I have a Pomeranian/Poodle mix named Cocoa. He lives in our house and is spoiled rotten. He starts his day by waking up in my queen sized bed which he claims more than half of even though he is tiny and only weighs seven pounds. He is then taken immediately outside to go to the bathroom. When he returns to the house he expects to eat a little food and water but if his food or water has dishes are empty or if he ever runs out he will be there to scratch on the cupboard where we keep his food and he will not stop until his wants are fulfilled. He continues on with his day with several long naps, laying in the sun, and barking at some passing trucks or people outside the big picture window. When he feels like he has had enough sleep he begins to play with his empty CD cover or tassel ball. He plays by growling, barking and flicking or rolling his toys across the room. Whenever my mom sits down he wants her to pick him up so he can lie on her lap. He reminds me of a little child when he begs to be held. When our family all sits down together at night in our family room he expects to receive a rawhide chew stick. Cocoa will whine and whine until someone picks him up. Once he is on the couch he whines at the lamp table where his chew sticks are kept in the drawer until we get the stick and give it to him. When he finishes the stick he moves on to get more attention. If we do anything else but pay attention to him, Cocoa will climb onto your lap and begin to lick your face to get you to pet him or play with him. He eventually settles down for a relaxing evening. When I finally go to bed Cocoa is right there. I place him on my bed then go to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. When I come back he is lying right on my pillow or on the spot where I sleep forcing me to maneuver around him.

Cocoa is not just the annoyance that I make him sound like, he is very smart. When he has to go to the bathroom he rings a bell that we have hanging from the door handle. If we are not home to let him out he goes on a pee pad that we keep in the laundry room. He knows how to sit, lay and roll-over. He knows that when he goes outside in the front yard he is not allowed to step off the curb. The fact that he knows where we keep his food, water, and chew sticks and how to get it also shows his intelligence. He does sometimes get into trouble and he knows when he needs to be punished. If he has done something wrong he will sometimes give himself a time-out by going into a small cat crate that we keep for this purpose.

Cocoa can be annoying at times but I don’t know what I would do if he wasn’t a part of our family. He brings a lot of happiness and fun to our home.