Little dogs

I love little dogs (they don’t have to be teeny tiny — but say under 35 lbs). Next week I will be finishing up a petite pooches class and my what a wonderful cast of characters I have:

• There’s a little Maltese who’s as smart as a whip, quite proud of himself in just about all he does and is very, very cute.
• A pug who has personality plus. She too is smarter than the average dog, making lessons look easy. Her handler’s pretty savvy too.
• Then there’s a Pomeranian. I didn’t realize they come in B&W, and with his little trim job he looks like a mini Akita. He hates to stand still and really hates being ignored! He’d do just about anything for attention — but treats are OK too. His parents are wonderful, offering lots of support an encouragement. He shows great promise of being a star companion.
• Our mixed breed looks to be a Norfolk/Jack Russell, or something similar. At 2 yrs. she’s the elder madam of the group and other than some periodic yip tirades she’s quite the lady. Her handler’s doing an excellent job of accentuating the dog’s talents.
• Rounding out our group is a Cairn. She has all the spunk, vim & vigor one would expect of a Cairn. She’s a challenge for her new mom who I think is a 1^st time dog owner. The dog has managed to set some/many of the ground rules (remember one of you is always training the other — my goal in class is to have the humans do most of the training!). However, as the weeks progress I’m seeing a Canine Good Citizen in the making.

The class has been a true delight, everyone (including the dogs) gets along and they’ve made so much progress — loose leash walking, coming when called, waiting, staying, playing leave it. I will be sorry to see them graduate next week, but perhaps I will see them again if they decide to do upper level classes.

Here’s to you Petite Pooches! 🙂