I've Got A New Puppy! (No Pics Yet)

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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God knows I didn’t need a third dog, but he needed me.

We went to a Halloween party, and the homeowner let his dogs out while we were around the bonfire. He breeds Jack Russels, and had one left from the last litter. The puppy came up to me, shivering, so I picked him up and put him beneath my coat to warm him. He stayed there for five hours.

I’ve never heard of a Jack Russel so placid. All he wants to do is cuddle. The owners, while not exactly neglectful, aren’t cuddly people. As my husband put it, it was probably the firt time the puppy had ever been snuggled and petted like that. He kept staring up at me with adoring eyes.

I wasn’t going to take him home. I kept telling myself that I already had two dogs, with no need of another, but this little fella tugged at my heartstrings. He shivered in the cold whenever I put him down, and it made my heart break to think of him going back into his cold pen when I left.

So, he came home with me. The owner tried to hide his smugness. He knew that as soon as I met the pup I’d fall in love. I said I’d keep him for a week, and see how it worked out. He just grinned and nodded. He knows I’m not bringing him back.

I was worried about how the other dogs would react. My oldest, Bean, hit the roof when I brought home my last puppy. It was a nightmare-- she was extremely hostile. However, with this little puppy, she was relatively indifferent. She growled at him, and he hit the deck in deep submission. After that, she was fine.

The other dog, Polaris, is happy as can be. I think she believes she has a new toy. My eldest dog isn’t very playful (she’s ten years old and has a touch of arthritis) so Polaris finally has an energetic playmate. She’s been very gentle with him, because he’s quite timid, but they played last night.

We’ve named him Sirius.

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See? A threadplummet like this is what happens when you admit in the title that you’ve failed to include the requisite pics. :slight_smile:

Congrats on the new addition anyway!

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Congratulations!

Mine was gentle and placid too, when I first met him. That didn’t last long. :smiley: But he still cuddles with me every night.

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They’re supposedly very cuddly if you give them the requisite 40 miles a day of running around and chew privileges to everything in your house.

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If I were ever to get a smaller dog, I’d like a Jack Russell.

And after having Border Collies, I think I’m quite prepared for one!

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Yawn. I for one have no intention of believing in this “puppy” until you supply proof. So get to that camera! Otherwise we’ll just have to assume you’re just making up stories in a wanton grab for attention.

:wink:

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He’s not very bouncy. I took him to the vet today. (The previous owner gave me all of his shot records, but I’m a Nervous Nellie when it comes to puppy health.) I was actually a little worried, to tell you the truth, because he’s so calm and quiet-- completely the opposite of what I’ve read about JRTs, but the vet says he’s in fine health. Even the vet marvelled at his behavior. She said she’d rarely seen a puppy so well behaved, let alone a Jack Russell! He lay calmly on the examining table, and didn’t even bat an eye when she gave him shots and trimmed his nails.

All day, he spent curled up on my lap while I read. When I’d put him on the floor, he’d tussle for a few minutes with Polaris, eat or grab a drink, and then curl up beside my chair. He happily chewed on the toys I handed to him and took a cautious nibble of a few items he could reach, like my blanket and the corner of my book, but ceased immediately at a soft, “No, puppy.” He doesn’t even try to steal food. (I ate dinner in my chair with him laying beside me, the plate an inch from his nose.)

We had two potty-training mishaps today, but that’s entirely my fault. He’s such a good dog that I found myself treating him like my other two-- just let them go and they’ll let me know if they need to go outside. I’m starting crate training.

He’s a shivery little fella. I bought him a coat, because he always came back inside shaking like a leaf. My other two dogs wouldn’t wear a coat unless you drugged them first, but he didn’t even tug on it.

He’s very shy, though. Usually, when I bend to pick him up, he’ll scoot away, hunched. When I put him on the ground in an area he’s not familiar, he just freezes for a minute or so. He’s going to need a lot of socialization work. He has not growled, or nipped, or shown any agression or even fear-defensiveness.

Another JRT oddity: he loved my two-year-old neice. She petted him, tugged gently on his ears, and even fell on him at one point, and he did nothing but wag his tail and try to kiss her hands and face. He was warmer with her than he has been with any other member of my family. I think he must know she’s a “human puppy.”

