#and my friend is a breeder and one of the dogs I once trained as a puppy is having a litter later this year

[valoale]

My intrusive thoughts really be getting to me

After almost two years of living alone with my now retired dog without any puppies or youngsters around to board and train my brain is really starting to convince me to get a puppy again

This is very hazardous

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for keeping the dog after a breakup? 🐕

I (33F) recently found out my ex (34F) cheated on me with one of our mutual best friends (33F) for over a year. Any attraction and love I had for her evaporated as soon as I found out, she honestly disgusts me. This is relevant because she is using that disgust to try and tell me I'm being unreasonable about the dog and that I'm being difficult because of me hating her now. My "friend" is dead to me btw.

We had been living together for 5 years and I already had two dogs before we started dating. Once my oldest dog passed away we decided to get a new dog a few months after (the dog is now 4 years old).

Since I'm a dog trainer she decided that I should do most of the training and such. I wanted her to raise the dog together but she didn't want to. I mean fine, I like working with dogs and on my own I would have gotten a second dog anyway and done the work on my own as well. But it did irritate me that she would just refuse a lot of basic care because "you do it so much better". The work never was a big deal to me but again, her just cuddling "her" dog and doing nothing towards the long daily walks unless we went together did irritate me mildly. She only wanted to do the "fun" stuff basically. But I don't like confrontation and just left it at that. But all in all, I did 90% of the care.

Now to the current issue. She wants the youngest dog in the split. I refused. I can keep the dog legally because all vet bills are on my name, I order the food and pay the dog taxes (that is a thing here in case people are wondering). I also was the one initially paying for the dog at the breeder. So legally the dog is mine.

I do see she loves the dog very much and she always has her on her lap in the evening while reading. I may think very ugly thoughts of her but she is kind to animals and I don't think she would ever purposefully hurt then. Maybe she will be able to take care of her properly and actually give her what she needs (she is a working line Border Collie) but I'm having my doubts. Plus I work and train a lot with my dogs and I do not want to loose them at all. So I flat out refused and told her I understand it's hard but I think the dog is better off with me and I will not be discussing it further.

Also there is not really a risk of her stealing the dog, I already moved out and have both dogs with me.

So, am I the asshole?

[losech]

Can you say a little more about what led you to this particular breed of hunting dog and how you trained them?

I've always likes spitz breeds, I originally wanted a Siberian Husky, but was not interested in a show-line or pet-line dog, and the people I knew who were in racing-line Siberians made it out to be impossible to get one unless you already had an established racing kennel. I now know that's not true, those people were just shitty gatekeepers. I wanted a dog for hiking and possibly hunting or sledding, that had the spitz-type temperament I like. Somehow I ended up with a Shiba Inu, and made some friends with people who had Nihon Ken. I had been looking at Karelian Bear Dogs at that point, but the breeders at the time didn't hunt, didn't sell to hunters, marketed the dogs as herding dogs (bear herders lol), had ridiculous contracts, required spay/neuter, and charged a ton. So that wasn't an option. I heard about West Siberian Laika from one of the Nihon Ken people and looked into those. It was a few years before I started seeing more people who owned them in the states, and began to pay attention to their posts and looked into the breed more. Eventually I watched a documentary called Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, and that sealed it. I was going to get a Laika, I just had to find one. I got a recommendation for a breeder from the Nihon Ken dude, and Flint was flown out a couple weeks later.

As far as training goes, it's mostly just walking around the woods and praising the pup when they do what you want. I don't catch critters and hang/release them for the pup, or do a lot of refined training. I take the dog out and walk around until they chase something, if it's what I want, give them praise and shoot it for them if they're barking. If it's not something I want, I tell them no and leave. Sometimes I have to leash them and walk them away. It can take a while to start a dog this way, but I love doing it and spending that time together in the woods with a pup. Recall is the most important thing I teach my dogs. As baby pups they wear a harness and drag a leash for a while, and I spend most of my time turning recall into a game. It is never for punishment and I switch from holding the leash and letting them loose so they don't think getting leashed is the end of the fun. Once their recall is good and they are starting to focus on the animal I want to hunt I will work on things like more barking, if they don't bark much (both Ember and Cinder were not big barkers when they were young) but again, it is mostly just getting out in the woods and helping them figure things out. I didn't have someone mentoring me so I mostly had to learn how hunting with dogs worked on the fly. Some people I asked early on made it out to be extremely expensive and complicated, which isn't true unless you want it to be. All you really need is a good pup, a well fitting pair of boots, and something to shoot with.

[doberbutts]

Do you or your friends see a difference in household or play behaviors in a dog after mondior or IGP kind of training? My breeder is concerned that once you flip the biting switch you can't really take it back, but obviously there's a whole lot of wonderful protection sport dogs out there who aren't biting random people. I figured I'd ask someone who has had dogs both bitework trained and not bitework trained for comparison. Personally I think it is a beautiful sport and the dogs seem to love it the way I love, say, stage combat or LARP.

Hope you and the beasties are having a good day

Well. No, in the way you're probably thinking. But also yes.

Truthfully I have only taken 2 dogs through any amount of protection sport and both I would still be considered very green in. Fenris is no where near trial ready, after all, partially because I'm deliberately taking it slow and partially because I am very poor and unwilling to throw a large amount of money at seminars or training that I feel may be subpar for what we need- I would rather pay these amounts for training that I can verify is the quality he deserves than chance it on someone fucking up what we've built thus far.

It is my belief that your breeder's concern is valid, and it is something that I warn people about myself especially when dealing with off breeds or with dogs of temperaments not well suited to the work. You are, regardless of what anyone tells you, teaching your dog that biting humans is a perfectly acceptable and even expected behavior depending on the circumstance and behavior pattern. Do understand that this means your dog will see similar contexts and at some point have to make a judgement call. Not every dog makes the right judgement call for the situation.

I'm thinking of a friend whose husband was dying of cancer, and he fell in their house, and as she rushed to help him the dog tried to attack her to protect his owner. This is an extreme case of "worst case scenario"- but ask yourself if that is a scenario you can handle with the levelheadedness she did in order to prevent anyone from being bit. This particular case was a matter of both genetics and training, however the dog in question was not an off breed and in fact was bred with protection in mind.

I'm thinking of a different friend who had border collies show up at club. One day the owner of the border collies was walking through an aisle at a pet store with their dogs, and a man in a puffy winter coat approached to ask them a question. One of the border collies latched onto the man's bicep exactly like how it was trained to, and the other performed a near perfect bark and hold. This person voiced regret of ever having opened that door, and now they have two dogs with recorded bite histories. It is my personal opinion that this is a case of two dogs with temperaments poorly suited to the work more than anything else, however that does not change the undesired outcome.

