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| "Stoic the Vast" |
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| Boston Terrier x Chihuahua |
A friend has a four-month old Boston Terrier x French Bulldog mix and that let to some late night googling "Boston Terrier Mix." Scrolling through the images and I come across an apparent doppelganger for our own Stoic.
I know very little about Boston Terriers and even less about Chihuahuas but the mix would account for the size and structure we see in him.
Ultimately the whole breed game is just that: a game. It makes for interesting speculation but that is about it. Stoic is an excellent rat killer. He will make a fine therapy dog (he tests in two weeks). In the months to come, I'll see if he can be turned on to tracking wounded game.
He is a bit barrel chested, "spannable" but just barely. In the spring I will set up some dummy burrows to have him work through to kill mice and rats. Given his prey drive and nose, I'm convinced he could master the go-to-ground sports but that chest might be too much for actual go-to-ground work.
My experience is pretty limited, but next summer the initial plan is to spend some time in Minnesota's public hunting grounds searching for groundhogs (groundhogs are protected in Wisconsin) and give Sparta a chance to explore and work real burrows and me a chance to see if I really can work a Deben Terrier Locator. If circumstances allow I'll decide then to whether or not it seems safe to test him on some larger burrows.
My larger point is this, Stoic has all the promise to be a great dog, a working dog, a sporting dog, and a companion dog. It matters a whit not the the pedigree (or not) of the bitch that whelped him or the stud that sired him. If you're looking for a dog to do a specific thing (terrier work, tracking wounded game) it probably is a good idea to talk to a breeder who serves that kind of hunter, most of us, however, can be well served by a dog of proper skill set but unknown origin.
I know very little about Boston Terriers and even less about Chihuahuas but the mix would account for the size and structure we see in him.
Ultimately the whole breed game is just that: a game. It makes for interesting speculation but that is about it. Stoic is an excellent rat killer. He will make a fine therapy dog (he tests in two weeks). In the months to come, I'll see if he can be turned on to tracking wounded game.
He is a bit barrel chested, "spannable" but just barely. In the spring I will set up some dummy burrows to have him work through to kill mice and rats. Given his prey drive and nose, I'm convinced he could master the go-to-ground sports but that chest might be too much for actual go-to-ground work.
My experience is pretty limited, but next summer the initial plan is to spend some time in Minnesota's public hunting grounds searching for groundhogs (groundhogs are protected in Wisconsin) and give Sparta a chance to explore and work real burrows and me a chance to see if I really can work a Deben Terrier Locator. If circumstances allow I'll decide then to whether or not it seems safe to test him on some larger burrows.
My larger point is this, Stoic has all the promise to be a great dog, a working dog, a sporting dog, and a companion dog. It matters a whit not the the pedigree (or not) of the bitch that whelped him or the stud that sired him. If you're looking for a dog to do a specific thing (terrier work, tracking wounded game) it probably is a good idea to talk to a breeder who serves that kind of hunter, most of us, however, can be well served by a dog of proper skill set but unknown origin.
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