I am counting on all of you that are interested in the Decker line of dogs to make this Chapter Club a success.
We have  added a section to the NRTA newsletter and one has gone up on the site specifically for the deckers. Please send the NRTA or The Decker Team photos, stories, information or anything else pertaining to the deckerline of Rat Terrier  to be posted in this newsletter. As of now there is not enough information coming in at a consistent basis to write a newsletter on a regular basis that is why it has been included with the NRTA newsletter. Anyone who wishes to join may but if we are to have an online newsletter there should be a membership fee provided we can come up with enough information on a regular basis. Paying for membership just for voting rights is a mute point. You do not need to pay to vote. All members of the Decker Chapter Club will be just that, members of that club and separate from the paying members of the NRTA.

But The Decker Club is a subdivision of the NRTA. Same rules, by laws etc just a Chapter Club within the NRTA governed by the NRTA to give some separation to the Decker dogs. So once again it is basically a "space" for the decker Rat Terrier within the NRTA but more clearly deliniated. A subdomain has been set up so that the address is a bit different. That would eliminate the costs of a new host server, internic charge, purchasing a new domain name and other related costs to running a web site. A separate breeders list has also been set up just for the people who breed the Decker Rat Terrier so that the general public can access them with more ease.

We need to keep in mind that they are a real breed of Rat Terrier and that they differ slightly from the Rat Terrier but never forgetting that they are Rat Terriers just the same. Just a different line that Mr Decker worked so hard to lock traits into. So with a lot of hard work on all our parts, lets try to breed the best Deckers ever and keep them in existence for a long long time. To change their name at this point would be a disservice to the dog, people are not even sure at this point what a Decker Rat Terrier is never mind a new breed.

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The NRTA's search for Decker dogs has been successful. We have found a number of breeders who either have some pure Deckers or still have the Decker lines. From what we have seen they have “basically” held true to the strain that Mr. Decker had produced. The NRTR database now includes Decker dogs from the beginning to the present time. The strong foundation that we have established will enable the NRTA to trace the history back to all Deckers that are now being produced across the USA. We have complete records on all original dogs that came out of the Deckers Kennel. The Decker Rat Terrier is being registered along with the percentage of Decker blood that is actually carried.

      In a nutshell, There are some subtle differences seen within the Decker Lines that sets them apart from any other size of Rat Terrier.  Their skull is a somewhat broader type that tends to wedge into the muzzle and square off. Commonly they are seen with some face wrinkle and possess a very regal elegance regardless of their size. And there is what has been fondly dubbed the "look" of the Decker Rat Terrier.  The average weight for females generally ranges from 22-28 lbs. with more and more larger females being produced recently.  Males 28-40 lbs. although most commonly seen up to32 pounds. Heights range from 16"-19" though occasionally larger and smaller dogs are seen.

     There are attributes of the Decker and all Rat Terriers alike that must always be kept. The most solid attribute that they share exclusively with the Rat Terrier is an undying will to please their master and a need to be near him. With this strong willingness to please, the teaching of aggressive behavior should be avoided at all costs.

     Their intelligence is far supreme to most breeds; holds extremely keen senses and a loyalty that transcends them as a family dog. The three qualities that are essential to the Rat Terrier breed are easily seen in the Decker Strain.
 Quality 1. A capable utility/hunting dog.
 Quality 2. A wonderful family companion
 Quality 3. A watchdog with keen alert senses picking up intruders very quickly.

     The Decker is at a point that makes them in grave danger of being lost forever. In order to build back up the hard work that was done by Milton Decker, the strain must carefully be looked at by the most experienced of breeders that have a very broad knowledge of the breed.

       No doubt the Standard size Rat Terrier has and will have to be bred into the Decker lines to increase the population but if selection is confined to one narrowly defined type, the result will almost inevitably be the accidental selection of various undesirable characteristics. Standards for building should include selection in regards to health, hunting ability, behavior, vigor and fertility as well as body form. The Decker has long surpassed being bred for a show dog and that alone. To take the dog on size and look alone would be the destruction of the purpose that Milton Decker had in mind. Of course this thought also reflects on the Rat Terrier in general.

     The Decker is not simply a big Rat Terrier.  Using the Decker lines and bred to a Standard size Rat without looking at the subtle differences as stated above that every Decker owner is quite aware of would make them a standard/giant size Rat Terrier and that alone. The subtle qualities of the Decker must remain for it to continue as it is today and what is was originally developed for.

