Michelle’s perfect pups

By Monisha Iswaran

Seasoned dog owner Michelle enjoys walking her two dogs, Renny and Sandy, in the scenic Docklands area, where they enjoy attention from any people or other dogs they come across.

“They are excellent with people and, for a Pomeranian, Renny is just so well behaved and just has the most beautiful gentle nature,” Michelle said, explaining that such a temperament was unusual for the breed.

She has owned Sandy since she was a puppy, and Renny for only three years. Michelle took over ownership of the little Pomeranian after his previous owner, her mother-in-law, moved into aged care.

“It was her dog and she obviously couldn’t take him into aged care so he’s living with us now”, she said, “But I bought Sandy as a puppy.”

At the ripe old age of 14, Sandy, an Australian cattle dog, has matured and is a little more sedate. This provides a contrast to Renny, who is evidently younger, with a happy-go-lucky attitude!

“She’s just the most beautiful girl and really intelligent”, Michelle said referring to Sandy. “And as she’s become older she’s become a lot more independent in her views and what she wants to do. She’s an older dog and wants to do things her own way.”

She does however note that neither of the two dogs is able to act as a guard dog for their home unit, saying: “They might just bark until you scratch their tummy and then they’re happy.”

The dogs expect visitors in the house to show them attention before anyone else, but are extremely well trained and generally behave themselves.

“It’s always a work in progress. I pretty much trained them myself,” she said.

Michelle notes that, rather than relying heavily on treats to train her dogs, she just used firm hand signals.

“I’ve always had dogs, while growing up and everything,” she said, explaining her natural affinity with the creatures.