Noted advantages of the Jack Russell amidst the pack of big dogs
Gromit and Chewie have some very good dog friends. I know, we are not supposed to anthromorphise our four pawed buddies, but I see what happens with Gromit and Chewie's energy when they see Emme and Joe. They don't just bark, they wag their tails and stretch and arch their backs and curl their hips around towards their buddies as they get closer - hello, here's my butt, hello, hurry up, here's my butt. They start doing a little double time walk, taking short bouncy steps but twice as many. Their bodies squirming in anticipation of the first sniff and nose to nose contact. Their barks turn into little squeaky howls, sometimes they go silent and sometimes they go way deep down and offer up a hefty thick guttural woof. If that isn't a greeting for good friends I don't know what is?!
We sometimes get the pleasure of Joe and Emme at our house. They come to stay with us in a kind of doggie co-op situation. Joe is a Jack Russell Terrier and the oldest member of this foursome. He has had to raise and get into order three very big dogs - Gromit, Chewie and Emme. All three weigh over 80lbs each, next to that svelt JRT. Emme is a Berner so she is a good sized dog. Joe is the boss of Emme, Gromit and Chewie and Emme is the boss of Gromit and Chewie and I am not sure if Gromit and Chewie really ever do any bossing around - they just do a lot of messing around. Joe never had to worry much about Emme - she has perfect dog manners and was pretty much born with them. However, he was on to Gromit at the ripe old age of 12 weeks. Gromit was a little bit gregarious at that age. Joe probably recognized that it may be the only time they looked eye to eye so he made his intentions known to Gromit one time - no one was hurt, just some noise. And since that day, all Joe needs to do is grr just a bit, maybe curl a lip - and Gromit backs right up to let Joe through. Something similar happened with Chewie about the same age. Some dog boss teaching method to the doodles that were growing into behemoth puppies conversation that used very minimal dialogue and was extremely effective - I have never taught either dog anything in one training session like Joe did - and without a clicker too!
So that said - I would just like to offer up some of the advantages of being Joe in this pile of big black and white dogs. Sometimes we give our dog frozen marrow bones. Gromit and Chewie have big dog noses that can only get so much of the marrow out of a bone - but Joe's nose fits all the way in the bone. He runs around the house and the yard and picks up all the stray bones and piles them under the piano. I think because there is a rug under the piano he prefers to keep and chew his stash in this room. Many times he will have three or four old bones in there with him. He can chew and growl at the same time to keep the dogs away from his stash. He never moves a muscle just a little grr is all it takes. The other dogs are jealous, I am sure but only Joe can get to the left over marrow.
Okay, here is another neat trick - tonight while all the dogs were doing tricks for me and getting treats - I tossed the last of the treats in the air so they could find them on the floor. Well some treats went under the appliances - and guess which dog can get their nose under the diswhasher and stove to find the Zukes? Yeppers - that would be Joe!
Joe really prefers to sit in the highest place in the room, - so not just the couch but the back of the couch. This really threw Gromit and Chewie for a while - because to them, there was a whole couch they could sit on if Joe was going to sit way on the top - but not in Joe's opinion. No that couch really was his, even if he only took up a small pillow worth of it.
Here is another nifty trick. Joe can run under Gromit. When everyone is out in the yard, and well you know, playing - which from what I can tell, the word play is not in Joe's vocabulary. He is a very loyal and hardworking dog. Well, when those other dogs are horsing around and Joe recognizes that the people are counting on him to take care of things out in the yard, he rallys around and barks at them and then swoops up under Gromit to bark right in Chewie's ear. Unfortunatey for Joe, Chewie and Gromit and Emme don't stop horsing around. But it is a neat trick and he uses it to get around the pack. It also works if he sees a food bowl being put down on the other side of Gromit -he can run under it and claim it - which is really great if it belongs to one of the other dogs because they get 3x as much food as Joe.
Joe and Chewie have a mutual respect for loyalty and ball retrieving. It is one thing that Joe and Chewie can both understand in the other one....err or not, maybe because when Chewie has a ball Joe wants to have it.
