Let’s start with a quote from Mrs A…
How much trouble can a dog that small be?
It was fifteen weeks ago that we picked our new pup Missie. At the time I promised lots more photos, but unless you’re one of my Facebook friends you’ll still be waiting. So here’s one (click on it to see the full picture) that comes from a set of photos taken during an unusually warm spell of April weather and is affectionately known as ‘the swamp creature’.
Missie has changed a lot since those early day – her fur is longer and has changed from all-black (apart from the white tuft on her chest) to mostly-black with hints of gold on her legs, ears and face. She now weighs a whopping 1.8 kilograms, which is amazing considering that she rarely finishes her daily food allowance. She now fits into the coat donated by Wally, another Yorkipoo, which is just as well as she’s grown out of her first ‘coat’ (a British Airways sock with two leg holes).
Toilet training has been the biggest challenge. You often find out things after you’ve made your purchase – apparently small dogs, Yorkshire Terriers in particular, are slower to pick it up. I blame the bad Winter weather to a certain extent, and the fact that until a couple of weeks ago we didn’t have a secure area to easily let her out without being on a lead. I erected a fence around the patio, and then had to further secure it with wire mesh after she discovered she could slip through the tiny gap. For a long time she wouldn’t do her business outside – we’d spend ages in the garden or on a long walk, but she’d hold it in until she got home to the newspaper. Not the idea. The toilet training is improving, but she still has to learn to ask to go out.
Last week saw the start of training classes – after the initial excitement overload of being in a room full of other dogs she got on very well and was the best in the class for fetch and recall. Walking to heel needs some work. This week I’ve been working with her on ‘sit’ – the only progress is that now she’s okay with me pressing her backside down on the floor, but she won’t sit to order.
On the whole she’s been a very good girl – there’s been no damage to the house (touch wood) apart from the odd wet patch. Occasionally a slipper or Croc goes missing, and the ends of some of my shoe-laces look like they’ve been chewed… both Mrs A and Lolli deny responsibility, so I have a feeling I know who the culprit is.
