About Lola

How would I describe Lola...hmmm.  Lola, named for the Kinks' song... El-Lo-El-Aay-Lola, is a curious mixture of personality traits, as I believe all Entlebuchers are.  When I'm sitting at my desk, she's underneath, usually with a paw on or next to my foot.  As they were herding dogs originally, I think the paw on my foot allows her to rest, knowing that if I get up she will be the first to know. After an hour or two, getting restless, she will comb the house for misplaced Frisbees and pile them quietly next to me.  She loves that she can lift two and sometimes even three in her mouth at once, by grabbing them, like a stack of pancakes, in the middle.  (These are the soft kind of Frisbees.). It's time for fun...

Outside, she will catch the first Frisbee and run like crazy all around the edge of our suburban property (about two and a half acres), proudly holding the Frisbee like an Olympic torch.  She runs like a racehorse. Sometimes a fallen branch will catch her attention and she will switch to that.  When she returns, I tell her to find her Frisbee and then we get serious about it.  She rarely misses.  She can gauge the wind speed, height, speed of throw, etc. She will play as long as I will throw.  We took her to the local Kiwanis Club Olympic Games last year and she finished second against much larger and practiced dogs, but was definitely the crowd's choice. The last event was distanced-based and I simply couldn't throw the Frisbee far enough. I tried to take her photograph with her first ribbon but, as usual, camera shy, she looked away.
 
She is very much a family dog with strong, protective instincts.  But she has never been overly aggressive with anyone, including strangers.  She alerts and barks at unusual noises, but when told it's "okay" she settles down almost immediately. We take her to the beach where she can run freely (strangers watch, completely transfixed by her speed) and socialize with other dogs, children and babies.  I'm never worried when someone comes over and asks if her three year old can pet her.

She used to sleep in our bed until I realized that I was waking up sore from being cramped in the same position all night.  We splurged on a really great dog bed and she seemed as happy as we were when it arrived. Lately she's switched to a favorite chair in our room.  It's pretty cold in Connecticut in the winter, so sometimes she's still allowed on our bed.  Lola lets you know when she wants to play, but when she hears the word "nap" she's up on the bed in an instant, knowing that's allowed.

A more gentle dog doesn't exist. Though she loves food more than anything, she understands the word "share" and will stand back to let Winnie, our 12 year old, almost blind, Bichon finish licking the plate.  If you give her a treat, she takes it carefully from your hand so she doesn't hurt you.  We have a new baby in the family and she has been so careful with her.  A lick here and a sniff there and she seems reassured that all's right with the world. She instinctively knows that the baby's soft toys are off limits, as tempting as they may be.

My husband, Alan, and I have owned a variety of dogs since childhood... from Dachshunds, Golden Retrievers, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Pulis, and our wonderful Bichon today, but we've never met a dog with the intelligence, sensitivity, love for fun, loyalty, athleticism, and sweetness of Lola. That's why we decided to breed her.