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| Pocket Pups....I Never Thought it Would Happen Here Posted: 20 Aug 2009 09:01 PM PDT  © photo copyright Carrie Boyko 2008Toni and Oliver are Off to Shop I have a confession to make. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to be the owner of a toy dog. I always envisioned me with a good sized athletic dog, one like Tanner who loves to gallop around the dog park, play fetch and swim like a fish. When Toni adopted Oliver, I certainly had my concerns. I knew I could integrate him into our family. Xena and Tanner are quick-studies, and very accommodating of other pets in the house. After all, they were both raised with a cat and a rabbit. I didn't expect any problems, but on the same note, I did study up on how to properly manage a pack of mixed size dogs. Especially since the toy dog was the puppy, I wanted to be sure that no one would try to take the leadership job away from me. Suffice it to say I devoured the Dog Whisperer's books and videos for tips on keeping this little guy in line. Do you find it odd that I was more worried about a 3 pound dog taking over the house than I was my 60 pound Golden Retriever? Maybe. But you have to know Tanner. He's generally quite a submissive dog. Since he was the logical playmate for Oliver, I quickly taught Tanner the rules:
These simple guidelines worked to assure that we have no food aggression or toy aggression issues in our home. That said, I still remain diligent about keeping tabs on everyone. The good news is our pocket pup has integrated into our pack with a good nature and an affection for his whole family. Now we're just working on getting to "calm." I suppose it is in our future, just not tomorrow or next week. Is there a toy dog in your future? Who knows; you may get a surprise like I did. 
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