She does like to chew the nylabones we have around. She has occasionally stolen a sock from the laundry pile but she doesn't do anything with it and drops it when I tell her "no." She does know "no" but doesn't seem to know any other commands. After she gets a little more settled I will start working on "sit" with her.
She has been very good with my two dogs. They are about 22 and 28 pounds a piece. The first couple of days here Bo Peep did a little "blocking" when they would come around. She would block them from where she was sitting or block them from coming near the dinner table. There were no squabbles just some body blocking. My two pretty much ignored her blocks and after a few days she wasn't doing it anymore. I think she was a little scared and uncertain where her food would come from and where her "place" would be in the home. Now that she's settled and secure she's not blocking them any longer.
Bo Peep is very good with my two daughters (8&10). They can't resist picking her up and kissing her and cuddling with her and Bo Peep is good with it all. She likes people big and small and likes the attention.
I don't think she was walked on a leash much but she's been doing a good job keeping up with Miles and me. We walk fast and she scurries to keep up and has been doing well. She's been doing her business on the walks as well as in the yard. She does get excited when we first get up in the morning and when we come home and let her out of the crate so we've found that we need to make sure that she doesn't come back inside until she does her business. She is so happy to just greet the new day or to see us she forgets to do her business and runs back inside. We've had only two accidents all week but both were when she didn't do her business outside and then we (or I should say my husband) let her back inside.
She is out of the crate all day while I'm working and does fine as I've described. When I take my girls to school or an activity I've also left her out with my other two. When I've been gone for longer periods I have put her in the crate. She goes in nicely with a treat. She has whined a little at first but then stops after a short while. She's always calm and quiet by the time I get home and glad to see me. I've had her sleeping in a crate in our room at night. She goes in nicely and settles in for the night very well. Last night was the first night that I heard any peep from her at night. She was wining a little. I took her out and she didn't need to go. I put her back in the crate and she was fine. This morning after I fed all the dogs I let her snuggle with my husband who was still sleeping. She is such a people lover and lap dog that I think she would prefer sleeping with us at night.
She barks very little. She barked a little at the dogs on TV a few nights ago. She has barked a little when we've seen other dogs on our walks but otherwise she's been quiet. I took her to the farmer's market and on some errands today. She was a little frightened of the bigger dogs and curious about the smaller ones. Because she's small (7 pounds) I think it's natural for her to be a little frightened at first but as she's shown with my two dogs she can get comfortable quickly.
Let me comment on her age. Toy poodles have one of the longest life expectancies...14-15 years. So, most people wouldn't think twice about adopting a 2 year old lab or standard poodle. It's the same thing here...she's 4...but with a healthy life her life expectancy would be another 10-11 years...just like the 2 year old lab.
If you're looking for a lover of a lap dog who doesn't shed, is housebroken (just make sure she does her business), is good with kids and (just make sure she does her business) good with other dogs once she gets past a little fear...this girl is for you.
I am fostering her in Arlington Heights, IL.
