About Limerick

There once was a dog, a first-rater! And if you say he's slow, you're a hater. Past cheetahs and hares And falcons, he tears. He tells all gazelles, 'Smell ya later!' Limerick has moderate separation anxiety. He needs a house, not an apartment. He needs people or dog friends around. Left alone, he cries/screams for about 5 minutes, and then he collects all his toys by the door and waits for you to come back. Sad. He is not destructive in his separation anxiety, but he is a puppy, and will chew furniture if not given plenty of collagen rolls (etc). He loves toys. When I get ready in the morning, Limerick follows me from room to room, toting a toy to chew quietly at my feet. He loves toys fetch. He loves chasing. As clingy as he is, he is very capable of playing independently. As I write this novella, he's flinging around a toy to fetch, and then bringing it back to my lap. The thing he likes besides toys and playing is sitting in your lap on EVERY bench you pass on a walk. Like a good lapdog, Limerick is definitely an alarm barker. In a home, he is quiet, but in an apartment, those big ears can hear everything, and he will let you know. Why are there people sneaking around behind our walls?? He is very protective of his house, but he has an expansive idea of 'his:' he will bark at your neighbor gardening across the street and down the block. He barks at dogs on leashes, but he loves playing with dogs at the park, even though he is tiny and gets rolled. He loves to be chased. People often remark on how brave and outgoing he is at dog parks. He has met only a few children, but he loved playing with them. He is very mouthy, and when he plays hard, his mouthiness gets hard, too, so he should be monitored around kids. He has only drawn blood on me when I was trimming his nails. He has clear nails, so I have never quicked him, but I somehow turned him into a demon during nail trims, and his sharp puppy teeth got me. There is a closet-hammock from Amazon that I use to trim his nails, and in that, he's okay. If you aren't comfortable trimming nails on a fractious demon, and you don't want to use a closet hammock, you will have to take him to a professional every few months. I walk him for about an hour per day and he files them on the pavement for the most part. He does not like being brushed, but tolerates it. He is not a cuddler yet. In fact, Limerick doesn't know how to be pet yet. People reach down to pet him, and he hops around, 'Try to get me!' Play, play, play. Pet him, and he just wants to mouth your hand. Play, play, play. Cuddles may come later in life. The closest you get is him sitting in your lap, watching passersby or chewing a rawhide. He has met only one senior cat who wanted nothing to do with him, but Limerick wanted to play and bounced around, barking. Cats he has met on walks have either scared him if they were aggressive or interested him like a squirrel if they were docile. Potty training is going a lot better! Limerick usually goes all workday long without having an accident, but accidents still happen when I miss his signals. Taken out regularly, he shouldn't be much trouble. Regular training is coming along slowly. Limerick knows sit and down, but he doesn't know the difference, and other commands haven't clicked yet. But I am a first time dog owner, and a lot of that is on me. He is smart, but he is very willful, and sometimes if you ask him to sit before you throw a ball, he will growl and bark before he reluctantly obeys. He would be a great agility dog if only agility were running fast, but Limerick has no recall. He'll come back because he wants to be with you, not because you're asking. He still has the clingy puppy tendency. I would love to rehome him to someone who has raised and trained Papillons before; someone who has a dog at home who needs a friend; or someone who stays at home and can at least throw a ball. If you are an apartment-dweller, you must convince me he won't be put in a shelter if your neighbors complain of his barking. I just want this social butterfly to have friends and be happy.

Lancaster County
Lincoln, Nebraska