     When choosing a Rat Terrier to breed with a Decker line dog the Rat must have a like head structure that is some what broader with erect ears. Decker paid close attention to his ears and had set it in with good stability. There is no body Type B in the strain and should be carefully guarded against. His conformation must be scrutinized and the background carefully checked for continuity in the lines. He must also have pure colors of only the Black Tri, Black and White, Black and Tan, Tan and white or Sable and white. The Rat of choice must have exquisite hunting ability and an unshakable temperament. These are all the traits that Decker had carefully worked on and successfully accomplished. To breed carelessly would be a shame for the breed. If there is to be an addition of colors like chocolate, blue, apricot, chocolate apricot etc that could be voted on but Decker never bred for these colors. At the very least they should still be registered but faulted in show circles if that is the chosen avenue. Furthermore breeders should really try not to continue the lines of that particular color if the standards were to be changed. There are a lot of different opinions on this one. Could be a very challenging decision. Ellis and Milton Decker should play a large part in this decision should it come to that.And I want to make it clear that the NRTA is not suggesting this.

      The NRTA will continue to include the Decker as a Rat Terrier and will continue to support the growth of the breed. In order to register a Decker with the NRTR it must show a complete pedigree and verifiable Decker blood coming down in the pedigree and be traceable to the original Decker lines. Any dog that shows out crossing to any breed other than the Rat Terrier or any pedigree that skips more than one generation from Decker Blood will not be eligible for registration as a Decker.  When breeding the decker we must all remember to try and breed as high a percentage as possible. They should be at least 50% and been bred out of dogs that were also at least 50%.  If you breed two dogs that have a decker percentage and one is over 50% and one is lower than 50% then you begin to lose some of the true lines and basically are starting over again trying to build up the characteristics of the line. This takes exception to an outcross but one of the parents must be a very high percentage in order to keep them going in the right direction without lose of traits.  A history and pedigree must be submitted to the Decker Advisory Team for approval.
We will need people with experience to carry out these requirements.
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The name Decker Giant came from some breeders who had dogs that were around 28+ pounds. Because they were of considerable size, the name giant seemed appropriate. Well it stuck and even if the dog was not of considerable size and was only 22 pounds or so, it was still called a Decker Giant.

The Decker that Milton Decker bred and all of their offspring and so down the line is a Rat Terrier that has traits and characteristics locked into them from inbreeding and line breeding for a number of years. The Decker is bred down from Rat Terriers despite the controversy of him adding other breeds into the originals. One exception being the original Henry dog.

By continuously breeding dogs of the same “look” and traits, we can all come up with our own “Line”. In other words, so and so’s dogs seem to look different from another so and so breeder. They are all Rat Terriers but why do they look different or better or something? Because that breeder consistently used dogs that had the same characteristics and so produce consistent looking dogs. That is the essence of the Decker Line Rat Terrier, breeding to have consistency.

The traits are now so locked in that when you breed one of those “Decker” type dogs with an outcross, you see dominant traits from the “Decker” dog. This means that the “Decker” dog is pre-potent.
Would it be fair to break the Decker line into two size categories? Maybe yes, maybe no. Is it easier to keep ALL the Decker dogs as one class from 22-35 pounds? Or raise the weight up? Or just try to keep breeding for the size range that the decker dog was originally intended to be. These are some things that we all need to ponder……………………

So Decker people……think about what sizes you have been breeding consistently and what you think looks best and feels best. Let us know.

The Team: the liasions for this decker dog mission.
Guy Chatterton  - yankee1@conninc.com
Eli Brown  - Elibrw@aol.com
Kim Seegmiller  - kimsee72@rallstech.com
Tim Brown  - tcb51@yahoo.com
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Important questions to be answered before the Club can be set into motion.
What do you feel is a fair membership dues based on a year? And what will that give members?
What are the goals you all wish to attain with the Decker Rat Terrier? Please be specific this is very important and a key element.
There can be a Board of Directors set in place but how do you intend on handling this? Should the existing Decker Team have first positions? What positions do you feel need to be set up?
An outcross program has been outlined in the above reading, how would you revise this if at all?

The database will be in the hands of the NRTA. As with the existing database of Rats we will only sell our pedigrees to those who are owners of the dogs. We are not a pedigree service and it will remain private.

The NRTA nor the Decker Chapter Club can not become a parent club for a Kennel Club. That would be selling out and the Kennel Club would then have full control over the direction of the Decker dogs not the club any longer. Respectfully if this is something you all feel is important to you then you would have to pursue this issue on your own and form a group to petition a Kennel Club. This was tried recently without success but perhaps in the future if you all want it it will become a reality.

I would ask all of you to please have your discussions with the decker team or Eli Browns message board. Once everyone can come to some sort of agreement in relation to the questions above I would ask that one representative write the NRTA, so that I wouldn't have to sift through many emails to find some conclusions. It is important to get the specifics ahead of time so that we know where we are going and can prepare for it in a timely fashion and with the least amount of headaches and confusion. If you choose to not go with the existing NRTA Chapter club that is fine. The choice must be made by you.

Sincerely,
Margaret Burz
NRTA President