Buddy

The story below is true and the events and names have not been changed. This is my story of how I got my first Papillon.

I wanted to do dog agility, but the dog we had at the time was a senior German Shepherd Dog, named Amigo, who is now passed away, and I was worried that he'd accidentally fall off something and injure himself.

My mom worked with a woman who had a dog that needed a new home, so my mom secretly arranged for me to get him. We went and picked him up two weeks before Christmas and he was very cute. He looked identical to an Old English Sheepdog, except for his size, he was about 15 pounds and about 15 inches tall, full grown. I named him Cheiko and I loved that little dog very much.

I took Cheiko to about ten agility training sessions, and found out that he had not been socialized with other dogs or people and he barked the entire time we were at the classes. He barked while sitting on my lap, barked while sitting on the floor, barked while looking at the other dogs, barked while looking at other people, barked while in his crate with the towel off, barked while in his crate with the towel over it, barked while in the outer room with me, barked while in the outer room with someone else, I think you get the idea of how much he barked!! He barked so much that the trainer couldn't be heard which made teaching the class rather difficult.

And he wouldn't listen to me for anything, not food/treats, toys, praise, nothing. Needless to say, I was getting very frustrated with him and with myself for not being able to teach him anything.

And I think because he associated me with the agility classes, he became rather aggressive towards me and several times came two inches from catching my fingers in his teeth, even while at home.

So I talked it over with my mom and we found him a new home and he is absolutely loved by everyone in the family and he returns that love equally to all members of the family. He spends almost every second of every day with the youngest boy. They are inseparable. He was re-homed him two months after getting him at Christmas. I cried when he left, but I knew that he would have a good life as a pet and friend to the children of the family.

The trainer of the class told me to leave Cheiko (this was before I re-homed him) at home and to bring a baggie of treats and a leash. She knew of a lady that had a Papillon dog, named Buddy, who was about four months old and was the brother of her Papillon, Mac.

So I did.

My mom came with me to that class and walked through the door ahead of me and the dog, Buddy, didn't even so much as give her a second glance. Then I walked through the door two seconds after her, and Buddy instantly glues his eyes to me (not literally) and started squirming and crying to get down out of his breeder's arms. The breeder's name is Carolyn.

Carolyn couldn't hold onto him and he jumped down and raced towards me. I was still standing up, but that didn't matter to Buddy. He launched himself into my arms and started licking my entire face... (Obviously he thought I needed a face wash, and he did a very thorough job.)

That class, Buddy had his eyes glued to me every single second, except when he was in the tunnels, which he ran through as fast as his little legs could carry him. So while I was participating in the class and having fun getting to know that little rascal named Buddy, my mom and Carolyn went into the outer room and talked while having the door open so they could watch me and Buddy.

My mom was crying and the breeder had a huge smile on her face and I was grinning from ear to ear. I was so pleased with that little dog, and amazed at how he was listening to me and not taking his eyes off me for a second. And NOT BARKING!!!! And the few times he did, all I had to do was say "quiet" in a normal tone of voice and he would instantly stop barking. I went to return Buddy's leash to the breeder after the class was over, and she told me that Buddy was now mine.

MINE!!!

I couldn't believe it. That I now had a dog that actually listened to me and did EVERYTHING I asked of him, if it was in his capabilities, he'd do it.

Mine. All mine.

The breeder told me that she was so inspired with the way that Buddy and I connected that he was now mine for free. My mom was still crying, tears of happiness, and I was still grinning from ear to ear, speechless.

It was literally love at first sight for Buddy and I.

I will add more about Buddy and my next dog, Miss Hunter when I have more time. I hope you enjoyed reading about my first Papillon, Buddy!

Reviews are more than welcome!!!