Our growing family

After doing some internet research, we have figured out a few things about our Jack. He is definitely some sort of terrier, and most likely a Rat Terrier mixed with something else. His characteristics match those of a Rattie, except for his legs. The other types of breeds he might have in him are probably dachshund or maybe corgi. Rat Terrier's have much longer and leaner legs than Jack's. His legs are short and very muscular, like a male dachshund's.

Based on the size and pattern of his teeth, we figure he is almost 3 months old. He has all his deciduous (baby) teeth, and they are well separated in the front, meaning they are making room for the insidious (adult) teeth. He hasn't lost any yet, which usually happens around 3 months old for small dogs. Another hint at his age is that he doesn't look like he is even close to being ready for neutering, which happens around 4 months for small dogs. We want to let him develop naturally, but when he seems to be big enough, he'll be getting fixed.

We went to Petsmart last night to get him a collar, leash, and kennel. The collar and leash are black, which complement his dark eyes and nose very well. He got a lot of attention at the store for being so sweet and happy. He didn't bark at all. He is not very yappy, which is another trait of Rat Terriers. He's only about 5.5 lbs now, and we don't expect him to get much bigger than 15 lbs. When we were deciding on what kind of dog we wanted, the main points were:
-we wanted a boy
-he should not shed, Ryan has allergies
-he should be easy to kennel train
-he should not be too yappy
-he should be fairly cheap to maintain
-he should be small

Jack is all of that and more! He is super smart. He already knows his name, and a few words like Outside, Hungry, Go In, Good Boy, and of course NO! Terriers are able to know as many as 100 words and commands, so we'll be trying to train him soon. I've found a neat website that teaches you how to train and exercise dogs mentally and physically, so we'll probably take a lot of tips from there: http://www.k9station.com/mentalstim.htm

And here are some more pictures!
he likes to lick this corner of the wall, and I don't know why.

this is his ball. we play fetch with it. he likes to run and slide on the floors when he gets his toys.

I couldn't find him one afternoon, then saw him napping in here with my pajamas.

his eyes are so dark. we gave him a fleece blanket to be his bed/toy area in the living room.

he has a little cow lick on his right side. do you see it?



one night, Ryan figured out that Jack mimics us. he'll open his mouth if you do, and wave his paw if you wave your hand at him. he jumps when you jump, too...