Reilly Singing for his supper

Reilly is our younger Jack Russell Connemara Terrier. He is the most vocal dog I've ever seen and has been since he was just a small pup.

This is a clip of Reilly telling us that he feels that it's time for his evening meal even though it was a good 15 minutes before the regular time that we feed he and Hutch.

He starts out giving us quite a lecture. Then he is told to quiet down and is given the hand signal to sit and he does but then his big brother Hutch decides to take matters into his own paws and quiet Reilly in a more hands 'er I guess that's snout on manner. No worries about Hutch's rather unorthodox way of quieting Reilly. Reilly is used to it Sorry for the quiet sound. I was using the movie function on my camera and it's not all that great.

Here's another picture of the imp himself. He looks all sweet and innocent you'd never know he was such a bossy little thing.

Where'd You Get That Cute Little Dog?

Hutch with Reilly when he was just a pup

Yep, that's the second most common question we hear about our two Connemara JRTs, Hutch and Reilly.

First some background. You just knew there would be background, right? I searched long and hard and followed more than a few websites when I began looking for the "perfect" JRT puppy.

I can in all honesty say that I feel blessed to have found Sheila's website.  Before finding her site I never knew about Connemara Terriers. I also didn't know how very much I didn't know about JRTs, breeders, and picking the perfect puppy. I literally spent almost a year reading every word upon the site and soaking up all the wonderful information the site contains. Even if you are not in the market for a JRT I can't recommend the site enough.

When I finally introduced myself to Sheila via email I told her that she could cease to worry about having a stalker because it was only me hanging out on her site for the last year!

When we chose Hutch, Sheila gave us clear instructions on how to introduce him to Starsky in order to have them adjust as well as possible. You have only to look at the picture I posted yesterday to see that they adjusted beautifully.

Sheila helped us to choose Reilly in order to, again, insure peace and campanionship among our crew versus competition. Once again the transition was totally smooth as we followed her instructions.

When our final little Connemara pup comes into our life - yes the plan has always been to have a threesome - she will be there once again helping us to bring home the perfect pup for us.

I have never seen such an amazing combination of science and heart felt love used to bring dogs into the world. There have been rumors that Sheila will write a book outlining her breeding/training methods. I will be the first to preorder having seen the results first hand.

If you are considering a JRT you owe it to yourself to check out the Connemara Terrier. These little guys are clearly a cut above the rest and in a category all their own.

Not sure if you'll see this Sheila but if you do, thanks again from the bottom of our hearts.

What Kind of Dogs Are Those?

It's a question we hear often when we're out and about. It's usually followed by; "Where'd you get them?"

I tend to post pictures of our dogs simply because they are a huge part of our lives. Never ever a day a day passes where they fail to inject humor, love, affection and radiance.

We are no stranger to Jack Russell Terriers. We enjoyed being owned by two female American JR Terriers for close 16 and 17 years. Despite the joy there was also sadness because neither of our girls was really all that healthy. Morgan had eye and liver issues. Molly had eye and joint issues. The eye issues began at age 2 for both of them and required multiple surgeries. Morgan also had some temperament issues. She was fine with family but not with outsiders and forget introducing her to another dog!

Starsky the Alpha Pet

After they had both passed we wanted another JRT but wanted to try to find a breeder who put health and temperament above all else. At that point we had our beloved cat Starsky and having a JRT similar to Morgan and Molly would not have been possible given their temperaments. We would have simply not gotten another dog if it meant having Starsky stressed. He is - after all - the alpha pet.

Hutch

We found the perfect solution first in Hutch and now in Reilly.
They are our two Connemara Jack Russell Terriers. Hutch is now headed toward 2.5 years old and Reilly is headed toward 1.5 years old and our experience with them could not be more different than that with our first JRTs. That second picture is Reilly. Hutch has a smooth AKA short coat. Reilly has a Rough AKA long coat.

These little guys are amazingly adaptable, well adjusted, easy to train and a joy to be around. Even Starsky loves them! I'm not kidding. They all can often be found together just hanging out, playing and/or chilling.

Yikes I've run on but it's hard not to when you are talking about a part of your life that you find so revitalizing. I encourage you to find something you feel every bit as passionate about. Your passion might not be pets and it might not be wellness or massage therapy. That said, I do encourage you to find and live your passion because life is just so much sweeter.

Tomorrow I'll share the answer to the second most common question we hear about our dogs.
 

Our Green Bean Thief

We knew that something was getting into our green beans. I figured it was a rabbit since there weren't a ton missing. Then this morning DH noticed Reilly our Connemara Jack Russel Terrier rooting through the green beans and having himself a little snack. He'd pull one off and sit there happily crunching away.

He and his brother Hutch are such a bright spot in our life. Well bred, obedient beyond belief when you consider that we are NOT experts in dog training and the very best of buds.

That's a picture of the green bean thief himself. Since I tend to write my blog posts about a month in advance and schedule them to automatically post we'll be getting ready to return from Maine when this one goes up. We're taking Hutch and Reilly with us and hopefully meeting up with other family members. Sure to be a great week of balanced rest, activity and smelling the salty sea air.