Benny Just Says No To Country

In his earlier days, Benny was always a great little car traveler. Recently he has begun drooling like a running faucet as soon as he gets into his crate in the car. First I thought it was just normal puppy carsickness, but it was erratic, sometimes he was fine. I wondered what could be different in the car? Was it after eating? before eating? when Beatrix was with us? when Beatrix wasn't with us? Daytime? Nighttime? Window open? Windows closed? A/C on or off? Radio on or off? Kind of music?!!!! My usual choice for car entertainment is classical music but recently my ears have been craving good old country music. I just can't get enough of the stuff and have been playing it non stop whenever I'm driving. Well Benny has demonstrated in no uncertain terms that he's had it with George and Travis and Brad and Willie and all the rest of those guys. Maybe they remind him too much of his beginnings in Arkansas. From now on, whenever Benny is a passenger it will be classical only.

Benny's First Day of School

On Monday night Benny attended his first official dog training class. He was probably the youngest dog there and he was definitely one of the better behaved students. There were about 14 sets of dogs and handlers as well as the instructor and her assistants. Most of the people brought along family members so there was lots of activity with people and dogs. The students included at least one very aggressive dog who was only 7 months old, one dog who barked continuously, one dog who was afraid of everything, and several dogs who were just acting like they had way too much energy. Benny managed to stay pretty well focused on me and on his "good boy"treats.

Benny is not the first dog I've trained and I've learned that starting early is really important with Irish Terriers. At this age everything should be fun for handler and dog, the pups should love learning, and you will be surprised how fast they figure out what you want them to do.
I hope all of the siblings are starting classes soon!

Here's Teddy - Benny's brother

Hi everyone,



We finally get to see one of the other siblings. If anyone wants to post a picture of the other two pups and you don't know how, just email them to me and I'll post the pictures for you. If you want to make comments, just sign up for a gmail account, it's simple and painless. If you want to be able to post things, let me know and I'll add your name. Finally, be sure to sign up as a "follower" so you'll get all the new posts. Suzanne

Benny's Roommates

Benny joined Beatrix, my 8 year old Irish, and Tommy, my 12 year old cat, when he came to live here.Benny is a bit intimidated by Tommy, a tough old earless tomcat, who scratched Benny's ear on their first meeting. Beatrix is another story. Benny adores her and doesn't like to have her out of his sight. She is just wonderful with him, it's like having a live in dog trainer. He loves to drag her around by the skin on her neck and she allows it, only occasionally telling him to back off.

Benny is now 23 pounds, he's lost more teeth, and he's really turning into a good little dog. Sometimes he worries me because he is so laid back. Irish Terriers I've known are never hyper but they do seem to have lots of energy. Benny is pooped after a 2.5 mile walk. He comes home and sleeps for hours. Then he's usually pretty quiet until the "Puppy Wilds" which take place after dinner. I like to leave the family room door open and Benny's favorite game is to race in and out like a mad dog carrying his toys one by one until he has 6 to 8 things out on the grass. He only does this at night. Then he likes to lie out amongst his toys and chew on each one.

What about the siblings? Laid back or wild?

Busy Benny

People always ask me if Irish Terriers dig. Until now I've said, "Well, I've never had a digger, but I've read that they can enjoy digging in the yard." Enter busy Benny, digger extraordinaire.

As if the California drought wasn't enough, it seems that the Irish Terriers in this house have formed a pact to rid the yard of every blade of grass. First, there is the never ending traffic as Irish Terriers who are inside want to go outside and Irish Terriers who are outside want to come inside; then there is the lure of relieving one's doggy self on that nice green stuff. Somehow the grass was holding its own until recently. Now there are small black holes popping up around the yard and there is a small red puppy who often runs into the house with mouthfuls of sod and dirt which he deposits on my woven rug. That activity sets me in motion as I rush in with the vacuum to clean and then I dash outside to spray the hole with Bitter Apple. It seems to work on that hole but boy Benny knows that there is always more territory to excavate.

He's lucky that he is so cute.

Benny's Ear Gluing

Even though Benny has come from humble beginnings and he can never be a famous show dog in Breed Competition, I still want him to look like a proper Irish Terrier. Those cute little folded over ears that give an Irish a particularly wonderful expression do not always develop completely naturally. It's often necessary to glue the ears down to the head so that the fold across the top of the ear is set. Many puppies have what look like beautiful ears and then when they start teething (usually 4 to 7 months), the ears start flying all over the place. Benny just began teething and his ears alternate from flying sideways to hanging down like some kind of hound dog. So I've begun the regimen of ear gluing. I don't think this is too invasive and most dogs tolerate it well, so for me it's not an animal cruelty issue like ear cropping. I use a fabric glue called Tear Mender made by Vala. The Irish Terrier Club of America website www.itca.info has a detailed description of ear gluing if anyone wants more information.

Benny's Progress

As you have probably figured out by now, Benny is the pup I decided to keep. It was never my plan to keep him, I was just fostering him as I have so many dogs before him. Benny's sister, Gemma, flew to California so I could foster her before she went to her permanent home in Seattle. At the last minute, Benny's adoption in Arkansas fell through so I took him too, feeling sure that I could find him a great home. Well, I did!

I gave Benny a name and a birthday, January 19, 2009. I do think he was born a little later than that but January 19 was my Dad's birthday so it's kind of a tribute to him. He would have loved little Benny.

Benny has now lost 4 teeth and has two permanent front teeth coming in. I'm not at all sorry to see those little daggers go. He's had all his vaccines so he can now travel almost everywhere with me. He knows sit, down, he is crate trained, and he is mostly housebroken except for the occasional accident. He chews anything and everything and as of yesterday, he weighs 20.6 pounds.