Trying again....

Last year I got the great idea that I would start blogging. I was following a few blogs at the time and they were a joy to read. I quickly realized that my life is certainly not interesting enough for a blog to be written about it. However, now that school has started again, I think I might be able to pull if off. So, I'm sorry if you get bored, I'll try harder this time :-)



Anywho...down to business. Something that has really piqued my interest lately (again) is dog training. I have a seven year old Papillon named Pogo who is such a love and I'm so thankful I have him! And I trained him myself. I adopted him when I was fourteen, and we've been together ever since (minus two years of dorm-living when my mom can tell you Pogo missed me just as much as I missed him). Now that I'm out of a dorm he lives with me almost full time, when things get really busy with school or extra curricular's my parents, who live in Cary, babysit for me. Just as I do for them when they travel, the family dog is Pumpkin who turned 16 in September!

I'll start at the beginning for now...

I did a lot of research before getting Pogo and I had been training Pumpkin to do all kinds of tricks but she was getting too old for it even seven years ago, so I decided I needed a dog I could train from the ground up. Somehow I convinced my parents to let me get a dog :-) I paid for him with my own money, although my parents paid for his food, vet visits, toys, etc, until I started a big-girl job and was able to afford it.

So I started searching classified ads for Papillon puppies in the area, not easy to come by if you know anything about the breed. I chose a Papillon mostly because I love their personality. They're usually described as a self-assured little dog who has no idea he only weighs 4-9lbs, and it's so true! Pogo is great little watch-dog, very alert, very busy, and very curious. I've said since I've had him, "If I don't keep him busy, he'll find something on his own to do and chances are I won't like the results". Papillons are also number two on the list of dogs rated by intelligence, just behind Border Collies and just before German Shepherds.

If I could go back and train him again I would do everything the same....except for socialization. Papillons are fine boned little dogs and if a big dog playfully swat a paw at him, it could cause serious damage. Same goes for children, they could unintentionally drop or squeeze him too hard and the outcome could be very serious. As a fourteen year old with my precious new ball of fur (he was two pounds when I got him!), I was very protective. I let him play with our family dog, (she's only twelve pounds), and my family, but not many other people or animals. As a result, I raised a very needy dog...sigh. Papillons aren't lap dogs, though they're small and fluffy delicate looking dogs, they are too smart to be happy sitting on your lap all day. They much prefer to have a job. They excel in obedience, agility, rally, and even herding small animals like ducks or sheep.

This has gotten longer and in a different direction than I had intended, so I'll continue later.