# Henry the SFT - When a Terrier Deepens Your SPoo Goals!



## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

This lil guy is bringing sooo much joy to my life. He's super biddable, easy to train, but needs loads of variety in his training and still has his own mind. One of the trainers for his adolescent class came up to us yesterday as we left and whispered, "That boy has serious potential!" I was like 🤩 - I KNOW! If I could have jumped up and down in an embarrassing cheerleader moment, I would have. LOL. I'm really hoping Izzie and I don't ruin him. 😬 He's got a comical, bouncy, moderate (for a Terrier) personality, and is an insatiable social butterfly. What cracks me up is when he's so full of gusto that he doesn't just lie down, he jumps UP and lies down with force. Over committed! LOL.

I did have a _what-have-I-done!?!?! _puppy-reality cry one evening that he was having rebel yell fits. But he woke up the next morning at sweetie pie baseline level again. 

He's so smart and he's constant work and management, but I enjoy it. Many Terrier pups often have a strangely adult, sometimes gnarly drive to them, this guy's drive has a level of sanity. He's as emotionally mature as his breeder said. 

I can see in a few years once he's settled and has (hopefully) some performance titles, he will do beautifully with a Standard Poodle pup. He's giving me a good crash course on puppy proofing and puppy/adolescent training in compact form before I get it in full-size form. I'm seeing more now how my life will change with a Spoo pup while I wait those 2-3 years before a sane, well-mannered, elegant Floof "arrives."


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## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

There's so much to love about terriers. Grit, charm, and energy. Sounds like you've got a winner.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

I'm so happy that Henry is the right fit for you and Izzie!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I have completely fallen in love with your Henry. Would love to see some videos of him in action.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Great update. Who could not fall in love with that face? Lovely to hear you’re enjoying him so much!


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## EJStevenP (Oct 27, 2021)

He's SO CUTE!!!!


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

@Rose n Poos I'm over the moon. I knew this entire time that my next dog would not be Badger 2.0, whether it was a Poodle or another SFT (which I'm still in awe that I found such a balanced, _gentle _SFT). Though, I hope that Henry grows in his wisdom (right now there are moments I swear his brain goes to mush LOL). And I hope he forms a deep, deep bond with me like I had with Badger. But, on the other hand, it is good to have a dog who is so universally lovable and charming. Henry is still so puppy in every way. It will be exciting to watch him mature. BUT...I'm still setting up a spot in my garage for a grooming station for a Spoo boy at some point! The floofy goals remain.

@PeggyTheParti Yes! I will get a video at some point of this funny little guy  .


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I have a huge love of terriers. I only had Scotties, until the last one passed and I got my “floof” standard boy. OMG, not easy at all to transition from aloof and mature at two, to my Spoo male that had weekly private training for a year and a half, plus Ian Dunbar videos and every training resource on PF. Smart dogs are not necessarily easy keepers, so if you don’t have training chops, time to hone them or find a certified trainer to get you started. Spoo’s seem slow to mature but they retain their joie de vivre for a decade plus😎. Worth it.


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

@Mfmst, there's a reason I haven't posted in the last month plus--TRAINING. lol. My training center has been a life-saver. Henry went into full blown defiant adolescence and yet still wants _hours_ of training a day. It's unlike even my most trainable former Smooths. He's a total daredevil. He got bored a few weeks ago with low platform work and b-lined to the patio table (I grabbed him before he launched off 🤦‍♀️). There's a Malinois spirit coursing through him! lol It's wild how quickly he learns and retains. Training is most definitely his love language. Fortunately, the behaviorists at the center worked with with both of us on a plan to help decompress Henry's mind/body so that he doesn't turn himself into the doggy version of an Iron Man endurance athlete. And I've been advised to drop my training sessions much shorter and integrate scent work breaks.

I'm waiting until his adolescence is fully over before we focus on training towards any titles. He's still defiant enough with me (not the trainers, of course) to decide "nah, not now - let me recommend another course of action."

But he's THE MOST FUN and Izzie dotes on him something fierce. She's definitely the classic independent, all-hunt Terrier, and I swear sometimes she is baffled at why he does all this "stuff" when there's vermin out there to kill. lol


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Buck went from teenager brat, to college frat boy on a five year degree. Honestly, I take all the fault on myself. Poodles are immediately MENSA members and those of us new to the breed need to catch up. No shame in getting help, celebrating small successes and taking it a day at a time 😊


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

Mfmst said:


> Buck went from teenager brat, to college frat boy on a five year degree. Honestly, I take all the fault on myself. Poodles are immediately MENSA members and those of us new to the breed need to catch up. No shame in getting help, celebrating small successes and taking it a day at a time 😊


The trainers/behaviorists have totally altered how I see my dogs, and I honestly have looked back at former dogs and see now how I misinterpreted/misunderstood their thoughts/drives/needs and intelligence. Here I thought I knew dogs. I had only cracked the surface.

The other day, we were practicing some balance games with inflatable exercise equipment inside, and he trotted off, grabbed the fleece braid from his flirt pole and rang the bells on the back door. He looked at me with his gleaming mischief eyes. Like, "Let's make it even better!" In the past, I would have seen it as naughtiness/stubbornness, and now I see it's just him saying, "I'm tired of focusing. I need to chase something now and burn off steam." I'm trying to celebrate self-regulation decisions now. We ask so much of them. Though, there are times he's just plain teenage dirtbag defiant 

We're working on directional commands now for agility prep and weaving around traffic cones, and we're building him some jumps to set up in the yard. Hopefully someday he'll have the _want to_ to put it all together for good runs (and I communicate well enough to not trip him up!).


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

Dear Henry is turning out to be the single smartest dog I've ever had and the most work. He's forcing me to become a much more dedicated, proactive, and organized trainer. We've started Susan Garrett's Recallers and Crate Games while taking a break from in-class training (he's struggling with adolescent fear period right now). I am always trying to stay ahead of him to set him up for good decisions, and I'm amazed at his level of communication.

A few nights ago, he was demand barking up a storm, and I just ignored. I knew he wanted outside, but I figured it was to bark at the new neighbor dog. This little boy trotted over to me and dropped a big chunk of mulch on my foot (he'd smuggled it inside earlier that day, and I'm becoming lax - if it's not a living or deceased critter, whatever, I'll pick it up later). If a dog could _throw_ something down, he threw it, stomped and barked. He did this twice, giving me the most forceful stare down he could, and off he went down the hall to the laundry room. 

A few minutes later in that same hall, I stepped in piddle dribble. 🤦‍♀️ I raced him outside to the same play yard where the mulch came from, and the poor dear emptied a very full bladder. It was a bit of a breakthrough moment when I realized, "This little boy connects the dots!" He could have picked up one of many different chews or toys, but he found and dropped the most logical thing right there in front of me. I'm watching him more now to see his decisions and thought processes. This lil dude is quite fascinating.









(pardon the messy floor ... with his outdoor-indoor smuggling, I need a Roomba!)


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

That's great. I think so many people merely think "training the dog" = "teach the dog to take orders." It's so much more. Learning to communicate and solve problems together requires hard work from both human and dog.


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## TerraFirma (12 mo ago)

cowpony said:


> That's great. I think so many people merely think "training the dog" = "teach the dog to take orders." It's so much more. Learning to communicate and solve problems together requires hard work from both human and dog.


He's definitely been a game changing experience. I'm also realizing that while I've always been a puppies-are-great-for-_other_-people kind of person, I will be getting a wee Spoo pup when the time comes for optimum shaping opportunity.


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