Playdate - Emmett & Reno

A few weeks after we had Emmett home we were invited to a playdate at Marianne N's home out in Burnsville. She had a litter of pups around the time that Emmett was born. Unfortunately, two of the three pups didn't make it so Reno was left all alone. Playing with mom wasn't enough so Emmett and I went on a road trip to spend a Saturday afternoon romping in the yard.

Marianne has a beautiful home perched on a hill overlooking a valley. It was a wonderful place to just sit and watch the world go by. I brought Emmett into the yard and set him down. In a flash, Reno was on him. This was his yard and he wasn't going to let any interlopers mess with his territory. I think for the first hour Emmett was on his back in the grass. Gradually, he got the hang of it and was knocking Reno around. Later in the day, Linda W. came over and we took some photos of the pups stacked on a table. I think Emmett is beautiful, especially with the backdrop of the valley behind them.


Reno head shot


Reno in Jail


Emmett in jail (notice the dirt on face - courtesy of Reno)


Emmett & Reno on the steps

Stacked photos of Emmett

Welcome Emmett

On May 21st, 2009 my good friend Linda W. and I packed up her van with two adult Bullies and two puppies and headed to Illinois for the Illiana dog shows. The puppies were from a litter that she co-bred and we were delivering one to a family in Wisconsin and another at the dog show. They were so cute. Linda was also going to be showing a dog - Hooty for the family that owns him. He is also from a litter that she had about 3 years ago.

I had planned to go on this trip just to get out of the house after Rupert passed but it soon turned in to a puppy pick up for our family as well. There was a new all white puppy dog with our name on it in Pennsylvania. We were fortunate enough to be able to pick him up at the shows. He is a half brother to Rupert. They share the same father - "Manny" Ch.Apprentice Man In Action. Manny is a beautiful brindle and white dog who caught my attention early in my quest to find a Bull Terrier. It cracked me up when we received Rupert as he was all white with wonderful red ears and red eye patch. He didn't look too much like Manny but we loved him so much.

Now, another Manny pup was to be ours and Franne was going to pick the best one for us. I was hopeful as I knew the litter of seven had four boys, three of which were colored. I believed my chances of getting a Manny look alike were high. When Franne sent the photos of the pup she picked for us, I laughed out loud. Not because he was funny looking but because he was the only all white puppy in the whole litter. What are the chances. We trust Franne and knew that she picked the right one for us.

On Friday, May 22nd Cindy P. drove all the way from Pennsylvania with her bitch Tansy (who just had 10 puppies of her own at the end of June!) and our new boy. She was so tired from the long trip that she handed him off quickly with a packet of papers and some food and was off to bed. There I was, standing in a dark parking lot of the motel with my all white boy, looking at him and wondering who he was. Linda and her friend Robin had gone off for a walk with the older dogs as we weren't expecting the delivery to happen so early. I walked back to our room wondering what I had gotten myself into. He was very cute but I kept looking for the red ears of Rupert. For an instant I wondered if I had jumped into this too soon. I did't want to compare them, it wouldn't be fair to the new little guy. Rupert left a huge hole in my heart and I really wondered if this new bundle of white and very sharp teeth would be able to fill it. The name I had chosen all of a sudden didn't seem to fit. So for the next four days I called him puppy while Linda, Robin, her husband Cliff and I all tried to come up with something fitting. We got pretty silly at times but nothing seemed to stick. Here are a few photos of his arrival in Illinois.








Puppy came home to Minnesota with all engines in overdrive. He had so much energy he exhausted me. He was in to everything and anything and those teeth! He caught me by the finger my first day with him and it bled so much I thought I might faint. I reached for a toy just as he was going for it and he sliced my index finger top and bottom with those sharp canines. I called him a few choice names when that happened and am now glad that none of those stuck.

Like Rupert, he wormed his way into our hearts and lives. He soon became known as Emmett which is the name I had chosen originally. Once we got home it seemed to fit. His Aussie brother Fizzbo was none too pleased to see this new little land shark. Soon the tufts of Fizzbo hair were flying although this time around Fizzbo learned that he can say no and mean it. They get along very well and also know when to leave each other alone. Here are a couple of them together.




We only had to tape Emmett's ears for two days before they stood on their own. Here he is with his new look. It was a little sad for me as he seemed to grow up overnight. Love the floppy look but am so glad they went up and stayed up!





Emmett's nose hasn't filled in completely and for a short time I thought about calling him Mickey.....take a look at the photo and see if you can figure out why..



Emmett is such a smart boy. He has learned at the age of about 10 weeks to sit and wait for the OK to get his food. He will sit about 20 feet away and not move until he hears the word. The funniest part is that when I prepare his food he will go out and sit in the dining room in his spot without me having to ask. He also remembers every house on our walks where people have come out to pet him. Now, when we walk, he has to stop at each place and see if his friends are coming out. Makes for a very long walk when we have to stop so often.

As with Rupert, my most favorite photos are of him sleeping. He looks like such an angel when his eyes are closed.





That's it for now. I have more to post of his puppy play date with Reno and his time at Camp Woodruff while we were away at a wedding. Will have to wait for another day.

RUPERT - 6/6/08 - 4/1/09

I was going to post a lot of photos to say good-bye to Rupert. It's taken me this long to want to post anything. Cindy P. who is the co-owner of Rupert's father sent me a beautiful photo of Rupert, taken at her home right before he came home to us in Minnesota last August. This photo summed up his life so perfectly that I think it's the only one needed to show people what kind of dog he was. He lived life to the fullest and took time to smell the flowers along the way. His eight months with us were filled with such joy for all of us. We hated leaving him in the morning and raced home at lunch time and after work to see him. He couldn't have been loved any more than we loved him. Enjoy the photo!