That being said, I can pet most of the dogs at club without any real concern, though I still keep my hands to myself unless the owners actively tell me to pet and play with their dogs. The few I can't also aren't off breeds, for what it's worth, but in fact are malinois which the sport was more or less designed around. I also don't think the training caused the inability for these specific dogs to socialize with trainers- I think that is a genetic temperament question, and all the training did was give them an outlet for their inherent aggression.

Fenris is a hideously social and friendly doberman. He is best friends with every human at the club and frequently licks the decoys right in the face as he wiggles and jumps on them before they agitate him. He just spent two hours hanging out at the car repair shop yesterday while I was getting my new tires put on. Anyone who stopped to pet him got wiggles and licks and puppy behavior. Anyone who didn't was ignored. While he is a mite too friendly to me, I have not seen any real change to this friendliness or his willingness to accept friendly and neutral strangers despite the decoys telling me that he is really becoming quite a monster in training.

He's also very suspicious, and fairly possessive. I have seen that increase, however at his age it's sort of difficult to determine if that was always going to increase or if the training had anything to do with that. Personally I think it is a mix of both- he was a suspicious and possessive little asshole from the start and now he is learning that there is a time and place for that to really come out of him, so he is more inclined to showing this behavior as he ages through his teenage phase and matures in his training.

For example: we started defense of handler last month, an exercise where the dog heels closely beside the owner and turns its body to watch the decoy waiting for an aggressive move towards the owner. Fenris now watches closely when we are approached by strangers at night while on walks, not acting but simply waiting to see what they might do. This behavior may have come out of him anyway, because even when he was a young puppy he would occasionally give the stink eye to anyone who rushed us (usually panhandlers asking for money in parking lots, but also the occasional person looking for trouble and an easy mark). He barked at a homeless guy who lunged at us on the sidewalk* when we walked past 6 months ago- well before defense of handler. He may have always been inclined to be wary of fast, jerky movements towards us.

That is what a doberman is for. They were never meant to accept suspicious or potentially aggressive strangers, and these sorts of situations are exactly what many dogs would consider suspicious and aggressive behavior. Homeless Guy I think was just high or having some mental episode and not actively dangerous to passersby, but lunging at someone from the shadows is a really stupid way to get bit (if they have a dog) or punched/shot/stabbed (if they don't but think they need to defend themselves). The panhandlers that literally run up to us from across the parking lot- same thing, if someone spots you at a distance and starts running towards you with intent, many times this is going to get read as aggressive behavior. Again, not actually harmful, they're just begging for money. However, how is my dog supposed to know that when the behavior says "I am going to hurt you" to a dog?

For example: we started object guard, where he stands over an object and stops the decoy from snatching it out from under him by biting. Coincidentally, he's also started low rumbling at the other dogs when they're near stuff he likes, and he lays directly on top of these objects and hides them under his legs/body. While I do think the training definitely intensified this behavior, he's always been a bit punky with his stuff and not been keen on sharing. I manage it so we don't have a dog fight, and I have a bunch of dogs that are allergic to conflict anyway so it's a pretty easy situation to work with. All four of my dobermans including the one that had never been in any bitework scenario ever have been somewhat guardy when it comes to high value resources (in fact the only one that never did any bitework also is the only one that started a dog fight over a guarded object (ME, I was the guarded object)), so it is also very possible that this would have developed in him regardless of training.

Funny enough, however, I will also say that Fenris specifically has become exponentially more velcro and cuddly immediately after every protection session. It does something magnificent to the bond between us, and his affection is through the roof when we get back to our bedroom after a long day on the club field.

Creed, my other dog who I took through this type of training, I felt was actually more confident afterwards. He had a lot of reactivity as a teenager and getting him to a club more often seemed to have a significant amount of positive impact on this behavior. I have seen other dogs experience the same. Probably something similar to how my nephew had a lot of PTSD and anxiety immediately after a horrific domestic abuse situation he and his mom had to flee from, and the thing that helped him resolve that was getting him started in martial arts classes. If nothing else, you learn to trust that you can handle it if a situation that makes you feel powerless comes for you a second time, I suppose. I'd be interested to know if that's connected to some behaviors I see from dudes who are obsessed with weapons and fighting, but that's another post in and of itself.

However I was fairly reluctant to move forward with this training with Phoebe, my soft scared girlie, because she had a panic response of "pick a direction and run very fast don't look back" and I was nervous that taking her to protection training would bleed into her panic attacks and instead of running she would hit the end of the leash, realize the flight was not an option, and start biting. And I was not particularly interested in chancing that, because regardless of how scared she was she would choose flight and freeze over fight every time and this made he very safe to be around. My first doberman was a very anxious rescue who was taught that biting is an option when running isn't working, and I ended up having to behaviorally euthanize him because his previous home fucked him up so bad. I want to be clear that this was a result of bad training and worse temperament, but knowing Phoebe's temperament I was unsure if I wanted to chance it with her.

I never did take her to club before her weird GI/liver thing that ultimately killed her, but she ended up loving tug and her confidence did soar once she learned the game. And it did bleed into other areas as well- she was much happier and more confident when out in public even though we only played tug in my living room. If her health hadn't crashed like that, I would have been taking her to mondio with Fenris the first week I had him to see if she liked it and if there was anything in here to play with.

So. A long winded answer to say that yes I have seen the training change behaviors off the field, but probably not in the way you're expecting to hear.

[mostly-tame]

A year ago I flew into Michigan to get *my* dog. As soon as I got in the car we clicked. I was prepared to earn his love and trust, but right away we loved each other. Since then our bond has only deepened and strengthened. My love and adoration and admiration for him has only grown.

We've both come a long ways since we met; and I'm incredibly proud of both of us for what we've accomplished. He's my first dog of my own and I couldn't have picked a better first dog for me. He's precisely who and what I needed, and I honestly find him to be a rather easy dog. I greatly enjoy working with him, he's incredibly smart and eager, and once he knows what I want from him he takes only a few repetitions to get it down. I want to try Rally and Agility with him, and we've already begun some parkour type training. We of course hike and walk often, and have done a bit of canicross, and I want to do so much more of that, as well as weight pull, bikejor, and some more packing (I still have his pack, just haven't used it much lately).

