sorry too hear that. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
shortmagnum
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 848 Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-25          115396

Brokenarrow, thanks for the thoughts. I was down close to your area a couple of times looking for some acreage to buy. There was a nice 40 east of Winter but that's getting a little too far away from Hayward for me. One other piece was only 10 miles or so from Ladysmith. Land is getting pricey up north too.
Dave ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-25          115441

Shortmagnum, it's my understanding the spore problem your dog got is common up there in the northeastern Wisconsin. I have an uncle up there that my parents go and visit. My folks refuse to take their two goldens up there because of the spores. The loss of the dogs would be really hard on them. Those two meatheads are their kids now.

Sorry for your loss. I know it's hard. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
Justus
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 179 Justus, Pa.
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2005-08-25          115448

Shortmagnum, just wanted to add my condolences. I'm also a dog lover, partial to Labs. When I lose one of the guys I don't even want to talk to anyone for a few days. It takes me long time to get over it and I hesitate to use that terminology because I never REALLY DO. For a few years I worked with a Golden Retriever as part of my job. Like a lot of people would, a few of the people I worked with would refer to the dog as "The Mutt." I would always say, "He has papers to prove his lineage, I doubt you could say the same." That usually shut them up.
Again, my condolences. Steve ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
BrendonN
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 89 Central Kansas
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2005-08-25          115458

Sounds like some knowledgable dog folks here that may be able to answer a question. Around here, Rat Terriers are quite common and we have a pair ourselves. I have heard that this breed and the Jack Russell are pretty closely related. Is this true?
The Rats make great farm dogs and have the built in desire and ability to keep the place free of vermin. (I wish they would leave the skunks alone, though.) They are bit high strung sometimes, but I think that having two sort of lets them get each other wound up. Certainly no shortage of energy. Fortunately, it is not the kind of energy we need to worry about when people come to our house. Their bark is far worse than their bite. If you are a person, that is. If you are a member of the rodent family, you had better keep your distance. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
shortmagnum
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 848 Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-26          115471

Justus, Thanks, we always had Labs when I was growing up. They were all good dogs and good hunters. I remember my older brother in the yard telling one young lab to sit and stay. He forgot about it and 2 hours later the poor thing was still sitting.:)

Brenden, We also had a rat terrier. Again, a really neat dog. Is there a relationship between rats and Jack Russels? I suppose way back there somewhere there was a common ancestry. I think the Jack Russell was originally bred from a fox terrier by the good Parson. Murf???
Dave ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-26          115472

Hey folks, the theory is right, they're all 'cousins' to each other.

As I touched on earlier, JRT's are "pure-bred mutts", that is they are the product of very selective inter-breeding between pure-bred animals of similar breeds. The idea was to combine the best attributes of each into one "super dog" that was the best all round hunting dog possible.

The original goal was to end up with a breed which could run with both the hounds and horses, would readily go to ground and flush the fox back to the surface, be a more than adequate upland bird & game dog, and also be a good companion dog, one which was not in the least bit afraid of horses or guns.

He succeeded quite admirably, IMHO.

The original main breeds combined were the Wire Haired Fox Terrier, the Beagle, and the Corgi. There were also, however, many other working breeds, mostly of the terrier group which were minor components of the end result.

The Rat Terrier is a breed that is really only known in North America (mostly just the United States) and is a result of a mixture of the fox terriers brought here from England my the original settlers. In most other parts of the world the same basic dog is known as the Smooth Fox Terrier and there is some speculation that the Rat Terrier breed was just a way to standardize a new cross-breed of terriers that evolved in the US.

They are all the same in general appearance, temperment and behaviour.

Usually hyperactivity is a sign of either an incorrect diet, or lack of activity. Please note, by 'activity' I do NOT mean exercise. A JRT (or most any other terrier) will do just fine on very moderate amounts of exercise provided they are given a liberal amount of mental activity to keep them occupied. My present dog's Grandfather was my main stud dog years ago, he was also at my side day & night, he would lay at my feet in the office, waiting for something to happen, and he never tired of merely watching the world go by out the truck window as I drove between sites. He (and I) would log upwards of 75,000 miles a year. This is why JRT's make such fantastic companions for retirees, they thrive on some constant activity, regardless of how minor or trivial.

Anything closely related or resembling what they perceive as prey is in great peril from all of these dogs. Racoons, Chipmunks, Squirrels, Ferrets, Mink, Weasels, Cats, even Groundhogs are favourites.

Best of luck. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-08-26          115474

Some years ago there was a feature article in one of the outdoor magazines about a guy who guided/hunted mountain lion in Colorado.

He had a pack of hounds that could track and tree the big cats but they would occasionally get their lunch eaten by a lion that turned on them instead of running.

So he added an Airedale Terrier to the pack and ended that problem. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
toolate
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 27
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2017-04-25          196590

Quote:
Originally Posted by Murf | view 115364
Dave, you will find that there is a very powerful connecting link between a JR's ears and their stomach..


Great old thread. A dog's ears along with the nose are crazy sensitive.

Recently my dog was distracted and ignoring me completely. Then I thought what is his favorite SOUND?

He was over a hundred yards away out of line of site.

Brought his metal feeding bowl outside and dropped 3 kibbles into the bowl.

Wowwww is he fast for the right thing. Used Murfs technique when he was a pup, great advice... ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2017-04-25          196591

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrendonN | view 115458
Sounds like some knowledgable dog folks here that may be able to answer a question.Around here, Rat Terriers are quite common and we have a pair ourselves.I have heard that this breed and the Jack Russell are pretty closely related.Is this true?The Rats make great farm dogs and have the built in desire and ability too


Wow, here's a step back in time.

Yes Brendon, Rat Terriers are very closely related to Jack Russell's, and yes, they have a very deep-seated built-in hatred of rodents, even skunks.

Luckily mine, which are the 'original' JRT's, now officially called Parson Russell Terriers, have skunks down cold and odor free.

The skunks just amble along and don't have much in the way of vision, they don't need it, the dogs line themselves up about 45 degrees to the rear and side and just run at them as fast as they can. When they hit the skunk just behind the ear they clamp their jaws down and roll and flip the skunk coming to a stop back on their feet and shaking vigorously. The first hit and flip usually breaks their neck cleanly and there's no fuss or smell.



Best of luck. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Am I trying to be like Murf

View my Photos
kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2017-04-25          196594

Just stumbled across this thread and it was good to read. Saw some names that bring good memories and the thoughts of the Golden we had to put down a couple of years after the original post. Yet to reach out of another dog. Do miss having a dog around when outdoors working.

The part about being like Murf is a reminder we never know who is watching us and what example we are setting for them. I will add Murf you have been a blessing to me as others here have also been. ....

Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo


  Go Top Go Top

Share This
Share This







Member Login