Saturday, November 28, 2009

Murphy



Murphy is my two year old Jack Russell. I got him from the Pickaway county dog shelter in early August of this year. He was originally named Cesar, and was an owner surrender. He got dropped off because he was growling at kids. Having three little brothers, I discovered that he does growl at them if they're running around like maniacs. I've been having my youngest brother, Brendan, give him treats and it seems like it's helping his outlook a little.
Murph also has major dog aggression issues. He's great with my rat terrier, Lucy, but I have yet to meet another dog that he doesn't want to murder. He is never, ever allowed off leash at the park. I'm too nervous another dog will run up to him. I've been playing fetch with him and my mom's lab, Gus. He is okay with him, but gets severely pissed if Gus reaches the toy first. He will grab the other end of it and dangle from Gus's mouth. He will keep retrieving long after Gus has gotten tired of it. Which is saying something, because Gus is a field bred lab.
I would recommend the Pickaway county shelter to anyone who is looking for a new dog. They actually give a crap about the dogs there, unlike Fairfield county's shelter. Pickaway co. opened a new shelter early this year, and it's pretty nice. Very clean looking and much more inviting than lots of the county run shelters. The dogs all get vaccinated and come with a certificate for a free exam and fecal at different local vets. They also help with low cost spay/neuter.

2 comments:

Retrieverman said...

Oh, the tricolored dog is the rat terrier.

The JRTCA dog I knew was also a tricolor, and she looked very much like a rat terrier. However, she behaved nothing like one.

I've known rat terriers that were the most even tempered dogs you could find.

The fact that they look a lot like JRT's often leads to confusion.

Most Jack Russells are spirited and game.

Willie is like this. He really likes to chase things, and his crowning achievement is the day he caught a squirrel.

He's tolerant of other dogs up to a point. He will play with my golden retriever, but he will do it on his terms. The second he gets tired of her, he snarls at her. At first, this freaked her out, but then she realized that she's quite a bit bigger than he is.

So now, she just annoys him to make him snarl and growl at her. And she laughs at him. Her retrieving instinct is nothing like his is. She will retrieve for a few minutes and then she quits. He will go all day, and if you don't play with him, he'll annoy you until you do.

Kayleigh said...

Yeah, Lucy is a pretty good little dog. She's kinda shy, but she was beaten by her last owner, so I think that has a lot to do with it. I actually thought that she was a Jack Russell when I pulled her from the pound, because she had wavy hair, almost a broken type coat. I think it was a health thing though, because with a good diet she's shed out and developed the normal rat terrier fur.