Information on working terriers, dogs, natural history, hunting, and the environment, with occasional political commentary as I see fit. This web log is associated with the Terrierman.com web site.
Monday, February 01, 2016
1938 New Yorker Cover Celebrates Genetic Wobble
A little genetic wobble gives us healthier andmore interesting dogs.
Two years ago I adopted a (unbeknownst to me) pregnant Rat Terrier from a 'pound from hell'. Little Katie is a typical tricolor Rattie but I thought she was a little longer in the body and had a Jack Profile. The male in the cage with her was another tricolor Rattie who looked very close to her build. I assumed he was either a litter mate or sibling. As Katie was only about 9-10 months old so I figured it was her first heat. They were picked up on 16 Oct and she gave us a present of pups on 17 Dec. Both dogs had been picked up off the street where they had been dumped together. Unfortunately, I couldn't take both dogs and I wanted a female so I got the family plan. What was interesting was that of the 3 male pups she delivered, 2 were marked like perfect little Jack Russells. The third, the pick of the litter in advancement and boldness was solid brown with a white chest, two white feet and a white tipped muzzle. I was able to rehome the spotted pups but we kept the brown dog because I was unable to find a home that I felt comfortable with for him. Little Snickers looks rather more like a solid color Jack than a Rattie. His broader head, slightly longer back and good straight legs makes him a pretty dog to look at and a beautiful mover. He is smart as a whip and agile as a monkey. I'd almost say there's doxie there for the color, but he looks and moves more like a whippet. Growing up on a farm, I was taught that form should follow function and there's no such thing as a bad color on a good dog. Interestingly enough, response to him goes from 'why in the world did you keep him?' to 'why the heck did you neuter him?'. But, he is harder to see in the grass than his white siblings and he has a howl that would make a coondog proud. He stayed small, 11 inches and 12 pounds. But I will say my little genetic wobble, Snickers, is interesting and at least as healthy as a lot of classic bred show dogs in spite of the close relationship of his parents. I'm guessing his grandparents were possibly a brown and white Jack and a tricolor Rattie. Anyway, he's going to catch that squirrel yet, and maybe that Jack Rabbit too.
1 comment:
Two years ago I adopted a (unbeknownst to me) pregnant Rat Terrier from a 'pound from hell'. Little Katie is a typical tricolor Rattie but I thought she was a little longer in the body and had a Jack Profile. The male in the cage with her was another tricolor Rattie who looked very close to her build. I assumed he was either a litter mate or sibling. As Katie was only about 9-10 months old so I figured it was her first heat. They were picked up on 16 Oct and she gave us a present of pups on 17 Dec. Both dogs had been picked up off the street where they had been dumped together. Unfortunately, I couldn't take both dogs and I wanted a female so I got the family plan. What was interesting was that of the 3 male pups she delivered, 2 were marked like perfect little Jack Russells. The third, the pick of the litter in advancement and boldness was solid brown with a white chest, two white feet and a white tipped muzzle. I was able to rehome the spotted pups but we kept the brown dog because I was unable to find a home that I felt comfortable with for him.
Little Snickers looks rather more like a solid color Jack than a Rattie. His broader head, slightly longer back and good straight legs makes him a pretty dog to look at and a beautiful mover. He is smart as a whip and agile as a monkey. I'd almost say there's doxie there for the color, but he looks and moves more like a whippet.
Growing up on a farm, I was taught that form should follow function and there's no such thing as a bad color on a good dog. Interestingly enough, response to him goes from 'why in the world did you keep him?' to 'why the heck did you neuter him?'. But, he is harder to see in the grass than his white siblings and he has a howl that would make a coondog proud. He stayed small, 11 inches and 12 pounds. But I will say my little genetic wobble, Snickers, is interesting and at least as healthy as a lot of classic bred show dogs in spite of the close relationship of his parents. I'm guessing his grandparents were possibly a brown and white Jack and a tricolor Rattie.
Anyway, he's going to catch that squirrel yet, and maybe that Jack Rabbit too.
Debi and the Jack/Rat Pack.
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