sleeping in the laundry basket amongst dirty clothes. They bond with and are attached to us and are great with other dogs, large and small. I attended the “Löwchen-palooza”, a casual summer pool party put on by my friends. There were about 15 or 16 Löwchen (and one Puli), even several intact males, every- one got along, even the human guests. Since you have been breeding and showing Löwchen for many years, do you think the breed is getting better? I definitely find the breed has improved greatly in the past 15 years. Coat care is better; fronts are getting better; temperament is excellent. Over- all I am pleased with the direction the breed is going. The Löwchen is rather a secret as a performance dog. The Löwchen is in almost all performance events from agility, Obedience, Rally, Dock Diving to Barn Hunt, Lure Coursing and Fly Ball. This breed will give you their ALL! Being compact and sturdy makes them excellent athletes at all levels. The Löw- chen have earned various Obedience, Rally and Barn Hunt titles and the breed has several MACH agility dogs. These Flying Lions are fast and really air it out. If you are a drill sargent in your training methods, a Löwchen may not be for you. They are quick, clever and eager to please. They get it! So if you like to drill, drill, drill, you will need to be inventive and imaginative in order to make it fun. Löwchen are all about having fun! The Löwchen is rather soft-hearted so stern training or voice are not appre- ciated. Currently I have three Löwchen
kitchen to see my 12-inch bitch stand- ing on the counter as if she was waiting for the toast to pop up. Before I could go over to the counter to scold her she very handily walked on the narrow part of the counter by the sink and returned to the empty plate quite proud of herself. It, after all, was quite a feat. She jumped up onto a 28-inch-high bar stool, helped herself to some eggs and then up on the counter for more scrounging. Always interested in exposing my dogs to new things, I have taken my Löwchen everywhere. I decided that Lure Coursing seemed fun. Several oth- er Löwchen I knew enjoyed this fun all out run for the “rabbit”. Rascal, my wise old hunter of squirrel and chipmunk, looked at the “rabbit” and looked back me as if to say, “That ain’t no rabbit and not worth my time to chase. I’ll chase you instead”. Next up was Bindy. Unex- pectedly (because she is a bit of a couch potato) she shot from my grasp chasing the lure. Yes! 50 yards; 100 yards; pride swelling inside me. Then she came to such a sudden and abrupt stop that she almost flipped head over tail. I raced out to the field to assess her injury. As I got closer I could see that grin. That grin! That grin on her face that told me she had stopped to enjoy a snack of sumptu- ous deer poop. The holy grail of snacks. Yuck! Lure coursing lesson over! The “Little Lion” is a great show dog; a great athlete; a great compan- ion. Let one or two into your home and heart and you will be delighted with their cleverness, zest for life and shear fondness of you. These quintessential features, combined with an outgoing and positive attitude, result in a dog of great style.
and each take a stern voice in different manner. My male will melt into a pud- dle and take several training sessions to reassemble himself. My youngest bitch droops like a flower in the hot sun but once showered with praise and lilting voice she is revived and ready to get back to work almost immediately. My other bitch is a little more complex. She stops working and gives me a look like a peeved teenager. If she could place her tiny white paws on her hips she would. Since Löwchen don’t hold grudges she too is quick to return to work once work is fun again. (It doesn’t hurt to offer a peace offering—chicken, liver or just food.) LIVING WITH LÖWCHENS Donna and I both agree that living with a Löwchen is a delight. This mod- erate, or as I like to call them “smedi- um” dog, is small in stature and big in heart. Not fragile, can take a tumble and keep on going. They don’t know they are small. They strut in the conforma- tion ring, race around an agility course, jump into the pool or lay on your lap looking adoringly into your eyes. Because of these traits, the Löwchen also makes a great therapy dog and all- around family dog. Now you would think being a “sme- dium” dog you wouldn’t need to worry about any counter-surfing in your home. However, one of my Löwchen surprised me greatly one day. I often sit in the kitchen at the island eating breakfast. I left the kitchen to answer a phone call. When I returned, my plate of bacon and eggs was clean. I was pretty sure there was food on that plate when I left the kitchen. Then I looked across the
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