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I have had German Short Hairs and thought the world of them.

But my favorite hunting dog now is Rats!

Rat Terriers that is!!! Great dogs!! Wouldn't have anything else now.

Karla is my main dog. She is small, 11 pounds and terrier tenacious. We had her three years before we got the rest. She is death on any small skurrying animals. If there is a mouse in the house she will get. She is a much better mouser than any cat. When we lived in Montana she loved going after the gophers. That's one laying on the ground in front of her. If there are rock chucks around she will get them for me, even though most are as big as or bigger than her.

Here's Theodore Roosevelt "Teddy". Teddy is my big dog and goes 21 pounds. Teddy loves to chase rabbits. Jack rabbits and their habit of running about 20 yards and turning back to look are his favorite. We have a video tape of Teddy and our other dogs chasing a jack rabbit across a big basin. Of course the Jack is much faster than the dogs. But Teddy keeps after him. The jack does what all jacks do, it makes a big circle and comes back to it's start. It stops and has it's head a hanging. Teddy comes a racing and gets the jack. We estimate the race over a mile. Teddy was dead tired and I let him ride in the truck. 20 minutes later he is back hunting.

The dogs work good as bird flushers but haven't been trained for it. They need to be trained to work close in. Tthey tend to get excited and want to work further and further out as they go.

Olivia is Teddy's mother. She is also a very good hunter. She trys to be the Alpha dog. Teddy accepts her, Karla ignores her. She is fast and won't stop going after the gophers unless you put her in the truck and roll the windows up.

The dogs work fairly well together except a sometimes competiton between Olivia and Karla. The three of them have chased fox and caught them. They have also cornered a badger. I don't encourage them on that.

These dogs are easily trained and only want to please their master. They are good with kids.

Karla with my Grandaughter several years ago.

Teddy

Olivia

Now that we are living in Virginia I have noticed that Teddy and Olivia are good on tree squirrels and will follow the squirrels as they move through the trees. Karla, she chases them up the tree and doesn't see them that well. She is getting old and doesn't move as quick.

Karla is my main dog. When I am in the house she will always be right at my side except in my office. Right now she is in her kennel just outside my office door. The Office floor is linoleum and she doesn't like to lay on it.

I do miss my GSP's. But I have never had better hunting or companion dogs than my rats!!!!

Oh yes they do have one very distinct advantage over my GSP...you can use a smaller shovel for clean-up!!!

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DD, Ret.

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