Of course I also still greatly want to hunt with him. He's shown great interest in squirrel, raccoon, and rabbit, as well as skunk and opossums lmao, and I greatly regret that the last hunting season was spent slowly escaping a toxic relationship and not hunting with him. I'd like to try him on bear as well, he certainly finds larger game incredibly enticing, but that probably won't happen this season.

It's somewhat strange now, all of my coworkers and friends know me for constantly talking about and showing them photos of Torch, and not Kit. I never really expected to out live her by long, and I wouldn't have if I hadn't gotten Torch when I did. Any other dog, from any other litter, pairing, breeder, I would have backed out of before I got them when I lost Kit. But I love his parents dearly, and his breeder is truly one of my best friends, and i could already feel that he was right for me; so the photos I'd seen of him and videos and photos I got of him before I flew to him kept me afloat while I got through the most lonely few months of my life.

Every day I'm grateful to call him mine, to curl up with him at the end of the day, to walk him, to train with him, to hike with him, to play with him, to bury my face in his thick ruff. He's my sunshine dog, through and through. He makes me smile even when I'm the saddest and relax even when I'm the most stressed. There's no better way to soften my sadness than to curl up with him, softly wagging his tail at first as I pet him, until he tries to entice me into play. There's no better way to work through the things that stress and overwhelm me than to walk, run, or hike with him, working out the excess energy, grounding myself in the world and my being, and thinking things through. I am the happiest when I'm doing things with him.

I was prepared for a dog who would make me earn his love, trust, and respect, a dog who would be a bit of a challenge to train, a dog who wouldn't be very cuddly or affectionate, a dog who would push me more. Overall a dog who would make me work for and earn things more. Getting a teenage laika didn't sound like my brightest idea on paper. But I was ready and eager for the experience and work. But honestly? We fell into place incredibly easily and work amazingly together. He's bizarrely cuddly and clingy and while I don't need my future laiki to be as sticky as him, I love him dearly for it. He's precisely what I needed.

While I'm not generally spiritual nor do I generally put much stock in the idea of fate and destiny; I have no other way to describe how it feels to have him. Who he is and his timing are too perfect. He came to me precisely when I needed him the most. He keeps the shadows at bay. He's the light at the end of a long tunnel for me.

He's been mine for a whole year, and I wouldn't change him or trade him for the world. He's my pride and joy, and I look forward to many more years spent with him. @losech I know you know how much I love him, how much I needed him. I still have to say it again and again and again. I can never thank you enough for trusting me with him.

This art was done by one of my friends several months ago and still makes me tear up to even think about. You can find my friend at fairywren.art on insta!

[misteria247]

Some random bullshit about Leo from the 12 series having a dog(s) cuz again it's on my mind and the guy really deserves something nice for once:

It was April's idea to get Leo a canine companion. After seeing how much her friend and brother was really struggling with things and seeing how Raph, Donnie and Mikey had little companions to help them out she'd decided to do some research on possible animals that could help Leo out. She of course told the boys about her plans and they were completely on board wanting Leo to have something to help him as well.

It'd taken a bit of time, there were many different shelters and local breeders in NYC and with the help of Casey, April and him would go and visit the places to see if they were what they were looking for. While they did this, Raph, Donnie and Mikey sneakily made the lair a bit more pet proof, using the excuse of Chompy starting to get a bit bigger to avert Leo's suspensions. They also did some research on getting the dog to be trained for therapy as to help their older brother with his emotional, mental and physical state. Donnie ended up starting a small anonymous business to fix broken down things for money and Raph started to sell a bit of his artwork online to help out in the financial department for the future therapy training sessions that the dog would need to go through.

It took a lot of work and a lot of time but the group finally managed to get things in place and find good sources for the things they needed. April and Casey enrolled in the training sessions due to the turtles being unable to go out in society and Donnie took down notes and tips to help out in the therapy training. They ended up finding two possible breeds of puppies that they could go with, one being a larger breed while the other was a smaller breed. A lot of debates were thrown around as to which one would be better for Leo. Ranging from the larger breed which would get their older brother to exercise his knee and arm to the smaller breed being a good cuddling support and give their older brother something to dot on with his parental affection. In the end they ended up getting two puppies from both sides.

The day that Leo had met his new companions was close to their mutation day. The lair was filled with their family such as Mona Lisa, Karai and Shinigami, who had already been alerted about the gang's plan. Leo was sitting on one of the sofas, talking to Karai while Raph and Casey went to get the pups. Soon gifts were passed out to one another and it was then that April taking the lead explained one gift was from her and Casey while the other was from Raph, Donnie and Mikey. It was with that que that the two boys came out holding the two adorable puppies and earning cheers of Surprise Leo from the others.

To say Leo was shocked would be an understatement.

At first Leo was worried and a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. After all one dog was a lot of work but two? He had no idea how he was going to do this, especially with the financial aspect (which he later found out that his two brothers had already had that covered and planned out ahead of time). But one look at the two sweet pups and getting a few wagging tails and kisses, the eldest gave in and caved pretty quickly into getting on board with it.

Afterwards Leo basically became wrapped around these canines paws. He spoiled them both with love and affection, putting his all into taking care of them as they grew. He did everything that he was told by April, Casey and Donnie about the training (to which he got a bit teary eyed when he realized that they all really put a lot of thought into this whole thing) and the results of having them around really began to show on the oldest Hamato.

Leo became a bit more energetic than he had been, the once somewhat weighed down vibe he usually carried with him became a bit more lightened as he bonded with his dogs. He began to smile a little more and relaxed a bit more than he used to. While it obviously didn't fix everything it was quite clear that April's idea had a positive effect on the blue clad leader and it made his brothers more than relieved to see it. Seeing their big brother and clan leader look more like his older self than the tired, exhausted person he'd become over the years really lifted Raph, Donnie and Mikey's spirits.

Mikey ends up hoisting playdates for the pups to get used to the other animals in the lair. Ice Cream Kitty at first is a bit on edge however she got used to them fairly quickly and tolerated their presence. Chompy on the other hand adored them. Growing a bit more than he original size, the alien turtle found amazing playmates in the pups, especially the smaller one. Mikey's taken several pictures of these playdates and has shared the pics with Leo, Raph, Donnie, April and Casey who all had their hearts melt at them.

As time goes on and the dogs begin to grow and get better at their therapy training it becomes quite clear that they've grown protective over their owner and his family. The larger dog will let out loud warning barks if it hears something in the sewers coming closer to the lair and the smaller dog will place itself on Leo's lap whenever there's company over or strangers, ready to nip if they posed a possible threat to him.

