My Friend, My Buddy, My Companion

Ah, the Papillon!

This is Banjo, my faithful companion. I wanted to create a wall art piece that I would remember for a lifetime. I feel I captured my friend quite well. Spoiled, pampered, and sitting on his pillow as if it was his eternal throne. He has been painted on a wood surface and sprayed with acrylic spray to ensure a long-lasting keepsake.

They are Butterfly dogs with long silky hair and a feathery tail that seems to float in the air falling freely on their back. They are affectionate and love to give kisses. Aside from being so cute and fluffy they are smart intelligent dogs. They are loaded with charm, intelligence and ability. They are a warm little body with a big heart. Their feisty, precocious, and excitable at times to the point of down right stubborn.

They truly are a companion dog and love to be where their master is. Banjo is quite tough for his small size. Weighs approximately 8 pounds. They love to be outdoors. Banjo loves to go boating with us. He presses himself against the wind and his fur is flying gracefully in the breeze. He loves the feeling of the wind and sometimes hangs out the window in the car for the same sensation.

He is very affectionate and gentle but vivacious, lively and charming. He can be patient and gentle as well as dignified. Their breed instinct is strong for protecting their property and can be quite talkative at times. Training is a must with this little guy, for me it’s an ongoing process.

Even though this breed is small boned and looks delicate, don’t let them fool you. They will try anything once and with energy abound are ready for whatever you want to do. He’s a great dog and truly helped me through the times when I lost my last Pap.

So this painting is my gift to Banjo in commemoration of his “LIFE” and all the wonderful years we still have ahead of us.


Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog;
but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog.

Douglas Mallock

Please email me at info@riverrockcritters.com If you would like a portrait of your pet.

Pauline Libutti, Artist & Writer
http://www.RiverRockCritters.com/

How To Make Your Dog Obey You?

Most people contend that dogs are created to obey their masters. That is why they are considered the man’s best friend. However, obedience is not an innate quality in dogs. That is why it is important to teach them how to obey commands in order for them to know in what manner they should behave.

In reality, obedience training is created to impose control over dogs. These canine friends should know who the master is and who the follower is.

With all the teachings of science and man’s remarkable brain, the guidelines about obedience training in dogs were created. All of these are inclined to teach the dogs how to obey simple to complex commands and how to behave properly.

However, the concept of training dogs how to obey may vary on styles, equipment being used, or on the principles being implemented. Nevertheless, all of these things are focused on making dogs obey their masters.

The question is: How do trainers or these concepts make the dogs obey their masters? What is the reason that lies beneath the idea considering the fact that dogs are not humans who can logically understand why they have to obey?

What people don’t know is that there are only two keys in order to make their dogs obey them: consistency and compassion.
Consistency is extremely important in every training program. This is because as mentioned earlier, dogs are not logical thinkers. This means that they don’t know and they don’t understand why they have to obey or what does their master want from them. That is why it is important to let them know the things they should do and the things they shouldn’t do.

In this way, people should be consistent on distinguishing the things that should be done and those that are not appreciated.
On the other hand, compassion is needed in teaching dogs to obey because they are not like humans who will immediately understand what is wrong or right. This means that people should be a little more patient when teaching dogs to obey in order for them to gain the dog’s trust.

There are instances wherein trainers get impatient after repeating one command several times. In the end, they tend to hurt the dog. In turn, the dog gets hurt and may no longer trust his trainer.
The bottom line is that, dogs are not humans and they don’t behave like humans. That is why training them to obey needs more time, more patience, and more understanding from people who know better.

by: Jack Russell

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters.com
Copyright 2008 CraftyCritters Newsletter