Puppy Love!!

[craigwatanabe]

So I'm working at Home Depot Hilo when Tom (one of our cashiers) tells me, "Hey Craig you wanna buy a puppy?" Funny I was just thinking about getting a dog just the other week, as he whips out the doggy photos.

"Oohhh I like dat wittle guy" with the two brown patches over his eyes.

"That's Five Spot", Tom says because he has five black and brown spots over his white body, "They're all 10-week old purebread Jack Russells".

"How Much?"

"$400.oo"

"I gotta call my wife". So after a few minutes of, "Awe come on dear he's so cute and the kids will love him...and I'll give him the walks, baths and feed him too!", I agree to buy Five-Spot.

I take my kids to his place and we all go look at the puppies and there's Five-Spot. My kids want him so bad.

So now I got this JRT (Jack Russell Terrier) puppy and he's taken over the living room and my sleeping hours, but how could you hate a face like that?

[tutusue]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Aaaaah...so cute! What's not to love about a puppy! Does his belly smell like coffee grounds? I always loved that about a puppy. Didya keep or change his name?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Aaaaah...so cute! What's not to love about a puppy! Does his belly smell like coffee grounds? I always loved that about a puppy. Didya keep or change his name?

We did change the name (although I kinda like Five-Spot). Ironically my 12-year old named him PJ, which was the father's (stud) name so technically this pup's name should be PJr.

He's constantly scratching his belly. We can't find any fleas and he has no redness or irritation. I'm thinking of calling him PJ Itch or "ITCHY" for short.

And no he doesn't smell like coffee grounds, more like Vanilla/Oatmeal...as in the puppy shampoo my wife picked out for him. He's definately a house dog, barking at his own reflection in the glass sliding door.

JRT's are supposed to be pretty smart dogs and very clean as well, he's constantly grooming himself (man if I could lick myself that way, who needs a lover). If you've ever seen that movie 'Inspector Gadget" that dog "Brain" is a JRT.

[LikaNui]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Cuuuuuute puppy! Congratulations! And yes, JRT's are supposed to be one of the smartest breeds.
And another famous JRT was "Eddie" on the show TV "Frasier."

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Cuuuuuute puppy! Congratulations! And yes, JRT's are supposed to be one of the smartest breeds.
And another famous JRT was "Eddie" on the show TV "Frasier."

Speedtek had a JRT when we were kids. That dog was named Kolohe. JRT's can be a bit neurotic at times. When Speedtek's mom had Kolohe neutered we called him, "Kolohe: The Nutless Wonder".

I wonder if "Odie", the dog in the comic strip "Garfield" is a Jack Russell? My dog and Odie sure have similar tendancies.

[Bob P]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Awesome pup! JRT's have a lot of energy so be sure to play with him a lot or he'll get into things he shouldn't. They get bored easily.

The scratching sounds like an allergy. Small dogs seem to have them more then large. If he licks at his paws a lot it's likely a food allergy - if so try switching the food base (like from a chicken base to a lamb). Might be the shampoo - try a hypoallergenic one - if your pet store doesn't have one you can buy it from the vet.

[sophielynette]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Aww what a sweetie!

Keeping in mind that smart dogs can be more trouble than dumb dogs, because smart dogs are.. well, smart. They'll figure out to open doors (like the fridge!) and how to get out of things and into things. I had a Husky once, smart dogs with plenty of energy, oooh boy..

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Thanks for all the help. Regarding the scratching, it may be a food allergy as you suggested. PJ ate Maxim dog food but WalMart ran out so we started feeding him Pedigree Puppy food mixed with what was left of the Maxim dog food my co-worker gave us. Yesterday I bought a big bag of Maxim Puppy food so I'll try switching it out.

