By: Carol Keen
Which is better, a boy or a girl?
This is a question I am asked quite a lot! It’s not a gender issue, this boy or girl decision. Instead, it is the personality of each pup. They are all sweet and special. Each pup is their own little soul. A boy is not any harder to train than a girl. A girl is not more loving than a boy. The same training methods are used for all our puppies with out a concern about gender.
What we work to do is match the personality in an individual pup that works the best with you and yours. How do we do that? Well, some people only want what we call Alphas. These are the more diva like pups who tend to be a “look at me” baby. That doesn’t mean they are not sweet, because they are! However, they are a bit more independent. What we call Omega’s are the ultra laid back Poms. Most of my babies irregardless of gender are in-between these two types. Right in the middle is the perfect Pom temperament.
Aggressiveness is not allowed in my Poms. There are some Champion Poms who bite judges, their handlers, and their owners and family. Personally, I abhor that behavior, thus genetics with these kinds of faults are removed no matter how “beautiful” they are considered to be.
What about their name?
Here is something else I have been asked frequently. “I am embarrassed to ask this but can we change our new puppies’ name? I would not consider it if you thought that was mean or would confuse it.”
People change their names if they want to. In order to not confuse your pup, because they normally have names by 2 weeks old- you add a name. Example – Reggie Bear. Since Bear is the name you want, you call your pup by a double name. After two months or so you can start dropping the first name if you like so that they answer to the new “second” name. It gives them time to adjust to their new name.
I hope that helps some! Carol 🙂