And when Leo has one of those days, the kind where he can't sleep due to his nightmares or when his knee becomes unbearable in the pain spectrum or his vocal chords make it hard for him to talk, his dogs will stick close to him, sensing his distress. They'll lay their heads on his lap, or snuggle close to him and just lay there next to him. Offering emotional support as they were trained to do. Leo will often times begin to mindlessly pet their heads, scratching behind their ears and just focusing on them instead of the things that are currently making it harder for him to function. It's a welcomed change to him and he begins to understand why his brothers went to their respective companies for emotional support.

All in all Leo's life gets a bit easier with the two dogs helping him out and his family are thrilled that their planning had managed to give him a positive boost and a good outlet for their favorite dork of a leader.

[elvenferretots]

Why is your dog intact? No judgement, just genuine interest.

I'm guessing this is about TenSoon, but I'm unsure about context. The reason is pretty cut and dry. I have show dogs, and show dogs are left intact. But I'll go into deeper context as well, just in case.

I don't prefer to surgically alter an adult dog if I don't have to. You'll notice Ten's left ear doesn't stand quite right. This can be surgically altered, but I choose not to and rather just make sure it's dry after swimming so he doesn't get ear infections. His being intact is currently less inconvenient for me than the wonky ear. He has a recall, never gets left to wander the neighborhood, goes everywhere I do, is trained to ignore bitches in heat, is potty trained, is supervised closely with other intact males. If he's especially weird or difficult for my partner to handle and supervise around our own bitch when she's in heat, I'll consider a vasectomy since he should get a gastropexy anyway (both his parents died of bloat) and could likely get both at once.

There are proven health benefits to leaving your dog intact, and proven health drawbacks to spay/neuter. I have no problem with surgeries for human convenience, but I choose not to get them done on my dog if they are proven to be bad for his health. If I do have to alter, I'll likely go with vasectomy or ovary-sparing spay.

TenSoon is a member of a breed that is dying from lack of genetic diversity, and he lacks any genetic markers for the most common health problem in the breed. While Ten has Wobbler's syndrome, he has none of the genetic markers for DCM, which is most dobes have one or more copies of. This is rare enough that a few show breeder friends have suggested to get him collected so that we can save that genetic variety in case the genetic component in Wobbler's can be isolated and bred away from. I don't plan to breed him as is, and would be choosy due to his temperament even if we could isolate the Wobbler's. But why close a door when it's free to leave it open?

I do find it incredibly funny that people get mad that my dog has balls. I find it even funnier when people try to pick apart my masculinity about it. I find it funniest of all to deck him out in pink gear and watch people lose their minds.

[trollprincess]

I had this idea for a game for phones ages ago and I still fucking wish I knew someone who could make it with me or would even just take the idea and run with it.

All you do is pet dogs.

Not even joking, that’s the whole basis of the game. You spend the game walking around a really lovely city neighborhood - lot of cool people of all shapes and sizes, lots of unique little shops, no traffic, everybody says hi - and you just pet other people’s dogs.

Or not! You might run into a person who has a dog who’s very cute but doesn’t like to be pet by strangers, so you get a few point for not petting them and just telling the owner their dog’s cute. You can take photos of the dogs with the owner’s permission, but you can’t become the Dogist or anything, it’s just for you. You get points for pets and no pets and kisses and getting pics and petting different types of dogs like Pokémon.

You can feed them treats. You can go to a pet store with your points and buy dog treats - regular ones, ones for dogs with allergies, etc. You get points for giving a dog a treat, but lose points if you give them too many.

You can find and rescue stray dogs. It may take a couple of days. You may need to keep going back and feeding the dog just to get them to warm up to you. You may need to spend a little while petting them and becoming friendly before they’ll let you rescue them. You can take them to a local dog rescue, or you can take them home.

Eventually, you can get a dog. You have to work up to it, though. You have to show in-game you can treat dogs with respect, you can give working dogs their space, you can get your own place ready for a dog before you get it. Once you’ve earned the right to get a dog, you can either adopt a stray, adopt from a rescue, or buy from a breeder.

You can start earning points from people petting your dog now. You make the rules, or I suppose more aptly your dog does too. You can take your dog to training courses, but they may also have things that can’t be trained out of them that you need to tell people before they try to pet your dog. For example, if my dog were my in-game dog, he doesn’t like kids and he tries to chase motorcycles and bikes. You lose points if you don’t make this known and someone gets nipped.

You can work up to more than one dog, or running a rescue, or owning your own pet shop. Oh, also, all of this is online or whatever so you can play with friends or strangers or whoever you want to connect with and you can pet their dog and they can pet yours.

You’re never seen working (although you do, just why waste game time on that) unless you own a dog store or rescue. No dog gets a serious illness or injury because that’s sad and this is literally just a game meant to make you feel warm and relaxed (although you can adopt dogs who are deaf or blind or incontinent or missing a limb because every dog needs love). This is basically a pretty neighborhood where the seasons change and no one’s broke and everyone’s just petting dogs.

Also, part of the proceeds go to dog rescues and shelters. Because of course.

… God, I wish I knew how to make this.

[smurphyse]

Tell me about your pets, their names and how you met/came to adopt them!

Ohhh you're in for it now lol

This is Princess! She's dramatic, yells a lot, and has claws from hell when she wants to knead bread on your legs... You cannot bend over near any raised surface because she will climb on your back and scratch it all up lol. I was leaving to go to a friend's house and I saw her walking down the street! I thought she was an old cat because she was so worn down and tired, but she was only two months old. I got her all healthy and to a good size, and now she's my sweet baby <3

Jazz is the brown girl! I was asked by a breeder friend of a friend if I could foster her for a few weeks. She was a 'designer' dog, which I would never shell out money for (Adopt Don't Shop, people!), and someone paid 3 grand for this dog and returned her because she 'wouldn't potty train'. I got her trained in a month. These people weren't taking care of her, but I won't go into those details because they're awful :( However, Jazz is a TALKER because she's a pomsky, and she taught my pitbull to talk too... so it's never quiet in my house.

Missy was my old lady and this picture was the last one I took before she died. I got her when I was ten years old, and I lost her a few months ago. She was 15! I miss her a lot and I think about her all the time... but I know I gave her a great life and we had some awesome times together and she's with her brother now.

