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| RAT TERRIERS on the FARM |
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| We have a small farm, on this farm we raise livestock, and grow vegatables and feed. Rats used to be a big problem for us, before we got Rat Terriers. Rats are a problem for most farmers, and ranchers. Not only are rats attracted to any food source but they are rodents. The teeth of rodents grow constantly, this means they have to chew in order to keep their teeth worn down, or else they soon could not close their mouth. They will knaw and chew their way into feedsacks, grain bens, chew and dig to tunnel under concrete, knaw electrical cords, and chew holes in walls. In the field they will climb grain stalks to eat off the seed, corn stalks to nibble the corn, rats will pick your beans and your peas right off the vine, and you wonder where they went. This need to chew cuppled with a ready appitite and a highly adaptable nature, has made the rat one of the most destructive of all pests known to man, from time imortal. And dogs were catching rats before they were domesticated. Early on man discovered that dogs could be used to control rat populations. Dogs with more natural ratting ability were used to develop strains and breeds of rat catchers. Rat Terriers are such a strain of dogs, and helped our forefathers keep the ravaging rat at bay. |
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| Rat terriers are great all around farm dogs. They can be used for herding small animals; our's assist our larger herding dog in moving our cows and goats from place to place. Ratters have a sence of which animal on the farm belongs where, if our goats get loose the ratters put them back. If the chickens get loose the ratters put them back. If a large animal gets loose they bark for you to come investigate. They patrol the grounds for rats and squirels and rabbits, they bark at deer and keep them out of the gardens and orchards. They patrol for gophers, in the orchard and are easily trained to chase unwanted fruit pecking birds away. These qualities were the ones bred into this little dog by our pioneering ancestors, this is truely a handy dandy little working breed. As a farmer/rancher I can personally atest to their useful workability on a farm, ranch, dairy, orchard opperation and truck garden opperation, they can also be quite useful for feed stores, and hay barns opperators and even livestock sales yards. They will put a hurting on rats after grain in sacks, bens and cereal hays (oat). This breed has a sence of purpose, a sence of: "give me something to do"and they love to please. These qualities make them great pets too, they want to learn what you want from them and to perform that task or trick or comand, they pay attention to you, are intellegent and quick, and are very obedient once they learn what you want. |
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