JRTCA Nationals

Well this is the second year in a row that I have missed the JRTCA National Trial.  In some respects if there was a year to miss it this was it.  The weather was just terrible.  Cold and damp.  A Noreaster they called it. 38 to 40  degrees for a high temp and drizzly-sleeting dampness all day Friday and Saturday. People slogging around in ankle deep mud.  The club had to have a tow truck on call just to pull all the stuck people out of the mud.
The bright spot in this for us was our puppy, Snazzy who is about 5 months old was the 4 to 6 month old Puppy Conformation Champion.  She won over approximately 40 pups in the bitch class and almost that many in the dog pup class.  This is a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT and I think that I may finally be forgiven for my mistake of the accidental breeding that resulted in her litter between Rancho Fiasco Stout and Rancho Fiasco Fergie.

Terrier Trials Can Be Exciting

Had a good weekend with some good people coming to the Ruckus in the Rockies Terrier Trial this past weekend. Saturday, Rancho Fiasco Bisley was Reserve Working Terrier Champion and on Sunday, Rancho Fiasco Knotty was Working Terrier Champion. We are happy with both of our girls for doing well. There was no extra charge to the exhibitors for getting to see some Storm Chasing action during the trial on Sunday. Gaye Redpath said this is a working breed, get them in the ring and lets go.  Just kidding but the funnel cloud didn't bother her in the least.  Photo was taken from a high vantage point on the West side of the trial site.

Puppy Arrival

Well, it was a big day here at Rancho Fiasco.

Two litters of puppies were expected, just not on the same day.

Rancho Fiasco Static who was bred by Anglo Terra Ruger went into
labor last evening. After 10 hours of labor she decided to have her
pups.
There were 2 males and 2 females. One of the boys looks just like Bisley.
they are all doing fine.

Not to be outdone. We no sooner got through taking a deep breath and Fergie
went into labor. She is only at 57 days so we were a little concerned because of
how premature they were. Two hours later there are 5 pups nursing from
Miss Fergie. 2 males and 3 females. There are a couple of these with a lot of
color which is something we usually do not have.
Dad, who is Rancho Fiasco Stout, the little teenage trouble maker is wondering
what this is all about.

Photos will follow in a few days.

Check back here and on the website. www.ranchofiasco.com

Skunk Magnet

OK, so it has been a long time since I have posted anything here. Life in general just seems to get busy and time gets away from you.

I am not sure if it is this way all across the country but here at Rancho Fiasco in Colorado we have been overrun with skunks. There have been some cases of rabies found in skunks in this area which of course has us concerned. Over the past 7 or 8 months, I have caught 20 skunks just on our place. Seems like trying to empty a pond with a cup. You dip it in to take a cup out and it just fills in. That is the way it is with skunks in our area. Caught number 20 last night. I am getting tired of burying them although it is good digging exercise.

Trust Your Terriers Nose

As we approach the hunting season in most parts of the country it brings to mind a common mistake that some people make that are new to this sport. You come across a sette and your terrier shows some interest but acts a little reluctant to enter. Some people will try to get their terriers worked up and enter what they think is an ideal home for a fox or raccoon. They finally convince their terrier to enter only to smell that they have been sprayed by a skunk. A lot of good terriers have been lost over the years to this handsome little black and white member of the weasel family. Learn to trust your terriers nose and if they hesitate to enter what appears to be a good sette, go on to the next one.

Good Hunting

Rancho Fiasco Kaddy

The following story is from our friend Sherri Rossmiller of Washington who has one of our Knotty puppies, Kaddy. She seems to be coming along very nicely in the field work department and has done well at terrier trials too as she was Grand Champion Terrier at the JRTCA AGM Trial in Estes Park, Colorado on Sunday's trial.

I thought you'd want to know a little bit more of Kaddy's hunt, including some photos. We were in Jackson, Ohio with Gary Vollrath and Dawn Kelley, whom I was traveling with. We had two dogs on the ground and were walking along a hedgerow that bordered a corn field/soy bean field. It was really heavy thorny underbrush with multi-flora rose and poison ivy. Kaddy and the other dog were both interested in what we thought was a single hole sette. The other dog walked away, Kaddy stayed listening at the hole, entered, and immediately started baying. That gave us the encouragement to start clearing away the brush. When we did, we discovered it was a four-hole sette. Kaddy continued baying and we marked her at 2 1/2 ft. We could hear sparring going on and I could see the back end of something being pushed out towards the exit hole I was at. Gary opened up the hole to see Kaddy going at it with the opossum. She was taken out of the hole and the opossum was left alone. Kaddy was schooled to a raccoon on Saturday at Joe's place and the light turned on from there. She worked a really hard sette that had two hogs in it, but just couldn't figure it out. We later discovered one of the hogs had gone up in a tube that was on top of where she was trying to find the other hog. That hog had dug away, so I'm assuming the scent was so strong from both of them, she couldn't figure it out. It appears she learned a valuable lesson that day with Steff. Kaddy is a great little hunting terrier. She can go anywhere and it appears she certainly has the drive to push on. The next quarry was not going to get away. Kaddy entered another sette and started baying. We could hear her sparring with the quarry and marked her at 3 1/2 feet. I could see something being pushed out of an exit hole, but couldn't tell what it was. Gary Vollrath, a working judge from Jackson, Ohio, broke through to the tunnel and saw Kaddy actively engaging a hissing opossum. We pulled Kaddy out and left the opossum for another day. Kaddy has now joined the working ranks by earning her first NHC to opossum. Good girl Lil' Miss Wampus! Anyway, congratulations to us both for producing a good little worker!
Sherri Rossmiller

As a Post Script, Kaddy has a 12 week old brother and sister that are available here at Rancho Fiasco. Call or email inquires to approved homes.

Choco at One Year

Well, Choco just turned a year of age this past Saturday. He has matured physically very nicely. I think he has the makings of a very good earth hunting terrier. He has good bone, and an adequate head with good solid teeth. Nice angles to manuver around in an earth. His chest is very spanable, even with my small hands. His coat is as good a hunt jacket as you could ask for. Tops out at about 13" and will likely fill out a bit more in the muscle structure. He is as gamey as they come and if there is any fault I could really put my finger on is he is a little hard driven and hope he remains sensible and is willing to use his head as well as his teeth.