Callie Bean, aka "The Bean", aka "Demon from Hell": I love her to death, but she screams... a lot... She's my chunky girl! I actually found her in my back yard while I was looking for Princess, as she went missing for a week after getting locked in a garage somewhere (I assume that's what happened. She smelled like exhaust when she came back). I thought someone shaved Princess because once upon a time Callie was skinny lol. It's taken almost 8 years for them to get along, and a lot of work. She loves to snuggle with the dogs on the dog beds. The Bean is also known to ninja jump out of nowhere when you're eating out of a chip bag, so caution has to be taken and she gets to hang out in the bathroom when we eat dinner

Puca Bear is my sweet, teensy tiny 85lb pitbull! She was about 4 months old and born in a foster when I got her. The lady who ran the foster was... odd and highly strung, and it showed in the dogs, so I decided to adopt her the moment I met her. She was only about 20lbs and the same size as my Jack Russell when I met her. Now, she's my sleepy cuddle bug and my little spoon in bed! She likes to wiggle and butt bump people, and she does the pittie poke to everything and everyone she meets! She's high anxiety due to her early experiences, hence the early gray beard she's got at only 5 years old, but she's doing soooo much better than when I got her originally.

[princelestatdelioncourt]

Part lll - Wolfkiller

*fanfic*

It was still dark when I woke up next morning. Always an early raiser, since I remember as a kid, I am always the first one to get up and the last one to go to sleep.

I opened my eyes and I saw that familiar fur next to me. My beloved dogs sleeping by my side, providing that warmth and company. For someone that has dogs or cats living with them surely this will sound familiar.

I have trained and fed these dogs since they were pups, a male and female. So strong jaws, strong legs, muscular body...I have never weighted them, I had not scales and the only ones I was aware of, were for spices and food. But I do believe their weighed around 120–140 lbs.

I just laid there for a few minutes, spread on my straw mattress under a blanket and old sheets, one arm over the male’s body length and the female was laying on my back. Listening to them while they slept. Memories from years ago when I went down to the breeder and held them in my arms. Days and afternoons training them. It made me smile. It made me feel warm inside. I thought I did good with them, I was their friend and showed them how to do good and they returned their gratitude with their comfort, helping when hunting, company at nights and love.

I took a deep breath from all these thoughts that started to annoy me for some reason and I finally got up. I looked at the window, Snowing. Perfect. That winter was horrible cold and snowing mostly everyday, which was no good becasue there was basically nothing to hunt. nothing to provide, nothing to eat but vegetable broth if any vegetables survived the snow, or to re use that old bone to cook more broth.

My clothes where spread everywhere. I remembered then, I had company last night. The castle gates, the wine, the cheese, the tavern servant... where the hell she was? I looked around , she wasn't there, I was certainly sure about that. Maybe she left while I was asleep. I gave no importance and I continued getting dressed.

What I thought about while I was getting dressed? nothing. I have my mind clear. I just felt frustrated. I felt alone. I felt nothing had importance. That was the everyday feeling there. I was there, I was live, I was just one living in these walls, thats all.

The dogs were awake now, still laying on the bed but on alert for my sign to follow me.

My side table, the one by the window and fireplace, had a basin with water, it was horribly cold. I splashed my face with it and I looked at my self on that old almost faded mirror. Messy hair and my old reflection. Good enough to go hunting. Not gave importance on anything I saw. But let me tell you something. Every time I looked at myself in a mirror, I stared at my own eyes. And it seemed I talked to myself without moving my lips. Own support, own courage. Nothing else than that.

I gave the sign for my dogs to follow me.

Now let go hunt the pups.

The castle was still sleeping minus the servants already working on the kitchen.

Went to the kitchen hoping to find something to eat prior my hunting day. Maybe something for the dogs as well.

It was warm in there, always with that giant fireplace that once served these horrendous medieval wars and they celebrated their triumphs. Now just for whatever I provided and broth. But I am not a history listener as you know so all I knew is all i have heard from far away.

Cheese in the pantry. Loaf of bread, leftovers from last night dinner. It was hard but it was something. Unfortunately there was nothing for the dogs and I felt bad. Surely I will hunt something and they could eat that. The wolf perhaps. That thought made me chuckle. Eat the damned wolf.

The main servant walked in the kitchen and saw me eating.

“Good Morning Lord” she said

“Don’t call me that” I replied while eating and looking at her. She raised me basically. Duties from the royalty. Servant will take care of their Lords kids.

She side smiled becasue she knew I always hated that Lord signature.

“Going hunting early today” she said while cutting some carrots

My eyes where on her, while I still stood, leaning to the table that was in the middle of the room, legs crossed and my dogs by my side. How I looked like?

“Hmm yes. I have to find these pups”

“Pups?” she looked at me “ Lestat, these are no pups but wolves, they killed the villager sheeps and cows”

“Yes and thats all. Since when a wolf attacked a man? They are just hungry ......like we are” I said the last words with venom on my lips.

She looked at me in silence and then returned to cut more vegetables. She murmured something I could not understand or gave a prayer. I looked at her and I lifted my brow. I had enough of that conversation and I walked towards that old medieval room where we had these old armor and medieval weapons. I looked around. What to choose. Three flintlock guns, a flintlock rifle, my muskets and my father's sword. A very large mace spiked club and also an iron ball attached to a chain that could be swung with immense force at an attacker. Many tips back and forth to the barn and prepare my worse with all that arsenal. The hell I needed all of that? oh well. Might no need it but there I was packing it all. Just before leaving the castle, I added to this little arsenal one or two ancient weapons that I'd never bothered with before.

There I went up hill, for a long time. It was all quiet and still snowing. Dogs by my side. I had my mind clear but I was unhappy and ferocious as I rode up the mountain. I wanted to kill them all, I was ready. I needed it. It was something inside of me that needed that fight.

[305summerblog]

From Cage to Couch: Why You Should Adopt Your New BFF

As an animal lover, I've had my fair share of pets over the years. Like all pet owners, I have had to go through the process of deciding whether to adopt from a shelter or go through a breeder. Time after time, I've come to realize that adoption is the best way to go for many reasons.

For starters, there is a huge overpopulation issue in shelters, especially when it comes to dogs and cats. Millions of healthy, cute and loving animals end up in shelters every year due to neglectful owners and to no fault of their own. By choosing to adopt, you are not only giving one animal a second chance at life, but you are also making room for additional rescues.

I’m sure you have heard the myth that adopted pets have tons of behavior issues and are practically untrainable. Well, that myth is simply just that - a myth. Sure, some rescues may have endured past trauma or require a bit more training. But the same can be said for poorly bred puppies from mills and backyard breeders who are filled with anxiety. Previous pet owners have claimed that rescues adjust to homes easier compared to animals from mills because they have experience living in homes with humans before, and are not limited to just staying in kennels or pet shop windows all day. 

