Friday, March 6, 2009

Rattie Rasslin'

Me and Banjo spend a lot of time play fighting. Mom calls it "rassling". Most of the time I am the winner of these matches but sometimes baby brother comes out on top.






Banjo weighs less than 4lbs. That is half what I weigh. He's a feisty little thing ain't he?




Did you know, Rat Terriers are often called Feists? Mom found this info on the web...

Feist and Rat Terrier:

Feist dogs are the progenitor of what we now call the Rat Terrier. The Rat Terrier is a specific breed within the "feist" umbrella. Because the word "feist" refers to a general type of dog just as "hound" and "terrier" refer to a group of breeds, Rat Terriers are often called "feist". The terriers brought to America in the 1890's from England were crossed with feist dogs already here in addition to some of the Toy breeds (Toy Fox Terrier, Manchester Terrier and Chihuahua) to develop the Rat Terrier we know today.


6 comments:

Kathleen Coy said...

Dang, Bijou! It looks like Banjo is determined to be top dog in the hierarchy. What a tenacious little guy!

And yes, we read about the Fiest dog part before. Very cool! Mom wonders which came first - did the word 'fiesty' come from Fiest, or did Fiest come from 'fiesty'? Inquiring minds want to know... (mom loves word origins. I just want to go outside and chase squirrels!)
Luv,
Cloud

Bijou said...

Kathleen,

Here's more info mom found on the web today about the word 'feist'.

Feist, also fice, is one of several regional terms for a small mixed-breed dog. Used throughout the Midland and Southern states, feist connotes a snappy, nervous, belligerent little dog—hence the derived adjective feisty, meaning "touchy, quarrelsome, or spirited," applicable to animals and to people. Although feist remains a regional word, feisty has now entered standard usage throughout the United States.

So I guess feist came before feisty.

Bijou

Chase said...

Wow Bijou your brother likes to make a lot of noise! I make the same noises when I'm beating up my teddy bear..


Sniffs and licks,

Chase

Poppy said...

I was thinking about feisty too. You sure live up to your name!

Poppy

Lorenza said...

Hi, Bijou!
I was thinking the same.
The first video was "almost" silent until the end and the second.... haaaa... Banjo is noisy!
I loved watching you two rassling!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Kathleen Coy said...

Oh wow, tell your mom thanks Bijou! That's very interesting. It's good to know how much we dogs have contributed to the English language, heehee!
Luv,
Cloud