My family just recently lost our little rat terrier. We are very upset about it, especially my husband and kids. I am now on the "hunt" for another little rat terrier to join our home.

Does anyone know of a good reputable Rat Terrier breeder?

Thanks all!

*Mods, please move this post if it's in the wrong area*

Sorry to hear about your little one. While it may not be a popular opinion, I love little dogs as much as my big, so I can imagine how hard it must be. I don't know of anyone; sorry. Good luck, and again, sorry.

Sorry to hear about your dog. I could probably hook you up with JRT, Border, Jag, Patterdales, but no rat terriers. I would advise you to look very carefully though. That's a very popular breed with puppy mills and fast buck, back yard breeders. I may be over cautious, but here in Missouri, puppy mills are a huge problem.

John Chance or the Hightowers, both in TX are reputable rat terrier breeders. If you aren't in TX or close by, contact John Chance and he can point you in the right direction. You can reach him at jwchance@consolidated.net. Tell him that you got his email address from LoupGarou (a friend of mine). He knows her quite well. He's been breeding rat terriers for more than 20 years.

Thank you all for your responses, and condolences.

Old Earth Dog Bob Scott: Yes, that's why I'm posting here because I don't want to get a dog bred by a puppy mill. There aren't many good breeders here in California that I have found so far, but I know our local pet store carries them sometimes. Which I definately DO NOT want to do.

We have been debating between a JRT and another Rat Terrier. I've heard that JRT's aren't very good with kids. Could be a myth though. Could you PM me your opinion?

Elaine:
I'll definately email John, thanks so much for the contact.

 Quote:

We have been debating between a JRT and another Rat Terrier. I've heard that JRT's aren't very good with kids. Could be a myth though. Could you PM me your opinion?

Why not? Pick it up by its tail, hold it up n say "NO!!" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> kidding kidding... I kinda like JRT's, I'm not a small dog person, but they're cool lil dogs, but they drove my friends nuts when their old neighbors had one that just ran all over the place with no training. I don't know how trainable those lil guys are, I've never had any desire to work with small dogs.

I've ended up with both, quite by accident, and for the record I DO NOT HATE SMALL DOGS. I have a 2 right now. I would never get a JRT. P.I.T.A. dogs. Not saying some can't be great with kids, but they just don't stop. Talk about drive. They're like mals in an anklebiter suit, only not as smart. And far more irritating. Did I mention useless? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I'm exaggerating, but the one I had was dumb as rocks. Got himself stuck under the deck so bad that I had to cut the deck apart <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />. And I only took this dog to keep him from getting put down. Not sure it was worth it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Joking <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

The rat terrier, on the other hand, has the terrier spirit, but is not so drivey that it doesn't think. Unfortunately, the puppymill thing is so true-the one I had was given up because it needed a knee replacement and was returned to the pet store. They just don't take health into consideration at all <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />. This little dog had heart, spirit, brains, spunk, and was not annoying, which I think is a major plus. She was well worth the necessary surgery, and ended up being a cop's "go everywhere" buddy.

Disclaimer- obviously I'm only speaking from a very limited personal experience, and am not to be crucified for any aforementioned opinions.

I haven't had a JRT. However, the Rat Terrier that I had was an awesome dog. She had drive, and would kill squirrels, rabbits (when she could catch them), she would tree cats that weren't ours, but loved the ones that were. She was awesome with the kids, and was my husband's "go anywhere" buddy. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

With that being said, she wasn't QUITE fast enough to catch most of the rabbits and some of the squirrels. Plus she was almost all white, so they could see her coming a mile away. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'm not really all that into little dogs, which is why I have Remi, but my husband loved her to death. So...here I am.

Depending on Remi's temperament, a JRT might be too much, as many I've seen tend to be quite dominant. Not to say you couldn't have the same happen with a rat...but Remi's personality is something to consider also. Those little ones do not always play fair...

That is true. My only concern is introducing them when the puppy is very tiny because they are so fragile. But I've introduced Remi to kittens without a problem, and they now live happily together. Other than that, Remi is not a dominant dog and is well socialized with many animals.