Therapy Morkie - Jaq-Jaq

by Teri Reisser
(Thousand Oaks, CA)

Me and My Shadow

I am a marriage and family therapist in Southern California, and I have been thinking about acquiring an office "therapy dog" for about three years. My husband decided to make the dream happen and my Morkie Jaq-Jaq arrived on Christmas Eve 2008.

Everything the sites say about Morkies is so far true! He's yappy and the potty training is taking longer than I'd hoped, but I have not ONCE been sorry he came into my life. He is my little shadow. My clients have been very patient with the puppy training period, and he is just my little sweetheart.

He's "Tigger" every day in the late afternoon (it's as if someone just shot meth amphetamines into him) but is so affectionate and cuddly in the evening that he lays in my arms, on his back, while I watch TV in the evening, grooming him. He barks at molecules (that YAP is going to drive me insane!) so has turned out to be quite a little watchdog, but it's annoying when he still barks at my husband every time he enters the room. :-)

He LOVES water. I'm a walker, and he walks the first two mile loop with me, splashing with wild abandon in every bit of water he can find. He loves the feel of tall grass/plants on his tummy as he joyfully bounds through them. He comes into the shower with me and happily lets me shampoo him.

The sites are correct in saying you should NOT get this breed if you have to be gone for several hours. When I've been away for a bit, Jaq-Jaq frantically bounces up and down like a rabies-crazed dog for about 5 minutes per hour that I've been away. I always plan to play with him for 15-20 minutes as soon as I come in from being away. :-)

I wouldn't send him back for the world!