General What we have learned

Little Peaches has been with us, now, for about a month now. New to the breed so to say the least we are learning not only her but the breed as a whole. Personally, I am amazed by the breed as a whole. Honestly, besides my friend bringing his Griffon to the park to play with Dougal, I had never heard of the breed in simple, common chats with other dog owners. After researching them and now experiencing them from puppy up I don't understand why they are not more popular. They are really known as some of the best "gun" dogs out there, but there is so much more to them!

AFFECTIONATE

Even while Peaches was with her littermates if any human walked in she went to greet them, as well as the other 10 puppies. Since she has come to live with us she wants to love on anyone (or anything) that comes through the door. From what I read this is actually a breed standard, they love humans whether they are a companion or a stranger. We could see this as a possible problem later on in training as she seems so driven to meet people that it could overwhelm her learning to stay at a heel, but I would rather this problem than being overly shy or scared of strangers.

ENERGY LEVEL

Thankfully we have a Border Collie! So far little Peaches energy level ranks right up there with Dougal's. She does tire out faster, but I think that's more due to her age and short legs. She has already learned the park schedule and is almost as annoying as Dogal is when the clock gets close to 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Once at the park, it is "game on" for her for the entire hour (or so) that we are there. From learning how to be a dog from the few other dogs that stop by to begging for pets from the strangers that walk by.

The sleeping schedule has not been learned, so when she wakes up in the middle of the night and decides it is time to play

BARKING LEVEL

Seems as though we have a drama queen, so she can be vocal. I would not say she is overly barky. She does not just bark to hear herself bark, but when she wants attention (like up on the bed, or when wrestling with Dougal) she lets everyone know. I think this will be tempered down as she gets older and as she is trained.

SHEDDING LEVEL

While I would not go out and she does not shed, it is minimal. Having a Border Collie and cats in the house we really can not notice any "extra" hair. But, the breed is considered hypoallergenic also.

MENTAL STIMULATION NEEDS

I would rank this one right up there with energy level. We have several brain games for Dougal. It took her no time at all to master them all! I expect to have to add a new line within our budget just for new brain games.

WATER

Yes, water... Griffons have webbing between their toes and are great swimmers. They also LOVE water in any shape or form. Our first purchase due to Peaches was a special water bowl that helped limit her ability to splash and play in it. We did this after finding an artificial lake in our kitchen. Needless to say, Peaches was very proud of her "accomplishments". Now that she has grown a little she has found that she can climb into the toilets, the lids are only a temporary block, around the house and it has its own little pond, perfect to either drink from or take a quick bath.