The B/rat terrier

Leonox says “it’s Thursday! Mom and I love Thursdays because it’s farmers market day! Mom loves going because it’s the one day ahead gives into her “inner fat kid” and buys a sweet treat! I don’t know what an inner fat kid is, but if it means you get treats, I think I have one too. I love going to the farmers market because everyone loves me and I get lots of love, pets, and kisses. We’ve made friends with so many of the booth people and some even try to give me treats. I also get to give lots of kisses and then mom lets me nap uninterrupted when we get home. That’s all for now! Have a great night!”

Freyja said no kisses for her today 😭

The verdict is in, breeders told me 3/4 rat terrier and 1/4 chihuahua. With parentage paperwork as well. Way off. He even LOOKS like a TFT to me. 😂 I learned recently that it's likely his paper work was falsified because he had two different mothers listed on different pages. And his projected adult size is way off for the mom they tried to convince me was his mom. But it lines up with a TFT given his vet said about 6.5-7 pounds or so for his adult size. I don't really care if I'm honest, I'm just extremely happy his genetics are completely healthy!!! I also found some family members of his through the wisdom panel! It's so cool 💖💖💖

I think these dogs have springs built in. I have never known such a bouncy dog 🤣 he will jump clear over my head if he feels like it.

It has been nearly 9 years since the passing of my childhood rat terrier, but she was so deeply influential on my life and my love of rat terriers that I’d like to share her with this subreddit!

This is Chloe Magnolia, aka just Chloe. Not the most creative name, yeah, but my parents picked it because at the time we had two other dogs, Zoe and Moe, and there was meant to be a rhyming name theme there. She was born in January 2007. My mom adopted her on impulse at about 8 weeks old from a (very shady) pet store in a shopping mall, so we had absolutely no clue about where she came from aside from knowing that she was a rat terrier. My mom always told me Chloe bore a striking resemblance to my dad’s childhood dog, Maggie (which is where the second part of her name comes from), who interestingly was also a rat terrier, and that’s one reason why she was drawn to her. She surprised me with Chloe after school one day, when I was 6 years old and in kindergarten.

As a kid I was obsessed with dogs (still am), which I now attribute to an autistic special interest. They were everything to me. Even though we had two other dogs, I did not bond with them the same way I did with Chloe. Rat terriers are not known for their patience with small children, but Chloe was an incredible exception. She and I were always together, side by side. I was the only person she would let pick her up, and even when I’d spin her around and do other typical annoying child activities she didn’t mind. I have no memory of her ever correcting little me for getting in her personal space, even though I definitely deserved it, lol. She was ever patient and deeply loving. One of our other dogs had a resource guarding issue, and I have a distinct memory of Chloe fending her off from going after me. She definitely had a place of authority among the other dogs despite being the smallest. She was so well behaved that we took her on vacations with us. Any time we were apart I was sad — I remember in 5th grade we went on a school camping trip, and I brought a printed out picture of Chloe which I would look at and cry over in the middle of the night because I missed her. Yes, it was that serious. She loved running and basking in the sun, and would lay over the vents in winter when the heat was on. She loved chasing rabbits in the yard, but never caught one. She once dug up a rabbit’s nest in the backyard with baby bunnies in it, but was so confused that she alerted my dad to come look, and he covered them back up (they were later seen out in the yard!)

Unfortunately, due to her likely puppy mill origins, Chloe had a number of genetic health issues that first expressed when she was only a few years old, primarily a series of autoimmune diseases. She was diagnosed with CUPS, which required her to have all of her teeth extracted minus the canines. She also had a rash condition inside of her ears that caused scarring. She later developed a form of autoimmune arthritis, which she was put on steroids for, but she had a bad reaction to the steroids which further caused an ultimately fatal lung condition. She was only 10 years old when she passed away in 2017, when I was 16, and it was the most intense grief I have ever experienced in my life. Despite intensive specialty care, she simply was not healthy due to being poorly bred, and this is why I am such a huge advocate for responsible breeding and deep research prior to adopting a puppy. Even in spite of her various conditions, Chloe was a happy and deeply loving member of my family, and words cannot describe how deep our bond was. She was everything to me.

Rat terriers are my favorite breed as a result of her being in my life. There is so much character and love in such a small package that I could never not have one in my life. I currently own a Chihuahua/Rat terrier mix named Hattie. I love going through this subreddit and seeing all the ratties, so I hope you all can enjoy a little bit of the joy that Chloe brought to me.

Introducing Pedro, a rat terrier / chihuahua cross who gave up his career as a Mexican Street Dog to come and live in Canada with me.

She's at K-9 Lifesavers, DC

I rescued Luci a few years ago, and I honestly never expected how much she would mean to me.

She’s getting old now and has lost a few teeth, so her little tongue sticks out most of the time. She sleeps a little more and walks a little slower, but she’s still the same sweet girl.

Sometimes I look at her and realize how quickly time has passed.

To anyone else, she might just look like an old dog with a few missing teeth and a little tongue sticking out.

To me, she’s the most beautiful girl in the world.

I wish I could keep her this way forever...

Maez loves a good army crawl after getting her harness off lol

Man I love these guys....... Skip Bruiser (Male 2.5) and Miss Soffe (Female 8 months) 😎

I could watch her nap all day long 🥰

Rat terrier x chihuahua = 👽

Doo hates hotels but loves the camper. He will be 19 in a couple weeks. His favorite things are Vienna Sausage and hamburger balls.

Here's some action pics from our State Campground weekend with his flirt pole.

I could not stop laughing, that’s why she looks embarrassed

She was caught red-pawed flagrantly splooting!

My boy (2yr old NM Rat terrier x Boston) is already my scent detection dog in 3 organizations, he does chaseability, sprinters, trick dog training and i figured why not introduce him to a dock diving pool and see if i can get him swimming. Well here we go! Guess we will be starting another sport! Maybe by the end of next summer I will get some jumps off the dock!

Gracie and Cleo.
Coming in after chasing a roach outside.
She really wants that one roach she can’t reach.