In addition, shelters and rescue organizations do endless work to assess the pet’s personality in order to find them their perfect family. These shelters want to set you and your furry bestie up for success. From medical checks to behavior evaluations and even guidance on training and care, the goal here is to make sure that you two will be a perfect match.

Cost is another major factor that can't be ignored, especially in our current economy. Adopting a shelter pet is much more affordable than going through a breeder. Adopting is often only a fraction of the cost, even after accounting adoption fees. The difference in cost is quite dramatic when comparing the pricey "purchase" costs for designer puppies from breeders. The money you save can instead be put toward your pet’s care, including food and supplies. After all, who doesn't love saving money?

Best of all, you will always be doing a good deed for the world by choosing to adopt versus shopping for a pet. According to the SPCA, over 800,000 animals are taken in by California's public and private shelters, with fewer than half adopted into new homes. Adopting one of those adorable animals can quite literally save a life. You get a new best friend and get to save a life all at once - a true win, win! Plus you get to save some money too, so it’s really just positives all around for everyone included. 

If you're still not quite convinced, I really encourage you to check out some of these great online resources where you can learn more about the pet adoption process:

[tyovpyrrhicmoon]

Next, create at least three Mortals and add them to the vampire’s record sheet. These Mortals will have a relationship with your vampire—relatives, friends and lovers, enemies, mentors, debtors, or anything else appropriate for the time and place you have chosen. Describe each Character in a few words. Know that these Characters can and should be very important, but will not be around for long.

Characters

Mortal 1 - Dochleo - Argos' father; a potter by trade. A decent man, he has been helping Argos fulfill the bride-price demanded by Anatréfos.

Mortal 2 - Kipra - Argos' mother; on market days, she sells homegrown vegetables from a stall in the village forum.

Mortal 3 - Spoudas - Argos' elder brother; tall and lean. Training to inherit his father's pottery studio.

Mortal 4 - Ione - Spoudas' wife; a freed slave, emancipated from Spartan slavers

Mortal 5 - Megara - Argos' younger sister; vain, cruel, shrew, and greedy. Married to a wine merchant in Thebes.

Mortal 6 - Gíina - Argos' lover. Daughter of Anatréfos, Gíina is a skilled trainer and breeder of dogs. Athletic and brown of skin, Gíina is kind, quick-witted, and a skilled and graceful runner. She, Fovéros, and Argos have been friends since childhood. It was Gíina who gifted Teumessia to Argos as a new pup. After long years of growing up together, Gíina and Argos became friends, then lovers, trysting amongst the olive groves, careful to use silphium. Gíina is fully aware of how loathsome her father is, and the spectre of Anatréfos wroth hungs over the pair as they try to meet the demands and bride-price he has set.

Mortal 7 - Anatréfos - Father of Gíina; renown livestock breeder, his ranch borders Fovéros's family's olive groves and stretches toward the polis of Ambracia. He and the workers on his ranch breed goats, sheep, oxen, swine, donkeys, and dogs - including the Molossian mastiffs native to the Epiran region, Laconian hunting dogs brought in from Sparta, and Vulpine companion dogs (a smaller breed that Gíina handles the breeding and raising of; Anatréfos dislikes these smaller dogs). Called Digeneiáda (Fork Beard) behind his back for his back, for his strange facial hair. A man with kindness toward none and a deep, insatiable greed. Malignantly misogynistic; when Gíina was quite young, her mother, Anatréfos' wife Leípeia, went missing. No one is sure what exactly happened to her, but everyone knows Anatréfos did something to her.

Mortal 8 - Sideros of Ambracia - Master smith of the polis of Ambracia. A huge bear of a man, Sideros introduced Argos to the worship of Hephaestus as part of the craft. Took Argos on as an apprentice, until Argos becomes skilled enough to open a forge in my home village. He teaches me the secrets of copper, of bronze, of iron, of precious metals; how to forge a sword, a plowblade, and all things between. From Sidero, I learn of Zeus' thunderbolt iron.

Mortal 9 - Fovéros - One of the younger sons of the village's olive farmer, Fovéros, Gíina, and Argos have been friends since childhood. Fovéros was sent to Ambracia to become scribe at the temple. Fovéros swears that he has seen nymphs and fauns frolicking in the olive groves; once, he took Gíina and Argos to see them. Superstitious, believes in the gods and monsters of ancient Greece fervently. Warned Argos to avoid the Necromanteion of Acheron in the north, where the living world and Underworld touch, and to avoid the oracle of Zeus at Dodona. Warned that gods and titans, and stranger things still haunt the Grecian peninsula. Fovéros has something he's not sharing and is increasingly overly fond of wine.

Mortal 10 - Granazá the Athenian - Sometimes called Ouránio Dónti (Sky-Tooth), Granazá is an Athenian astronomer and friend of Sidero, now living in Ambracia. He builds simple clockwork orreries, though these have grown increasingly complex as the years pass. These are the precursors to what will one day be called the Antikythera device. He has many scrolls charting the stars, and knows of astrology and divinations. Increasingly, he seems fearful and nervous as he works. Sometimes, it seems like he is avoiding going out under the open sky. He is drinking more and too heavenly.

Notes: Forgive my weird Greek names.

In my mind's eye, Casca from Berserk is a good model for Gíina. Or another character of the ambiguously-brown, athletic woman archetype. (Possibly better example might be Abigail Jones from Great Pretender.)

Silphium - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silphium) Ancient contraceptive herb, now long extinct.

Necromanteion of Acheron - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necromanteion_of_Acheron) A sacred site where the River Acheron supposedly entered the mortal world. Located in northwestern Epirus.

Dodona - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodona) The second largest oracular site in Greece, after Delphi. While Delphi was sacred to Apollo, Dodona was sacred to Zeus. Located in eastern Epirus.

Antikythera mechanism - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism) Ancient clockwork mechanism that tracked the movement of the moon, planets, and stars, as well as the dates of the Olympic games. Dated to around 200 BC (about a century after our current game of Thousand Year Old Vampire starts). Granazá is showing people precursors of the famous device.

[cloudstrife-bbs]

Pupdates, or Unofficial Lack Thereof

Cloud is now 4½-weeks-old.

