People will tell you who they think you are. A good dog will prove it.
And a terrier will test it.
Bark on the Rocks
The purpose of a terrier
2
Category Archives: Terrier Logic
Terriers are more than hypo-allergenic dogs
Why did you pick your terrier puppy?
Because it won’t make you sneeze or wheeze? Because it had a rep for being smart and feisty? Or because you didn’t want to fix your broken doorbell?
If you got a terrier mainly because it’s a small, hypoallergenic breed you may have gotten more than you bargained for. I, for one, got great “value-added” for my dog investment dollar.
When most people meet me with my Border Terriers they comment on their size and ask if they shed. They definitely don’t ask about their intense hunting natures. All except for Hamish’s Dad–a young Scottish transplant to Canada–who spotted my Borders hundreds of yards away as we walked towards him. [He “knew all their Border tricks”.]
If you’re considering a terrier puppy, consider Terrier Logic:
- Respect yourself and respect others who respect themselves. Terrorize everyone else.
- Hunt until you drop.
- Love your human companion with all your heart, but…
- Keep the Terrier “You’re-Not-The-Boss-of-Me” Motto in mind.
- If it moves, get it.
- If it scares you, GET IT.
- If it scares your human companion, GET IT.
- Get it before it gets you.
- Remember that persistence usually pays off. And that…
- Your desires are directly proportional to your human’s. The more your human wants something, the more you should want it.
- Tune into every thought and feeling your human companion has.
- Live with passion.
Terriers are way more than small, cute and hypoallergenic dogs. They’re empathetic and intense dogs with strong prey drives. They can be reactive, determined and indefatigable.
- Terrier Logic #5: if it moves, get it
So, before you get a terrier puppy know what you’re really getting into. Prioritize your needs and theirs. Terriers respond best to self-respecting, calm human companions who honour their independent, hunting natures. Be realistic about how your personality will mesh with–or fuel–theirs.
If you chose a terrier puppy and are having some challenges, be optimistic. If you can change, they can change. Match your dog’s persistence. And consider these 12 Rules of Terrier Logic and how they might be playing out in your relationship. Doing so might help get you through The Rough.
If you “own” a terrier and have him all figured out, congratulations. Please add your Rules of Terrier Logic so we can share in your success.
Terriers will teach us that if we can change, our dogs can change
Terriers–and dogs in general–are much more “plastic” than we are.
A speaker at a semi-recent national veterinary conference reported that canine personality (and related behavioural issues) is fixed by about three years of age. The implication was: if you haven’t ‘fixed’ your dog’s issues by then, forget about it. Time to despair? I don’t think so.
Bossy changed a lot between three and four. So I, for one, conclude this assertion is “bunk!”, to quote my colourful first-year sociology prof, Kunkel. Of course, if I’d stayed stuck so would have Bossy.
What’s more, if I could’ve figured out faster what I was doing–or not doing– in the situations that stressed and challenged her, I could’ve helped her find her softness and stillness sooner than she did.
Freeing ourselves with the idea that behaviour is malleable is a key to improving all our relationships. After all, isn’t change–and not stasis–the real way of life? Let’s be tenacious on that thought.
Let’s be open to having a terrier teach us.
Terrier Logic 