I thought you might like to meet the little darling who has been keeping me from the keyboard…although right now he’s sitting quietly in my lap while I’m typing so things may be getting easier!

Allow me to introduce you to my little baby, Fritz:

We were pretty footloose and fancy free before we had Fritz….but now it’s like having a child! Having to have some routine, thinking when to feed him, watching out for when he’s about to do number 1’s and 2’s (aka toilet training), getting him used to the lead and going for walks, trying to settle him down when he’s manic and wants to play…I tell you, it’s exhausting! And once he’s asleep he’s such a darling you just want him to stay asleep for a while…too bad if you want to get up and do stuff on the pc/eat/do housework. Everything just takes so much longer, so things have been sliding.

But he really is a honeybun, even if he’s a devil at other times, so you just persevere in the knowledge that one of these months it’s going to get easier. For those who want to know, he’s a miniature pinscher, which is a pure breed in itself, although they look like mini dobermans. Several times when we’ve been out walking him, people have said, “that’s the smallest dog I’ve ever seen!” and I think, “haven’t you ever seen a chihuahua?”

We decided upon a Minpin as a compromise. Dom grew up with dobermans and I grew up with small dogs. Well, this dog looks like the larger breed with his barrel chest and long legs, but has only the size of a toy dog, which minpins are. There is actually a story attached.

Dom and I were on hols in Laos 5 years ago, and we were staying at these lovely over-the-water bungalows in Siphandon (in the south of Laos). The bungalow owners had 2 lovely dogs, and we absolutely fell in love with the one that was a miniature pinscher – though both of us had never heard of, or seen the breed before. They are so playful and just a delight to be around, and we decided there and then that once we got a house with a little yard, we would get a Minpin ourselves, and his name would be Fritz.

Well, we’ve done just that. It took a while, but we got there in the end…  Boy but we didn’t realise what an impact he’d make on us!

Daww, but isn’t he just so cute? He looks like he ought to be a cartoon character, and I think I may just do a big painting of him for the house somewhere.

Do you have a pet? Have you raised it from a puppy or kitten? (or ratlet or ferretlet?)  Of course, people who have real babies have it much tougher – at least we can go out of a night and leave our little ones chewing a bone! But still, it’s the biggest commitment I’ve made so far, after marriage and mortgage. Still getting used to it and making time for myself, as they say. Hopefully, more regular posting, now Fritzy’s learned to sleep on my lap while I’m typing blog posts 🙂