Standards - even for the dog!

As you may know, we got a new family member recently – a bichon puppy!  He’s now 11 weeks old and I’ve been shocked to discover that, even at 11 weeks, boy dogs do, well, boy dog things.  Ahem.

Since we do plan to keep Oliver ‘intact’, I researched a little about boy dogs.  The main website I found talked extensively about NEVER punishing them for doing the boy dog thing.    Seriously??

I have expectations for my dog.  He will have manners.  Thankfully, I do have one great role model for Oliver – a gorgeous Australian Shepherd that we bred my dog, Pearl, to.  His biggest vice was eating Nilla Wafers out of the box (that we left on the floor).   I think boy dogs know how to do what God created them to do, in the appropriate time and place. 

[A note on why we’re planning not to neuter him – he comes from good bloodlines and is AKC papered.  Bichons are fabulous family dogs and can be really expensive.  We’d love to be able to offer families a nice quality puppy (sound in temperament and body) without them having to shell out a lot of money.  Our hope is to find a nice female in a couple of years and have a few litters, charge enough to cover our costs, and make some sweet kids very happy.  (Not to mention the awesome educational experience it will be for my own kids!)]  

So please bear with us through the growing pains.  I'm keeping the squirt bottle handy, and one day, hopefully very soon, he will know not to piddle in the house, not to jump on the kids or chew on their hands, and not to do boy dog things at the wrong time.