Q.  What is the character / temperament of the PON like?

A.  The UK Kennel Club Breed Standard says:  Lively but self controlled, watchful, bright, clever, perceptive with excellent memory.  Easy to train, works as a herding and watch dog.  They are also alert and equable.

To elaborate on this it has to be said that the PLS can be strong willed.  As with any dog that is really intelligent they can be very stubborn.  You must be very firm and calm in your commands, also give lots of praise when they have done well.  From "Day 1" please don't let them do anything that you feel is unacceptable.  In animal hierarchy there has to be a "Leader", if YOU are the "Leader" your dog will respect you for it.  Your puppy will be happy to comply with your requests as long as you have taught it to behave with correct training methods.

Always take your puppy to obedience as soon as he / she is old enough.  It teaches YOU the correct way to train and also socialises the puppy with other dogs, people and situations.

Q.  Do they take a lot of looking after?

A.  Of course they will take up a lot of your time, especially when they are pups.  When they are out of their puppy stage, they should take less time if you have invested plenty of training from when they were young.  Because they have a long fairly thick coat your puppy has to be trained to be groomed. You should brush your puppy daily even though they will not have any coat to speak of.  It will get them used to the feel of brushing for when they do have their full coat.  From when they are about 9 to 18 months of age the coat can be particularly difficult while it is changing to an adult coat.  At this time, invest 15 minutes every day brushing and do a full groom twice a week.  When they are adult a full groom once a week should suffice but it must NEVER be left any longer or you will have problems.

Q.  Do they need a lot of exercise?

A.  A lot depends on what you get them used too. If you want to take them out 3 times a day they will thoroughly enjoy it, and expect it! Generally, a good walk once a day when they are adults will be fine. Some PONs can be quite playful and really enjoy chasing after a ball up the garden, this of course is good exercise also.

Q.  Are they loving gentle creatures or are they at all aggressive?

A.  Generally they are gentle loving dogs and extremely good with all members of the family.  You must remember that your dog (in fact any dog) is only what you make it!  There is a saying in the dog world "THERE ARE NO BAD DOGS, ONLY BAD OWNERS".  They are just like children, if you do not teach them right from wrong as soon as they arrive in your home, you will have a naughty and unruly dog, the same as you would a child.

Q.  I myself have two dogs and realise how much work they are (they are of course worth it) but do these dogs need to be treated a lot different to everyday home dogs? I mean to you they are everyday dogs but I have never heard of them.