I still don't know which one has been assigned to me. The puppies are all still too young but, according to the breeder, beginning to show temperament. She says she's still a few weeks out from testing them, which to me, translates to 7-weeks-old before proper testing can be performed and assignments can be made. Plus, her constant repetition of "end of April"--- they'll be 8-weeks on April 16th, which is mid-April. Which also implies that she's keeping them until 9-weeks, which means he won't come home until April 20th or 21st.

Which, truthfully, feels like absolute torture for me.

I trust in my breeder to accurately place my puppy, and that's having a tremendous deal of faith in her. This is a decision for the life of whichever one Cloud ends up being, but she has to do this eleven times. Because the litter is so large, I have to share time and attention with at least ten other families. It would be nice to have a more personal relationship, but I sadly feel like this is gonna be another Sevit's Corgi situation: Money changes Hands, and the relationship is over, for the most part. Business only. Especially because Cloud is only a pet and not a show dog or a sport dog. I don't want to feel robbed of a potential friend and a potential network, especially because the breeder and I are both New Englanders, but I do feel robbed.

The breeder told me that she was going to have an Open House-type of Puppy Party on March 30th, for all the new puppy parents. (I don't know if I mentioned this in my last blog entry.) We are planning to bring up Cloud's very expensive, brand new Impact brand crate with puppy divider. (I hope it lasts as long as it says it does because I want it to be a dog heirloom for future Berger Blanc Suisses for the moolah we coughed up for it.) She also said to bring a towel/blanket that smells like us, and a toy, just for him. We bought him a squeaky plush Mr. Carrot, just like Bolt. We actually got multiples in case the toy doesn't come back with us. We've been sleeping with the towel to make sure it REALLY has our scent on it, but I also have another old bed sheet that I'm bringing to make his crate a bit cozier. I still don't know what time we're going to have to be there by (I asked once already, but received silence), but I'm going to shoot her a text on Monday asking again, trying to be as non-intrusive and friendly as I can in spite of my rampant anxiety. It's a 3.5 hour drive from here to there, and I would very much like to know how early in the morning we have to start out, especially if we want to avoid traffic on I84 through Hartford. I like to plan my life out accordingly and not wait until the last second.

The house is getting cleaner and cleaner and more puppy-proofed. Everyone is excited, waiting for more news about Cloud, but I only have very little to share. It's frustrating, and to be honest, it's contributing a lot to my stress and anxiety. I have all this love in my heart I am just waiting to pour into a puppy, and I feel fit to burst without anything to direct it into. I know that a new dog will be a challenge, but it's a good, healthy challenge that I'm deeply passionate about. I don't have any delusions that this is going to be a cakewalk. It's going to be sleepless nights at first, and lots of puppy biting and him not wanting to listen. Hundreds of repetitions of words as I teach him human language and proper manners. Definitely a lot of pee and poop on my kitchen floor as his body grows.

A lot of "Let me see what you have!" "A knife!" "No!" Hahaha!

But lots of playing, and new experiences every day as I socialize him to things like construction noises, grooming, and our every day life. He has to get used to loud sounds like nail guns, air compressors, miter saws, hammering, all manner of power tools, and I've already educated myself on how gundogs are trained to get an idea of how to desensitize him. He's going to go to puppy class for extra exposure to things, and I want him to learn to be calm and cool, nigh unflappable if I can shape him to be that way. But it's going to take tremendous hard work, discipline, consistency, and at least two years of puppy/teenage bullshit to get him where I want him to be. I'm no stranger to the process; it's just been a decade since I had a puppy. Dogs are to be my life's work, and I may be pushing 40 (I'm turning 38 this September), but this is only the beginning of my purpose. If the Spirits help me through their wisdom and kindness, my legacy will be my Dogs. They are my children.

Cloud: which ever puppy you end up being, I know you'll be brilliant and extraordinary. You are already my hero. You have no idea the darkness you're saving me from. You're going to have an incredible life with us, and you are worth this excruciating wait. I love you, so much. Mommy and Daddy are waiting as patiently as we can until we bring you home.

[doberbutts]

I put this in my queue ages ago but I'm reblogging it from myself to add:

With the DPCA and the DV continuing to have their slap fight over ears and tails, dobermans now are solidly in a "either you can show but can't work or you can work but can't show" situation.

The DV has made it clear that they will use the FCI to ban cropped and docked dogs from IGP and other FCI sports (including my own sport, mondio, which is a major reason why Fenris is fully natural). The DPCA has made it clear that they do not consider a dog a doberman unless it has been cropped and docked.

So now we have an issue. The most successful working dogs *cannot* show. And the most successful show dogs *cannot* work. Any lack of instinct or structure is now doomed to remain static because it is shortly going to be impossible to do both. You either roll the dice and breed "across the aisle", as it were, and take your chances on the puppies that get produced... or you just continue with what you know you can get instead.

The most recent dual champion is a female I met years ago at a UDC show, IGP3 AKC CH, and the only one since the sport became known as IGP.

She's a nice dog. Met her as a puppy. And Leslie her breeder is a kind woman. Pearl is part of an extremely exclusive club and may truly be the last dual champion we have in the breed.

IGP is not an easy sport. It often requires long drives, grueling weekends, and extensive training in all weather for a chance to prove your dog's worth on the field. Conformation, similarly, is not an easy sport, requiring long drives, extensive training, and a fuckton of entries to simply get skipped over because the judge likes the handler on the worse dog better. Both are extremely expensive. Both are frequently held on the same weekends. I have a friend with a nice show dog and despite more than a year of extensive showing her dog only has a single point- this is not particularly uncommon in dobermans as the breed is highly competitive.

It is hard to find time to do both. Often one is far less accessible than the other. And then stupidass breed politics like described above just make it worse. If I have a dog good enough to go to a worlds-level trial, by default that does is either disqualified from showing (ears and tails are not a dq per say but there has never been a fully natural AKC Champion) or disqualified from competing at Worlds (once off US soil, no cropped or docked dog may compete in FCI sports, and they're working on a broad ban regardless of if they're competing in the US).

Pearl may be the last we have, and she's already a senior. That's how dire the situation is for this breed.

