I actually don’t believe it. How can he be 8 years old already. Full transparency, I thought that he was turning 7. When I realized it was going to be his 8th and not his 7th, I was shocked. How did I lose a year? I felt like a horrible Mom. But then I sat down and had a ponder. What I realized was that since the beginning of last year (2025); we had a lot to deal with Elsa. I still felt bad but here we are and he is a big 8 years old today.

Let me tell you a bit about Mr. Riggs. He is a very special boy and not because he is my boy. Riggs was a standout different guy from birth. I remember visiting the litter when they were only 5 weeks of age. As I went through the bunch; I picked Riggs up (Phoenix then) and saw his tiny front teeth. I said to the breeder “I think he just smiled at me.” She replied, “he does it all the time.” I was shocked, I was very accustom with smiling dogs but had never seen one at such a young age do it. The smiling is very much who he is and he does it a lot.

Riggs is exactly who his temperament test said he was. He is toy, ball and item possessive. He gets this from his Dad, but it has lessoned over the years. With lots and lots of training he has done better in the sharing department. Riggs is a worrier. Even at this age he is still worried that a monster is going to come through the front door.

He is very touch feely with those in his inner circle. If he doesn’t know you don’t touch him. He is wary of anything he doesn’t understand; and this can be anything new or different. He needs backup assurance. That was Elsa, me or my husband. He will often bark at the door and then come sit beside one of us; making sure that he is touching.

Riggs has intense eye contact. Even though all of our dogs have had wonderful eye contact throughout their lives; none to the degree that Riggs offers. I love this, it is something that I always promote with humans and dogs. His level of eye contact is next level; which probably relates to his insane level of intelligence.

Riggs is very vocal. He is by far the most barky poodle that we have ever lived with. This took a great deal of time to learn about. He complains, warns, alerts and reacts vocally. His vocalizations are wonderful because I always know how he is feeling. He is a deeply emotional dog. Every dog is an individual; each one reacts and feels differently. Riggs is very emotional and each of his emotion is big.

For me, he is an easy read; because he gives off so much information. Both his vocal expression and his body language are big. He has EXTREMELY expressive eyes. His pupils dilate at the smallest of emotion. Getting into Riggs inner circle is work; and it must be done strategically. Many have tried, few have succeeded. Typically people try really hard; but this backfires with Riggs. He gets very suspicious when people try hard. This is probably the biggest thing for him. But most dogs are the same at a lower level. Let the dog get to know you on their time and way. The harder you try the less success you have.

Because of his emotional, intelligence, situational awareness, communication and reaction levels; he could have had a very different life in another home. Most dogs that we live with teach us many lessons; Riggs is one of those dogs that teaches huge lessons. Because every one of his communications is very obvious; he has litterally shown me how other dogs feel about pretty much everything. Not all dogs are so sensitive but most feel the same.

Riggs is a blast to work with; he loves learning new things and doesn’t care what it is. He has his favorite behaviors and usally offers them throughout the learning of a new one. He learns fast and moves faster. He keeps me on my toes with timing and my ability to stay ahead of him. He is by far our most intelligent Standard Poodle in 40 years.

Riggs is a very complicated guy. I adore living with him and our day to day is very emotional. Our connection is deep and trusting. Trust has been the biggest thing with him. Because he is such a worrier; trust has been a lot of work. But it has been worth it and the level of trust he has with me is at an extreme level. Even if he worries about something I have to do; like ear plucking, teeth cleaning etc., he trusts that I will not hurt him.

Happy Birthday little man. I cannot believe that it he is 8 years old today.