King of the Toy Dogs

Aubrey and I are really lucky to have three beautiful pure-bred dogs that we didn't have to pay for. They just kind of became part of our family spontaneously (if only children came the same way!) I love my dogs almost as much as I love Olivia so I thought I would post a little something about them, or one of them. Also, since the title of my blog is "It's a Dog's Life," it seems only appropriate that something doggish should appear every once in a while.

This is Peanut, our miniature pinscher. He is not related to the doberman in any way shape or form. In fact, his breed showed up a couple hundred years before the doberman. If you've ever housesat for us, then you know that Peanut is a lap dog, which is very natural. The min pin also burrows. When you come to our house (unless Peanut has already met you at the door) you need to look under the couch pillows before you sit down. Also, Peanut cannot go to bed at night unless he is under a blanket. If you don't make a blanket available or "tuck him in", he will wake you up at midnight to do it.

Miniature Pinschers are very intelligent and have a lot of energy. When they run or walk, the prance like a horse. That's why they're called King of the Toy Dogs. They are very regal looking. Peanut goes out every afternoon and sits on a small hill in our backyard and looks out over his kingdom. He very much looks like royalty and he is such a snob. As a result of this inner confidence, min pins think they are the same size as...perhaps even larger than... whatever dog they happen to be around. Peanut is also very quick, and in his younger days he used to chase squirrels and come within centimeters of them. Min pins also love to eat, and Peanut is no exception, as the illustration below depicts. Notice that he is trying to pick up two corn cobs at the same time. Peanut had no use for Olivia until she started eating table food, now he is her shadow. His favorite food is potoato peels, which are actually bad for him, but he'll eat anything. When he was a puppy, we used to find him inside our trash can in the kitchen eating the potato peels that we had thrown away. His girth is proof of his addiction to food.

They say that miniature pinschers are good family dogs, but you have to socialize them early and really raise them around small children. A mature dog introduced to a young family is probably not going to do well. That said, we acquired Olivia well after we got Peanut and we have never had a problem with him in regards to her. He pretty much ignores her until she starts to chase him or feed him. We've also never had him bite any of our friends' kids, nieces or nephews some of whom can be a little rough with him (as young kids usually are). He does do his fair share of growling, though, and that can sound pretty intimidating. The name miniature pinscher in German (where the breed originated) means "small or tiny biter". And Peanut is. He uses small, quick bites. But when he "bites" Olivia, it's never more than closing his mouth over her itty bitty hands. She loves it.

I love my dogs and I love Peanut! He is Mr. Personality. When we got him, he was so tiny he could fit in Aubrey's shirt pocket. When we took him for walks as a puppy, we would have to lift him over the curbs because he was so small. He is the perfect house dog and so well behaved. He is completely devoted to us. He'll be 6 in May, and his chin whiskers have gone gray, but I hope he'll be with us for many years to come!