Our Dogs - Rufus

Rufus is a Jack Russell X Yorkshire Terrier and we have had him since he was 9 weeks old, he is 5 now. Since he was a puppy he has gone to work with my Mum (she owns a petshop) and has become a bit of a shop mascot! He loves to sit outside the shop and sunbath or roll around on his back in the middle of the High Street!
Rufus has definitely changed our opinion on not judging a dog by it's breed (which is a great lesson to be taught!) My Mum was very dubious about getting a terrier, we had never owned terriers before and owning lots of small furry animals and chickens we wondered how he would be with them. Both Rufus's parents are working dogs and we thought it would be a bit risky. When he was a puppy we had 2 kittens and Rufus loved them, he has sat by my Mum's side while she has hand reared birds, squirrels and other little babies and he has NEVER reacted badly to them, infact quite the opposite! He loves anything small and furry and his tail wags like crazy! I believe Rufus is the way he is because we didn't see him as only a terrier, he is a dog first and can learn to be respectful of other animals. I think a lot of people expect their dog to act a certain way, or have certain traits because of it's breed but I believe if you teach a puppy from day one the rules and boundaries of your home it will be a perfect dog!