the truth about cats and dogs

[auntiemeesh]

The family that I babysat for tonight (yeah, they didn't cancel) have a tiny little Jack Russell named Lucy. She's only 11 lbs. That's smaller than Mal. She's very cute, though, and not as yippy as I expect tiny dogs to be. We made friends right away and I probably played with her more than the baby. To be fair, the baby put his head down and asked for his milk about five minutes after the parents left, so I didn't have much babysitting to do.

I'm not really a dog person, but if I ever did decide to get a dog (totally dependent on having a much larger place than I do currently) Jack Russells are definitely one of the breeds I would consider. Despite loving LP's and WMW's bigger dogs, they would be too much for me to handle. Basically, if I ever got a dog, it would have to be a canine version of a cat. *grins*

Comments

[beeej.livejournal.com]

My sister has a Jack Russell, and as much as I like him, he's too high maintenance for me. If he's not sleeping, he wants to be running and playing. And wow, does it ever take a lot of running and playing before he's tired out enough to go to sleep! ;)

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I could definitely see that. Lucy must be a bit of an atypical Jack Russell because she played for a little while, then cuddled for a while, then climbed in her basket and slept the rest of the evening. Either that or she's old.

[beanpot.livejournal.com]

I am certainly way to biased...but greyhounds, while large, actually sleep MORE than cats. I was home all day and my grey literally slept ALL DAY except for when I fed her and took her out on walks. So about 22 hours of the day...she was asleep.

Also my neighbor has a jack russel and while he is so freaking cute - he never, ever, ever stop barking. Ever. But I think that's because his owner never walks him.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I'm beginning to think Lucy might be a bit atypical. She was pretty calm, and very quiet. Only barked a bit when people were at the door.

[topaztook.livejournal.com]

That was not your typical Jack Russell. My aunt has one: puppydom = bark! bark! bark! excited chasing! jump! jump! jump! bark! jump some more!

middle-aged doghood: still chasing! still jumping! slightly less barking!

old age: less barking. arthritis interfering with chasing and jumping. refusing all but the *good* table scraps.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a good thing I'm not actually planning to get a dog any time soon, then. :)

[shirebound]

Those are supposed to be very inteligent little doggies.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

They are certainly very cute. :)

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you had a relatively easy and fun babysitting experience!

Re: dog breeds
Jack Russell Terriers have a reputation for being very cute and personable, but completely insane if not given lots of exercise and much training. In other words, in terms of amount of work required they may be the antithesis of cats. In fact, they may out-Marley most labs. So ... when and if you do decide to get a dog - proceed with caution!

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Well, luckily, I don't actually have any intention of getting a dog any time soon. Maybe someday. Or not.

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

A nice cardboard cut-out of a Jack Russell terrier (i.e., Flat Wishbone)could be a good intro to dog ownership. It would involve very little barking, no house-training misadventures, and could provide minutes of chewing fun for any live dog you might eventually be owned by.