Farewell Rupert

We haven't posted for awhile as our hearts have been heavy with the loss of Rupert on April 1st, 2008. He died in my arms and the shock and devastation felt by our family goes without saying. He was five days short of his 10 month birthday. I will post a few of my favorite photos as a memorial to our sweet boy Rupert. He is now playing at the bridge with our Doberman Wrigley waiting for us to join him in the future.

A successor puppy will be joining our family soon. We realized after a few days without the bully personality in our home it was just too empty. We will add this new bully baby to the page when he arrives home after the Memorial weekend. We are excited to get to know him and his new personality.

The Bull Terrier Ring
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Video Clip - Land O'Lakes 1/3/2009

Here is Rupert's first time in the ring. He never stopped wagging his tail. The judge was so very nice, speaking softly and moving slowly. He still doesn't like it when others try to open his mouth but we are working on that. All in all a good experience for him.

Rupert is a Show Dog!

What a weekend! Rupert has his show ring debut on Saturday and Sunday at the Land O'Lakes Kennel Club show at the River Center in downtown St Paul. It is the last and biggest show of the season here in Minnesota. Over 1900 dogs compete over a two day period. Mark and I never miss it and this year was odd because we were actually in it and not just observing.

The Friday before we took Rupert up to see Linda W. She helped to get him ready with trimming of ears and furnishings and his nails. Thank you Linda! He looked outstanding.

We entered Rupert in the 6-9 month puppy class. He was the only dog so won his first blue ribbon along with a purple for winners dog. The judge was Mrs. Patricia V. Trotter and she couldn't have been nicer. She was slow and spoke softly. Rupert's tail never stopped wagging. She also gave me a few pointers and believe me, I can use all the help I can get. It's been 20 years since I stepped in the ring and just walking into the building sucked all the moisture from my mouth and I wanted to walk back out. Once at ringside I started seeing all my Bull Terrier friends and their dogs. This group is the best and always helpful and supportive.

From the puppy class we went on to compete for Best of Variety/Best of Winners. I went in to have fun with no thought of winning. Then of all things, as we made our last pass around the ring the judge pointed at Rupert! I almost fell over (mainly because I kept walking the handler in front of me stopped suddenly in front of me when she pointed at me). I almost looked at her and said excuse me, are you sure you didn't mean to point at that one? As the judge handed us our ribbons she looked at me and said..."this may not be the best thing that ever happens to you but it sure comes close" I'm sure my mouth was still hanging to my knees. I thanked her and out we trotted. There was a lot of cheering from family and friends as we exited the ring. Mark felt I should have looked more subdued in the ring. Act like I do this all the time. Well, maybe he's right but I was so shocked that I didn't really know what I was doing at the time. All this hoopla meant that we were heading to the Terrier Group competition. We had a good two hour wait so Rupert sat in a comfy chair that we brought along and held court while people walked by and stopped to talk to him and pet him. He loved it.

We went to the group with Jennifer and her colored bully, Gladys. It was fun to have someone in the ring that I knew. We followed the Airedale and Kerry Blue into the ring and all was going well until the Kerry Blue decided he did not like the Airedale. He lunged and the handler had all she could do to pull him back. The Airedale handler was a very young girl. We were all a little spooked and Rupert lost focus for a bit. The Kerry Blue handler decided it was best to hang back and stay out of the line until it was her turn to be judged. We weren't in the cut for group placement but I didn't care. I know that this doesn't happen all the time so felt happy to have made it that far the first time out.

After a very long day we drove home in freezing rain and snow. Once home, Rupert snugged in on his blanket and took a very long snooze. Very well deserved. We went to bed early dreaming of another day.

Sunday was a little different. Rupert was tired. The judge was a little rough. Rupert was not having any of that. He was not willing to let her look at his teeth but she kept trying. I finally asked if she would like me to do it and he then let her see his pearly whites. He was a little off after that and wouldn't even look at her when we did our down and back....lol....a true terrier...he just ignored her no matter what sound she made. Because we were again the only puppy in the class we received another blue ribbon. In the end we received a reserve winners dog ribbon and we were done for the day. It was a great weekend!

Oh.....before the Sunday judging we had a bit of drama. We arrived well in advance of our ring time and picked up my arm band. I was standing ringside 10 minutes before we were to go in. Rupert spied a treat in my hand and pounced. I felt his very large canine hit my thumb and it hurt but I just ignored the pain. There was a woman with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier that was Rupert's age and we talked a bit. I bent down to pet her pup and saw blood all over my thumb. I thought her dog was bleeding, she thought Rupert was bleeding, I though "Oh no" is there blood on my white dog????? Well, it was my thumb and it was bleeding like a stuck pig....note to self....bring bandaids to all dog shows. I ran back to Mark to get something to wipe it off but it wouldn't stop. Then I heard the dreaded words....Maam...number 7....we are waiting for you....curses...the worst thing to do is keep the judge waiting....even just a few seconds which is what it was.....all I could do was apologize and keep moving.....Today, my thumb really hurts and I'll be sure to know where my hand is in relation to sharky boy's mouth at all times while holding treats.

Now time for the photos!! Enjoy!


Rupert after visiting Linda W for his trim.


Waiting to go into the ring for the first time.


Winner's Dog shock. Not the most flattering
of photos. We didn't have much time before going
back in to compete for Best of Winners/Best of Variety.


Best of Variety competition.


The last down and back. Good boy.


Winning pose.


Prince Rupert on his throne after the big win.
So nonchalant.


Holding court while waiting for the Group judging to begin.


Mom, would you please leave my face alone???


The Group line up...Gladys is behind me......


Kerry Blue decides to attack the Airedale.....


I see daddy.......


Making our pass around the Group ring....


Are we done yet?


Finally, home to rest.......until tomorrow...