And yeah I figured that smart dogs will start to do smart things like open doors and such. But the neat thing is that I take him riding and in just two days he's learned to lay down as well as to "come back" on command. He's also gone from outdoor carport (before I got him) to indoor dog. He whines when he needs to go potty outside. Geez these dogs learn fast, took my boys 3-years to get potty trained

[kanahina]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Wow, he's so cute and what a deal at only $400!
We got a pure-breed JRT on Dec 30 and he was quite a bit more $$$ than $400. We are thinking of getting another puppy/dog so that he'll have a friend to play with when we're not home...
anyways, here's a pic of our JRT, named Colt (after Colt Brennan):

in this pic he is 3 months old (he's now 4 months)
sorry - i don't know how to make the pics smaller thumbnail size

ours sits by the door when he needs to go outside and if we don't notice and let him out he'll start to bark as he sits by the door. He also prefers to go outside (as opposed to going on the training pads) so he will usually hold it all day while we are at work! He likes to chew alot, but it's kind of "hit or miss" with toys - some toys we give him, he really likes, but others are hardly played with. And he likes to chew non-toy things (like us, the bottom of the couch, his crate) He totally chewed the arm off a stuffed bunny toy and took out most of the stuffing one day while we were at work!

We keep him in a 4x4 enclosure/pen while we're not home so he can't do too much damage. Oh, and now, he is able go up the stairs so we had to block it off - it's very messy with papers and kids toys and stuff on the floor so he'd surely find something great to chew that we wouldn't want him to.

[leashlaws]

Re: Puppy Love!!

So cute!!!!! He must be very soft too! Another famous JRT was "Wishbone" - did anyone ever watch that show on PBS? It was great and I was addicted to it.
It had a very catchy song and fabulous storylines.

Congratulations on your puppy, sometimes the constant licking is also OCD which my dog has not harmful just psychotic! Puppy training is essential as well. Lucky to have this new little life at your house!
Keep us all posted about his development!

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Puppy Love!!

What a cute puppy! We just got a new puppy in December and we love her to smithereens.
About that itching---has he been checked for worms? Most puppies have worms of one kind or another and they can cause itching, not only around the butt but anywhere on the skin. It's not a reflection of bad breeding practices or lack of cleanliness. Encapsulated eggs lie dormant in the mom and are activated by the hormones released during pregnancy. Hard-wired little buggers head straight for the umbilical cord and enter the puppies' blood supply. They also make a beeline for the Mom's mammaries and enter the pups through the milk.
Gotta love those puppies!! He sounds like a winner!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Puppy Love!!

PJ's going in for a check up next month so I'll inquire about worms. Yesterday I had to leave him in the bathroom for about an hour and he yowled and complained. Today I noticed that he's okay in the house by himself. He just lays on either a throw rug, or a blanket and hangs out. If the radio is on to a talk radio show he's pretty settled, I think the sound of human voices keeps him content, so he listens to Rush Limbaugh and he's okay, but the minute he hears music he's up and alert. I wonder if a Democrat's voice will make any difference.

I've learned today that PJ will fall asleep faster if you lay a nice warm blanket (fresh out of the dryer) on the floor. He'll just lay down on it and in a few minutes, he's out. So tonight it's a cozying up to the radio with Art Bell and a warm blanket for PJ. If that works I'll have found an answer to two nights of no sleep.

[tutusue]

Re: Puppy Love!!

[...]If that works I'll have found an answer to two nights of no sleep.

7th kid, huh, Craig?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Yeah...but I never had a kid that licked my face when I fed him...but then again I never took my kids out on evening walks on a leash either

Number 7...thanks for reminding me of that very fact

Here's a gratuteous coffee lover's shot for ya

[LikaNui]

Re: Puppy Love!!

Wow, he's so cute and what a deal at only $400!
We got a pure-breed JRT on Dec 30 and he was quite a bit more $$$ than $400.

I've thought about getting a JRT for a few years, and frequently checked the ads in the Advertiser and Star-Bulletin. Average price seems to be around $800 to $900, and I've seen a few higher than that. So yeah, Craig, a good deal indeed!