Napping With Her Babies

Fionna by the woodstove. She gathered her favorite toys and bones up and situated them within easy reach prior to settling down.

Hutch’s Baby Book

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This is what you get...

...when you leave one cat and four Connemara Terriers to their own devices while you go to the post office to pick up the mail. Yes, there is no mail delivery in the boonies. No trash pick up either but that's another blog post.

I should have taken a picture of the yarn woven in and out of the living room furniture but I didn't think of it in my hurry to put an end to the frivolity.

Starsky the cat had to be the instigator. The yarn was too high for the dogs to reach. Hutch probably stood around ringing his paws exclaiming that this was a bad thing to do. (He's the oldest dog and a rule follower.) The other three most likely shared gleefully in the misdeed, though they managed to look quite innocent when I walked in the door - happy to allow the cat to take the fall.

I tell you there's never a dull minute. But we wouldn't have it any other way.

Puppy Update!

Reilly and Fionna after Reilly cleaned her face.
"Look mom I did a good job. Her face is nice and clean!"

We're now at the point where we can't really remember what it was like to not have 4 dogs as part of our household. Reilly has gotten over any resistance he had and all four canines play and sleep together as if they were always together. We're really enjoying having a canine family of four and are really very happy we made the decision to move ahead with our plan.

Fionn delights in plunging headfirst into the
first available snow drift!

It's quite amazing how different from one another the dogs and pups are and yet it's just as amazing how many ways they are similar. Fionn (pronounced Finn) is still our big bumbling puppy yet he is as smart as a whip. I've extended my morning workouts to 50 minutes. The first time I did this Fionna was content to occupy herself and didn't seem to even notice that the time was longer than the 30 minutes I was taking previously. Fionn on the other hand was accutely aware. He wasn't unhappy about it but wanted to let me know it hadn't gotten by him. Around the 45 minute mark he walked over and sat down and alternately stared at the TV and then at what I was doing. He seemed to be thinking, "It's that same T-Tapp lady and Mom's doing the same kinds of movements but man this is taking forever!"

DH, the man who longed for a pile of little Terriers is in his glory. Saturday naps have never been this good. I'm enjoying searching for the perfect mode of travel to allow us all to go on vacation together. I've discovered some of the most interesting trailers and travel vans, some more affordable than others. I'll share some of them in the future. Starsky and actually my son's cat Sky who is visiting both seem to enjoy watching the antics of the dogs. The both obviously consider themselves superior to the canines in the family yet everyone gets along without issue.

 

Pups are now reliably housebroken, sitting on command, staying for increasingly longer on command. Fionn has the most trouble with this. He is more excitable than Fionna but he's getting better over time.

Four on the Floor

Fionn and Fionna are doing really well with their puppy training. This picture speaks for itself. I took it Sunday night 24 hours after I started teaching them to sit.

They won't listen to the command to sit if they are excited but genuinely seem to enjoy practicing with their big brothers, Hutch and Reilly.

I took this picture after I put them into a sit. To their credit they held the sit while I fumbled around with the camera trying to quickly take the picture. The first time we practiced the pups where between Hutch and Reilly but Fionn started chewing Hutch's tail and you-know-what broke loose.

What a difference a week makes! Fionn and Fionna Update

Tuckered out animals after the last play session of the night

It's just over a week since we picked up Fionn and Fionna and I'm amazed at how far we've come in one short week.

We've established a wake, eat, play, sleep schedule and it's working pretty well.

Hutch and Reilly are not only tolerating them but seem to be fond of them and keep tabs on where the puppies are at any given time. The four of them interact all the time now. Quite entertaining!

Potty training is going really well. Fionn will squeek out a few drops any time you ask him to do so. He lives to please. Fionna will usually squeek out a few drops, not because she lives to please but because she wants the praise that she sees Fionn get for having done so. We have an in house grid style doggy potty and both will seek it out but we keep tabs on them and toilet them often.

Lazy puppy play

Fionn and Fionna will both reliably come when called so they know their names.

This is the very best! They are learning to sit. They mimic Hutch and Reilly. Fionna doesn't like ot sit on command - she has already established that she is the "Queen" of this household - but she does it - again not to be left out.



Starksy the cat is taking this all in his stride. He is always present; watching and read and has begun interacting on a limited basis with the pups. Hutch and Reilly both keep an eye on things and pull the pups away if they get too aggressive with Starsky.

Yes, a Connemara Jack Russell & a cat who get along

Reilly cleaning Starksy's face


 

I've talked about the fact that even our cat Starsky likes Reilly. Every time I see the two of them interacting it amazes me. Starsky will play chase with Hutch and for the moment he tolerates Fionna and Fionn but he seems to genuinely like Reilly. I can't help but think that there is a message to their unconventional relationship.

 

Half Nap Half Cuddle

Were napping together until the flash woke Starksy

Hutch and Fionna and Bite Inhibition

Puppy teeth are sharp and Fionna could definitely benefit from some bite inhibition training! She's earned the nickname puppy shark. Hutch was the same way as a puppy and we successfully used the information on Sheila's page on bite inhibition to train him out of the habit. Reilly was much easier to train because Hutch taught him bite inhibition as they played and rough housed together.

I would have never believed it but Hutch has become the leader and caregiver of our pack. He still watches over Reilly even though Reilly is an adult now. Reilly will often clean Starsky the cat's face and ears and Starsky allows it and even seems to enjoy it but if Reilly gets too persistent Hutch will step in and pull Reilly away by the tail. It serves two purposes. Pulling Reilly by the tail physically moves him back a few inches. It also distracts Reilly who then chases Hutch.

Well, caregiver Hutch is stepping in again. This time with Puppy Shark Fionna! Below are a series of pictures (hopefully pretty much in order) that I snapped of Hutch and Fionna playing together. Hutch instigated the session by moving close to Fionna and then rolling onto his side and then back. The play session alternated between sweet, soft interaction and sharp rebukes when Fionna would bite too sharply. It appears that Hutch is baring his teeth and biting her but in reality his bite is extremely soft and often doesn't truly land on her. We won't expect Hutch to do the job on his own because Fionna needs to know it's not ok to bite anyone but it's so endearing that he is taking on the task.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fionna and Fionn's First Snow Adventure

It was a very short adventure because it's cold here. The pups were only outside for a few minutes but they got a chance to experience what it feels like to wear a coat and Fionn managed to roll into a snow pile and cover himself head to toe in snow. (I didn't catch that on the video but you can see all the snow on this sweater.)

Getting Ready to go Outside

This is a picture of Fionna in her coat and Fionn in his sweater. (Hand me downs from Hutch to Reilly and then Reilly to the pups)

                                                This is a short video of their time outside.

I promise to get back to regular wellness blogging soon but for the time being we're preoccupied with pets.


 

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.