Kimberly J Egan
Bio
Welcome to LoupGarou/Conri Terriers and Not 1040 Farm! I try to write about what I know best: my dogs and my homestead. I currently have dogs, cats, dairy goats, quail, and chickens--and in 2025--rabbits! Come take a look into my life!
Stories (45/0)
Widget has Fun!
As you may remember, I have goats. The bucks and does were supposed to have separate pens, which they did at first--until my bucks started dying at an alarming rate. I suspected that they were being poisoned by something and, to my dismay, I was correct. Part of the thicket in which they enjoyed resting during the day was literally rife with sapling cherry trees. Goats can eat fresh cherry leaves and dried cherry leaves, but wilted ones will kill them in a couple of heartbeats.
By Kimberly J Egan3 years ago in Petlife
Some Thoughts on Finding a Place in the World
If you've read my other posts, it will come as no shock to you that I breed dogs and compete with them in conformation shows and various sports trials. I breed very rarely and when I do, a lot of thought goes into the litter that will be produced. I have been "in" Toy Fox Terriers for a while now, but have just recently added Teddy Roosevelt Terriers to my home. It was a decision made over a few years, until I finally found the right dogs for my home and my living situation. Pip, the sire, is a high-quality male from a breeder who produces many UKC champions. Diva, the dam, is a high-quality female from a breeder who has been in the breed for decades and has shown several dogs to the AKC Certificate of Merit title available to breeds newly-accepted to the registry. They and all their puppies are dual registered, so that owners can participate in either or both registries.
By Kimberly J Egan3 years ago in Petlife
Green Lights
Green lights were never good. Okay. That was a really broad generalization. If she were running late to work, then a green light was a good thing. And then, there was the aurora borealis. The green northern lights, those were neutral, at best--or at worst.
By Kimberly J Egan3 years ago in Fiction
The Butterfly on a String
It's been hot and rainy, although not quite as hot as the average Mississippi summer (probably due to the rain). Widget has spent most of his time inside with me, getting to know me and the other dogs. He's also become comfortable with the diet here, which is largely free of kibble. As much as I like to start training when puppies are small, he's undergone a lot of changes in a very short period. He's gotten bits of handling training and not much else, which is absolutely fine when the weather is so formidable. If I had an enclosed training area with air conditioning, it would be different. Right now, I take things as opportunities present themselves.
By Kimberly J Egan3 years ago in Petlife
Wicket is Home at Last!
I was super-glad that I had a few days with Widget at Kathleen's. We had a chance to decide if we liked each other. He learned his new call name. He learned how to take a treat from my hand--believe it or not, taking a treat from a hand is a HUGE item of trust from a small dog! I have small hand and look how big they are compared to his head! (Please excuse the dirty fingernails--I have a homestead and I don't think my fingernails come clean any longer.) His willingness to take treats from my hand almost immediately, even though he'd had some breakfast already that morning, demonstrated a healthy food drive. That was encouraging, because I like to use clicker training for very young puppies and food is a quick and easy reward when using that kind of training.
By Kimberly J Egan3 years ago in Petlife
Mr. Mystery Starts for Home
After spending almost a week at the dog show, Kathleen was more than ready to come home! She piled Mr. Mystery, Yuma, and Feather into the car and began her long drive. Any trip over an hour or two is hard on a puppy (and his tiny little bladder), so she made several stops to take him out and walk him. He walked on the lead as if he was born to it, stopping to potty as needed. Good boy! By the time she drew close to home, Kathleen was very excited about him. We customarily call each other at the end of a long drive, anyway, allowing the other person to "talk us home" so that we don't have an accident from drowsiness, but this time all she could do was tell me more about the little guy.
By Kimberly J Egan3 years ago in Petlife
Mr. Mystery Starts for Home
Mr. Mystery was born in the upper Midwest. I live in SW Mississippi--that's a long way for such a tiny little guy to travel! My friend Kathleen, his breeder, and I devised a plan that would make travel a little easier on him. He would leave his birthplace with his breeder and would stay with her at a five-day-long dog show that was just a few hours from her home. They would meet Kathleen there, where she would spend that time getting to know him. He would then travel several more hours to Kathleen's house, where he would stay for a week. After he had been there for several days, I would go to Kathleen's house, where I would stay and get to know him before taking him home. The trip to my house would be the longest stage, but by that time we figured he would be a first class world traveler and take the new move with ease.
By Kimberly J Egan3 years ago in Petlife
Welcome, Mister Mystery!
WELCOME, MR. MYSTERY! He might not look like much yet, but this adorable little puppy is a purebred Toy Fox Terrier (TFT) puppy. For those of you unfamiliar with the breed, it has its origins in early fox terrier litters, from even before the “fox terrier” was divided into the wire fox terrier and smooth fox terrier breeds. The TFT was developed from the smallest puppies from the larger breed litters. If breed historian accounts are true, they were recognized for their ability to maneuver easily underground, flushing foxes from their dens. Other small breeds were used to “fix” the small size and make it a consistent breed feature. Eventually, TFTs were no longer used for fox hunting and moved on to being vermin control agents on farms, performing as circus dogs, and simply living as family pets. In 1938, they were recognized as their own breed for the first time.
By Kimberly J Egan3 years ago in Petlife