Sorry about the absence of pics. My camera ran out of juice. I’m charging it now, and will get some photos in the morning. I promise!

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Eagerly awaiting.

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Your patience has been rewarded. (Sirius is the little black and white dog.) I’ll get some pics of him later in his coat-- he looks really cute.

I was thrilled this morning-- he came to me when I called!

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Wow, what a sweetie! Your other two dogs are beautiful as well.

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He looks a lot like my Rat Terrier, similar color/markings. In fact, with the tri-colored head and black saddle, he’s remarkably similar!

My Rat just turned 10, and has almost outgrown all of his puppy energy. He only goes 22/7 now :slight_smile: He likes to sleep under the covers, and curls up in the small of my back, an orthopedic terrier.

Sirius is a handsome little fellow, he’ll be your little buddy for a long time.

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Dear Lord, if this is “puppy energy” for him, he’ll be a* statue *when he’s older! He only plays for a few minutes, and then wants to hop back up on my lap or the sofa. Polaris will grab his collar and drag him off, but he’ll only romp for a little while before returning to a comfy place to lie down. He seems to like both of my dogs well enough, but he doesn’t seem to like to tussle that much.

I’ve really been amazed at how well the other dogs have accepted him. Polaris is over the moon, and Bean is relatively indifferent-- which, as bitchy as she is, is the best we could have hoped for!

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Awww… :slight_smile:

Be careful what you wish for! I made the same comment when I first brought my JRT mix* home. Now I wish he’d shut up and stop terrorizing my other dog.
:smiley:

*That’s what the shelter said anyway, though I’m starting to wonder if he’s more of a Rat Terrier mix.

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How long before the “real dog” appeared? I’ve had Sirius since Saturday night, and he hasn’t changed much, except to be less frightened of me. (I bribe him with treats.)

I haven’t started with any training yet. I wanted to give him a chance to bond. He’s going to need very gentle training, I think, heavy on praise and very light on correction. (I hollered at Bean last night and it made him cower and shake.) Just saying softly, “No, Sirius,” is enough to make him quit doing whatever is he’s doing and hunch down.

When do you guys think I should start? I used the Clicker Method with Polaris-- do you think that’d be a good system with Sirius?

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I think Rat Terriers and Jack Russells are fairly closely related. Watch his ears, mine has fully erect ears, not cropped, but they started out floppy. Then one would stand up, then the other. Now they look like radar dishes on the side of his head.

Lissa, I bet he gets going after he gets accustomed to his new home. I’ve never seen a dog with so much energy, but mine is happy as a clam curled up in my lap.

I’ll try to attach a pic of mine. SBC/Yahoo says I have 2GB of space or something, but I’ve never tried to upload any pictures.

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Yes! Oooo you nice doggies. Yes you IS. You such nice DOGGIES. YEEEEES.

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Actually, come to think of it, he was very active and aggressive with my first dog from the beginning. So I think yours is more docile than mine. But I never heard mine bark until a week or two later.

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I’ll try this. Something tells me I’m not doing it right, I don’t have an album, just a url…

My Rat Terrier

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I had a Schipperke mix (a diminutive shepherd–she was actually about twice the size as a purebred but about the same temperment) a few years ago; someone found her on the side of the road and dropped her off at our office, where she was briefly the mascot and then (after I was layed off) my dog. (Actually, she was always my dog, but I got to bring her to work there, which was very cool.)

She’d obviously been neglected, probably abandoned, possibly abused; in the beginning, she didn’t even know what to do with toys, was scared of doors, linoleum, cars, et cetera, and was at my heel constantly. After a few weeks and exposure to the other dog (an older Chow mix with some playful tendancies) she started to come out of her shell…and proceded to become nearly unmanagable, wanting to play all the time, go for walks, et cetera. She suddenly became very protective of me regarding other dogs (aside from the Chow) and insatiably energetic. She’d lay down when ever I was sitting but as soon as I got up it was bouncy-dog time.

Give Sirius a few weeks to shake out; he might have a shy personality but I’m guessing some of the terrier characteristics will start to show, 'specially if Polaris keeps trying to rile him up.

Stranger

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How about partially erect?