Spring High Rat Terriers

Susan Cooney and Bruce Strand of Spring High Rat Terriers in Lake City, Florida welcome you to our site. Lake City is located in north Florida, north of Gainesville, near the intersection of I-75 and I-10.

The RAT TERRIER was recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC - www.ukcdogs.com) on January 1, 1999. UKC provides a national show venue for rat terriers in conformation and performance events.

In addition, the RAT TERRIER was recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC - www.akc.org) in their Foundation Stock Service category (FSS) in 2004 with full recognition forthcoming in the future. Rat terriers can't be shown in AKC CONFORMATION CLASSES at this time but can be shown in some AKC performance events.

Our personal goals as active members of the rat terrier community are:
1. To thoughtfully breed OFA health-tested adult dogs that posess the best companion temperaments, along with correct conformation, to meet the breed standard as set by the United Kennel Club. (See the OFA-testing we do on our dogs at: www.offa.org and type in the dog's full registered name.)
2. To raise happy, healthy QUALITY puppies for ourselves and to show them, thereby keeping our breeding program moving forward.
3. To carefully place pet quality and show/breeding potential puppies (as well as an occasional retiring adult dog) in their best forever homes, and to assist the new owners as much as possible and for as long as necessary.
4. To follow our puppies and dogs and their adventures with their new families over the years. Should circumstances ever change, please know that we will gladly take back any Spring High puppy or dog, at any time and for any reason, with no questions asked.

OUR CURRENT UKC SHOW DOGS:
FUDGE: CH Spring High's Forever Fudge (Miniature Variety Male - white, chocolate & tan and a bred-by)
LARK: CH Spring High's WRT Skylark (Miniature Variety Female - tan sable & white)
SARGE: CH Spring High's Hill Street Blues (Standard Variety Male - blue fawn & white)
SURF CITY: GRCH Spring High's Surf City (Standard Variety Male - black, white & tan and a bred-by)
...and also not living with us BUT included in the list of Spring High Show Dogs:
JACK: GRCH Windys Blackjack @ Spring High (Miniature Variety Male - black & white)
CALLIE: CH Spring High's Made You Blush (Miniature Variety Female - blue fawn & white and a bred-by)
PEANUT: CH Toucans SHK Georgia On My Mind (Miniature Variety Female - white, black & tan and a bred-by)

For lots of information about rat terriers:
-Annie's RT Links, A to Z:
http://members.aol.com/nabelleeee/RT.html
-The Rat Terrier Club of America: www.ratterrierclub.com
-The National Rat Terrier Association: www.nrta.com
-The American Rat Terrier Association: www.artaukc.org
-Teresa's Weebits RT site:
http://groups.msn.com/weebitsratterriers2001

We have coated, type A (long-legged) rat terriers that are registered with AKC FSS (American Kennel Club, Foundation Stock Service), UKC (United Kennel Club) and/or UKCI (Universal Kennel Club International). We do NOT register our dogs with CKC (Continental Kennel Club) or ACR (American Canine Registry) or NKC (National Kennel Club, Inc.) or APRI (America's Pet Registry, Inc.).

WHAT WE HAVE:
We have MINIATURE VARIETY rat terriers (to 13 inches tall at the shoulder) and STANDARD VARIETY rat terriers (over 13 inches tall to 18 inches tall at the shoulder), and we can produce a variety of colors.

Regarding colors, the UKC disqualifies the following colors: brindle; merle; absence of white, any solid color other than white; albinism.

Read about and see photos of the variety of rat terrier colors:
www. imageevent.com/shawspaws/ratterriercolors

WE HAVE THE GENETICS TO PRODUCE THESE NON-DILUTE COLORS:
~This group has black noses and brown eyes: black & white; black tri (black white tan); tan sable & white
~This group has chocolate noses and amber or hazel eyes: chocolate & white; chocolate tri (chocolate white tan); chocolate sable & white (also called high red chocolate sable)

and also the following DILUTE COLORS:
~This group has grey noses and grey eyes. Blue means grey in dog talk and is the dilute of black: blue & white; blue tri (blue white tan); blue sable & white (also called blue fawn)
~This group has taupe noses and tan eyes. Pearl is the dilute of chocolate: pearl & white; pearl tri (pearl white tan); pearl sable & white (also called red fawn)

WHAT WE DON'T HAVE:
WE DON'T HAVE MERLE, BRINDLE, ALL-WHITE OR SOLID-COLORED RAT TERRIERS.
WE DON'T HAVE APRICOT OR LEMON-COLORED RAT TERRIERS AT THIS TIME.
WE DON'T HAVE TYPE B SHORT-LEGGED TEDDY ROOSEVELT TERRIERS.
(Teddies are not recognized by AKC or UKC as Rat Terriers.)
WE DON'T HAVE "TOT" or "TOY" ADULT DOGS UNDER 10 INCHES TALL.
WE DON'T HAVE NBT (NATURAL BOB TAIL) ADULTS NOR DO WE PRODUCE NBT PUPPIES.
WE DON'T HAVE DECKER VARIETY RAT TERRIERS.

Looking for a TOT or TOY RAT TERRIER (under 10 inches tall and under 10 lbs)? Please review the breeders listed on the National Rat Terrier Association website (www.nrta.com).

YES! We do offer Stud Service to approved outside bitches that meet our criteria. Please call to discuss the terms and conditions of our Stud Service contract and the qualifications necessary in your bitch.

We look forward to hearing from you, and we enjoy introducing everyone we meet to this wonderful, versatile breed.

Thank you for your interest.
Sue, Bruce & rat crew @ Spring High
www.SpringHighRatTerriers.com
Tel: (386)754-0835
Email: shcooney@bellsouth.net
Fax: (386)754-6165


Sue is holding UKC GRCH Windys Blackjack @ Spring High (Jack is now retired). She was born and raised in Parsippany, NJ and graduated from Parsippany High School and Rider College, Trenton, NJ. She is a retired Morris Plains, NJ elementary school teacher and moved to Boynton Beach, Florida in 1996 to help her ill father after a 25-year teaching career. She has interest in and has owned and shown quarter horses and American Saddlebreds. In addition, she has owned and shown several antique and classic cars. Her parents had moved to Boynton Beach in 1975, so it was a home away from home already, and an easy transition to come to Florida.	Bruce joins Sue and Jack. Bruce lived until age 12 in rural Huntington next to Wix's potato fields (home of the famous "Long Island Potatoes"). His family moved to Boynton Beach, Florida in 1960. He attended Seacrest High School, Palm Beach Junior College, US Navy Class "A" Electricians school in Davisville, RI and then off to Japan with the Navy CB's as a Telephone Equipment trouble shooter and military SP. Upon return to "The States" he became an FPL lineman, FPL cable splicer, Palm Beach County Bridge Electrican, and had his own business as a welder, metal fabricator and machinist in Boynton Beach for many years. He has one son who lives in West Palm Beach, FL. Sue and Bruce left Boynton Beach and moved to Lake City in January, 2005.	Here's SPRING HIGH'S SUNFLOWER, the rat terrier that started it all for us. Sunflower was born in October, 1999 and we got her as a puppy. She is a Standard-sized rat terrier and weighs in at a hefty 24 lbs. What prey drive she has! Sunflower is now spayed and is a beloved house pet and bed dog. SPRING HIGH RAT TERRIERS actually was named after an American Saddlebred show horse named Spring High. That name seemed to fit the rat terriers so well!