I have an extraordinarily ferocious year-old papillon. She loves shredding things and eating clementines. And she's one of the most intelligent creatures I've ever met.
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| this is my brat. |
I've worked with a lot of dogs in my time, but this one is by far the easiest I've ever had to train, and the most naturally eager to please. I've taught her a bunch of meaningless commands (ex: spin in circles, "where's my nose?", "go bother your papa") just to keep her occupied. She's litterbox-trained, as we live on the third floor and her bladder is the size of a walnut. She trained herself (I can't take credit for this) to sit at the door when we're out in public or visiting a friend when she needs to go outside.
We've worked hard together. She's wonderfully socialized (except she still goes barreling toward toddlers with reckless abandon and tail wagging), has excellent leash manners, won't take anything from your hands that you haven't told her to, and instantly switches into "lap dog" mode whenever she's in a lap or pair of arms. It's taken a lot of trial and error and a lot of work, but now that we've got the basics down, I'm looking forward to training her on agility courses and obedience trials.
This dog isn't just my pet; she's an integral part of my life and career. Which is why I'm going to be bringing her with us overseas.
Yes, it's difficult. Yes, it's stressful. And yes, there are virtually zero procedure resources for those of us looking to bring dogs over to Japan. Just a lot of forum posters saying "Don't bring your cat!" That is super unhelpful, internet. Thanks. But I can't picture being away from her for 2-4 years and still have the bond necessary to run trials, and I started this blog in the first place to make resources where we have none.
So I'm going to document every single thing I do to bring her across.
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