We enjoy our visits from Emme and Joe. Without Joe we would never know how important it is to have Jack Russells in the house - it would be like having a lot of hop with no hip. When Joe is in the house we have the whole hip hop house!
We sometimes get the pleasure of Joe and Emme at our house. They come to stay with us in a kind of doggie co-op situation. Joe is a Jack Russell Terrier and the oldest member of this foursome. He has had to raise and get into order three very big dogs - Gromit, Chewie and Emme. All three weigh over 80lbs each, next to that svelt JRT. Emme is a Berner so she is a good sized dog. Joe is the boss of Emme, Gromit and Chewie and Emme is the boss of Gromit and Chewie and I am not sure if Gromit and Chewie really ever do any bossing around - they just do a lot of messing around. Joe never had to worry much about Emme - she has perfect dog manners and was pretty much born with them. However, he was on to Gromit at the ripe old age of 12 weeks. Gromit was a little bit gregarious at that age. Joe probably recognized that it may be the only time they looked eye to eye so he made his intentions known to Gromit one time - no one was hurt, just some noise. And since that day, all Joe needs to do is grr just a bit, maybe curl a lip - and Gromit backs right up to let Joe through. Something similar happened with Chewie about the same age. Some dog boss teaching method to the doodles that were growing into behemoth puppies conversation that used very minimal dialogue and was extremely effective - I have never taught either dog anything in one training session like Joe did - and without a clicker too!
So that said - I would just like to offer up some of the advantages of being Joe in this pile of big black and white dogs. Sometimes we give our dog frozen marrow bones. Gromit and Chewie have big dog noses that can only get so much of the marrow out of a bone - but Joe's nose fits all the way in the bone. He runs around the house and the yard and picks up all the stray bones and piles them under the piano. I think because there is a rug under the piano he prefers to keep and chew his stash in this room. Many times he will have three or four old bones in there with him. He can chew and growl at the same time to keep the dogs away from his stash. He never moves a muscle just a little grr is all it takes. The other dogs are jealous, I am sure but only Joe can get to the left over marrow.
Okay, here is another neat trick - tonight while all the dogs were doing tricks for me and getting treats - I tossed the last of the treats in the air so they could find them on the floor. Well some treats went under the appliances - and guess which dog can get their nose under the diswhasher and stove to find the Zukes? Yeppers - that would be Joe!
Joe really prefers to sit in the highest place in the room, - so not just the couch but the back of the couch. This really threw Gromit and Chewie for a while - because to them, there was a whole couch they could sit on if Joe was going to sit way on the top - but not in Joe's opinion. No that couch really was his, even if he only took up a small pillow worth of it.
Here is another nifty trick. Joe can run under Gromit. When everyone is out in the yard, and well you know, playing - which from what I can tell, the word play is not in Joe's vocabulary. He is a very loyal and hardworking dog. Well, when those other dogs are horsing around and Joe recognizes that the people are counting on him to take care of things out in the yard, he rallys around and barks at them and then swoops up under Gromit to bark right in Chewie's ear. Unfortunatey for Joe, Chewie and Gromit and Emme don't stop horsing around. But it is a neat trick and he uses it to get around the pack. It also works if he sees a food bowl being put down on the other side of Gromit -he can run under it and claim it - which is really great if it belongs to one of the other dogs because they get 3x as much food as Joe.
Joe and Chewie have a mutual respect for loyalty and ball retrieving. It is one thing that Joe and Chewie can both understand in the other one....err or not, maybe because when Chewie has a ball Joe wants to have it.
We enjoy our visits from Emme and Joe. Without Joe we would never know how important it is to have Jack Russells in the house - it would be like having a lot of hop with no hip. When Joe is in the house we have the whole hip hop house!
Hey Heidi, I just want to say "Thanks" (from Joe) for representing him so well. It's clear that you understand the importance of all of his bossin.....er..I mean, his diligent efforts to keep things somewhat orderly.
ReplyDeleteThey both love to come to visit their friends down the street.