Jack Russell Story Jack Russell Story
Story Name: Peppy the Puppy and Digger the Doggy
From: Helena Dryfhout-Clark
My Jack Russell Story:
My husband has always wanted a dog. He stops in every pet store to look at the doggies. Last December he saw a little Jack Russell puppy that he fell in love with (when she stood up to a full grown Doberman that came in the store, he was extra impressed by her). I was completely, totally, and adamantly against getting a dog (too much work), but he talked me into it (shame on us for getting one at a pet store - but we didn't know at the time). Within a day I was hooked on her. She has given us so many laughs, and lots and lots of fun. She chases everything, especially things moving under the blankets which she stalks and pounces on. She can dig for hours at imaginary things under carpets. Late at night she goes into "maniac mode", and tears around the house as fast as she can, back and forth and back and forth. It didn't take us long to decide on the name "Peppy" for her. Her only problem: she wasn't too keen on house breaking. Not that she didn't know what to do, just didn't want too. Probably because we got her in the middle of a very cold winter (I'll never do that again) - her poor little feeties got cold out there. If she wanted to go in quickly, she'd squat and give us a sarcastic look like "Hey, I've gone through the motions, now take me inside". Did I mention that she can have a real attitude?
Well, both of us work, and we felt bad leaving her alone so much during the day. The solution: get another one, and it must be a JRT so she has someone as playful as her. In comes Digger, who seems playful enough when we visit him, but once he's home he plops down wherever he is, and tries to sleep. Peppy is not impressed, bites his leg, and says "Play with me. Play with me." So Digger tolerates this for awhile, then gets tired of it, and gives her a nip. Paul thinks he's a poodle in a JR suit, and keeps looking for the zipper. Digger has now found that hiding under the bed can protect him from Peppy. She runs around the bed looking over the side, trying to get a glimpse of him. Every once in a while his nose sticks out as he's checking out the situation, and she pounces. But we found the solution to his undoggy like character: feed him meat. Meat turns him into a real dog, and he gets feisty. (Of course, once the meat is gone, he plops down for a sleep again. Oh well.) He is getting more playful now though - we think he was just overwhelmed by Peppy at first (quite understandable). Now that he's bigger and he can stand his ground, he's much more confident, and sometimes initiates the rough-housing.
When we first got Peppy, we thought she was the most extrordinary dog - from reading the other stories I see that there are many more like her, which is good to see. I can't imagine life without these four-legged balls of fun anymore.