My guy is 8, which is amazing to me.
Anyway, I'm starting to think about another dog....just to think about it.
Has anyone ever known a papillon? They seem smart and athletic.

I've had numerous small dogs mostly different terriers.

Favorite was the Border Terriers. Easiest terrier to get along with other dogs because they were traditionally kenneled with the Fox hounds.

One of my Grand daughters has a Papillon x Pom.

Looks pure Pap.

They are the only toy breed ranked in the AKC top ten for trainability.

Marker trained and very quick learners.

Grandaughter taught her, under my supervision of course

By 12 wks old she had the basic sit, down, stay, come down pat.

Active as any terrier I've owned.

They have a Chi dog also.

When my 10 1/2 yr old GSD passes on I will probably get another Border Terrier.

Pluses for the Border

Very sweet and can be handler soft.

Negative

There heart of a lion creates a willingness to take on anything with fur including coyotes.

I retired both of mine from natural earthwork for that reason.

To willing to "go the distance" and that meant taking way to much damage with no quit.

It wasn't until my 15-16lb Border male killed his second raccoon in the ground I realized they were way to game on critters much larger then they were and both my male and female were retired.

That "gameness" wasn't what I wanted in a working earth dog.

My JRT was an excellent baying dog in the ground.

I believe the Paps would make excellent barn ratters also.

I found my border too food addicted, couldn't function with marker training, toys gave better results, and hated bad weather, but good breeding is an asset, found out after purchase, that they were kennel pups. I would have to say tho, affection with him was awesome. So I agree, border. Only small dog I have owned, so biased!
If he liked our temps , I would still have that guy! Can't beat a snugglebug that fits on your lap and thinks biscuits are as good as bacon!

There are a few members in my club who have Papillons. We are an AKC club, so we do events like agility, obedience, rally, tracking, nosework, etc. They seem to excel at a variety of these types of events. They are known for being intelligent, trainable, and sociable. Although I don't know any of them extremely well, from the contact I have had and in talking to their owners, this seems to be an accurate description. I have long felt that if I were ever in circumstances that required me to consider downsizing to a small breed, the Papillon would be at or very near the top of my list of choices.

I'm not sure how a Papillon would do as a farm dog, but keep the coat in mind. There would probably be extra grooming involved.

I am not personally much of a terrier person, but I should mention also that there are a number of border terriers in our club, and I see them doing very well in the type of events we have, so I'm sure they're high on the intelligence and trainability scale, too.

The Pap's coat is fine and silky so that could be a matt issue if not cared for.

The Breeder of my Borders has probably put more titles on her dogs then most in the United States.

Natural earth work is about the only thing I know she's never done and I totally respect that choice especially knowing how hard they can be in the ground.

It is a breed where "many" of the breeders are active in most everything as Cheri mentioned.

Cheri I know a lady in SW Indiana that has 3-4 Paps and she is pretty active in many venues with her dogs.

Not a breeder though.

I have some DVDs from an in Europe famous dog dancer. She has to border collies and also two papillons. The border collies she uses additionally also for sheep herding.
The paps are as she says very quick learners and highly nimble, movable and highly interested in learning new things. I've seen lots of tricks she taught them, it is so much fun to watch this. Well, these are of course fully trained dancers and I don't know if each individual would learn like this. But I've seen also videos from other dog dancers with paps or border collies. They really seem to be very bright and talented fior many goals you might have in mind.

With this of course I don't mean you should go into dog dancing. You'll have your own plans. With a pap you'd without doubt also have your snugglebug.

I know I said above I wasn't much of a terrier person, and that's only because I'm not sure my personality is well-suited to the typical terrier-type personality. In spite of that, I do find myself drawn to the rat terrier. The name itself is kind of off-putting for a lot of people, I suppose, but in reading up on the characteristics of this breed, they have a lot of the qualities I would be looking for. It also sounds like they are well-suited to farm life.

The wife says I've always had a terrier personality but I'm just a nice old granpa now.

Still love the little bassids though.

One may be in my future again but not till Trooper (10 1/2) goes.

Haven't had a house dog since my son took the JRT when he bought his first house 6-8 yrs ago.

One peculiar thing I'd like in a little dog....not certain how to describe it. Softness.

If you touch a poodle it seems they have no cushion over their bones. Even if they are chubby, the fat is more interabdominal, so they aren't "squishy", cuddly. The hair is soft, but their bodies aren't.
A pal has a mini dashchund. Picked it up the other day( to get it to STOP BARKING,God!) and it was so cuddly, like a hot waterbottle.

It IS obese.

I do miss coziness in a dog. My Pinker has turned out great, but he'd still rather you didn't pet him, and he sheds so darn much, you don't really want to.

I understand hoping for cuddliness in a dog.

I found this article about breeds that are more likely to be cuddly.

https://iheartdogs.com/the-10-most-cuddly-dog-breeds-3/?source=BottomRelated


(Of course, this is also a very individual thing.)