I've been wondering this morning about how much of a lack of dual champions is a result of "show" dogs lacking instinct and how much of it is a result of the expensive, time-consuming, and altogether inaccessible nature of - in my experience, and relevant to "my breeds" - herding trials. Compound this inaccessibility with the unwillingness of many herding trainers to work with breeds like Belgians, GSDs, Beauces, etc., etc. and you have a reality where that inaccessibility becomes a nigh-impossibility. 🤷‍♂️

[doberbutts]

LET'S TALK DOG GEAR! What do you have for each, e.g. leash, collar, harness, slip lead? What do you use them for? What do you like best about them? (Brought to you by looking at Fen's mondio harness)

Oh fun OK

Leash:

The big dogs have custom made Master's Pride leather leashes. I bought one secondhand from someone who used their service doberman in a similar manner as I did with Creed, and I loved it so much that I tracked down the maker and asked him to repair my original which withstood 8 years of abuse and zero leather care from me, and also make me a second. He was wonderful to work with and the next time I have the cash to splurge on leather I'm going back to him.

The littles have very delicate lightweight leashes I bought from a dog show. It's some form of very light nylon. This is actually because Fae specifically refused to walk with a collar for a long time, so I taught her to drag a lightweight line and from there began to use it as a regular leash once she was used to the weight.

Shared between the big dogs are also another custom Master's Pride, this time one of those "European style" leashes with the many clips but altered to mostly be a handsfree service dog leash, a biothane Yup a friend got me that shrinks down to 5ft and expands out to about 10ft, and a braided leather martingale-style I won from a raffle at a dog show which doesn't really fit either dog safely (too big) but it's cute and also purple. And of course an assortment of nylon, cloth, and neoprene leashes for "just in case" storage.

Recently also I bought some drag lines (no handle on the end) because Fenris got caught up in the handle at his last mondio session and I don't want him to break his legs. They're biothane lines from CSJCreations on etsy.

Collar:

Tater does not wear collars as they aggravate her SM/CM trigger points and cause a horrendous amount of pain. Fae has an assortment of very small, delicate nylon and cloth collars. I want to get her a braided thread one like Tiki had at one point, but who has the money for vanity?

Fenris uses an assortment of leftover collars from other dogs, though his prong, slip, and electric collar I bought specifically for him because the others don't fit and because he's the first dog I've actually felt comfortable using a stim on. Expensive fancy collars are reserved for dogs who get titles at competition events, and he has not yet (just a temperament test) so I similarly have not bought him a nice custom collar. Eventually I'll buy him a fursaver I can actually fit over his big stupid head.

Sushi HAS gotten ribbons at competitions and so the first ribbon she won I celebrated by getting her a very nice silk-wrapped martingale that looks amazing on her and actually is really nice to her neck sensitivity. Sushi's very sensitive to pressure on her neck and yet will very quickly pop out of a flat collar, so a martingale is the safest option for us.

Harness:

Fen's xback is from Nahak, it's the preferred harness for mondioring training. I was looking at a couple different makers and then his breeder chose for me when she got him one for his birthday 🤣

Sushi has a Redline K9 harness that she's been using as a service harness. It's Creed's old agitation harness.

The chihuahuas have harnesses from High Tide Collar Co which she made lightweight and custom for my little babies. Fae also had a really nice vest style harness I wanted to use as her harness at work when I was a dog trainer with a little "PLEASE pet me" patch on it however she decided she hated the buckle and chewed it off of herself when I wasn't watching her in my training ring like 3 days after it arrived, and I never replaced it.

Slip leads:

I have a shitty thin nylon one that I think I stole from working at petco (we were always supposed to have one in our pockets for emergencies and then when I stopped working there I found it in my apron lmao whoops) which I use for giving reluctant big dogs their baths. I also have two more expensive rope ones, one red (bought for Tiki) and one purple (bought for Sushi) which live next to my back door and in my car respectively for emergencies.

[fancypoo4u]

Shih poo puppies for sale near me

Are you looking for a fluffy, adorable companion to join your family? Shih Poo puppies might be the perfect fit! These cute hybrids are a cross between a Shih Tzu and a Toy Poodle, combining the best traits of both breeds. If you're searching for "Shih Poo puppies for sale near me," you're in luck! In this article, we'll explore what makes Shih Poos so special and how to find reputable breeders near you.

Why Choose a Shih Poo?

Shih Poos are known for their friendly and affectionate nature, making them excellent family pets. They are also hypoallergenic, making them a great choice for those with allergies. These playful pups are highly intelligent and easy to train, making them a joy to have around.

Finding Shih Poo Puppies for Sale Near You

When looking for Shih Poo puppies for sale, it's essential to find a reputable breeder. Avoid buying from puppy mills or backyard breeders, as they often prioritize profit over the well-being of the dogs. Instead, look for breeders who are registered with reputable organizations and who prioritize the health and welfare of their dogs.

One way to find reputable breeders is to ask for recommendations from friends or family who have Shih Poos or other small breeds. You can also search online for breeders in your area and read reviews from other customers. Visiting the breeder in person is also a good idea, as it allows you to see the conditions in which the dogs are kept and to meet the puppy's parents.

Mileen - The Best Breeder in Mississippi

If you're in Mississippi and looking for a reputable breeder, consider reaching out to Mileen, known for being one of the best breeders in the state. Mileen takes pride in raising healthy and well-socialized Shih Poo puppies, ensuring they make excellent additions to loving families.

Fancy Poo 4 U - A Reputable Place

For those looking for a reliable source for Shih Poo puppies, check out FancyPoo4U, a reputable breeder known for its high-quality and well-socialized puppies. Mileen, the best breeder in Mississippi, is associated with Fancy Poo 4 U, ensuring that you can find a healthy and happy Shih Poo puppy through their services.

Questions to Ask the Breeder

When speaking with a breeder, be sure to ask plenty of questions to ensure that you are getting a healthy and well-socialized puppy. Some questions to consider asking include:

Can I meet the puppy's parents?

Can you provide me with references from other customers?

What health screenings have been performed on the puppy and its parents?

What is the puppy's temperament like?

What kind of socialization has the puppy received?

What is your policy on returning a puppy if it doesn't work out?

Bringing Your Shih Poo Puppy Home

Once you've found the perfect Shih Poo puppy, it's time to bring them home and start the bonding process. Make sure you have all the essentials, such as food, bedding, toys, and grooming supplies, ready before you bring your new puppy home.

It's also essential to start training and socializing your puppy from a young age. Shih Poos are intelligent dogs and respond well to positive reinforcement training methods. Start with basic commands such as sit, stay, and come and gradually introduce more advanced commands as your puppy learns.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a loving and playful companion, Shih Poo puppies are an excellent choice. By finding a reputable breeder like Mileen associated with FancyPoo4U and taking the time to train and socialize your puppy properly, you can enjoy many years of happiness with your new furry friend. So start your search for "Shih Poo puppies for sale near me" today and find your perfect match!

Please contact

Mileen 

601-886-7381