Meet Ch This Is All I Ask...........

My friend Conly's parents raise and show dogs.  They have a dalmatian and 3 smooth fox terrier.  Kathy (Conly's mom) wanted to get a new dalmatian puppy to raise and show.  Mike (Conly's dad) said she could get the puppy but only if they got rid of one of their dogs.  Four dogs is his limit I guess.... so they needed to find a home for Ch This Is All I Ask...aka Chris.

Chris is a 4 year old champion smooth fox terrier. Her parents are Ch Tudex Raybill Doubloon and Ch Honky Tonk Angel. For some reason show dogs have the most interesting names. She no longer competes in shows and they tried to breed her but she wouldn't cooperate....

So me...being the sucker  kind hearted person that I am told them that I would take the dog.

This is Chris.....I could barely get her to stand still so I could take this.....

Such a cute face....... 

Everyone seemed to think that I needed a dog.  Don't get me wrong, I love dogs but I've never owned one.  I have been living alone since Leslie got married (10 years ago).  That being said...it has been a challenge to get used to having a dog around.  I've had her for 3 weeks now and I've had to make several adjustments to the house.

She is a good dog, crate trained and house trained.  Mike, Kathy and Conly have been great helping me.  Mike and Conly came over and finished the fence in the front of my back yard and doggified the back yard for me.  Then Mike and Kathy brought over an extra dog door that they had and Mike installed it and put up a move able fence so she can go right out my side door and into the back yard and then I don't have to worry about coming home and letting her out, and then I can roll up the fencing if I need to use the backdoor. 

I've bought 3 gates, one keeps her out of my living room, I needed a dog hair free room for company.  One keeps her out of the back hall and bedrooms.  I had to put Pesto in Leslie's old bedroom that I've turned into a computer/work room.  Chris wanted to eat him and then she knows he is in that bedroom and kept trying to dig her way under the door and I didn't need my carpet being tore up.The last gate I put up to keep her out of the family room while I'm at work or away. This way she doesn't have to stay in her crate all day, and she can be in the kitchen or outside.  These all may not be permanent once we get more accustomed to each other.

She has had only 3 accidents in the house, 2 downstairs and one in the kitchen.  The one in the kitchen was, I'm pretty sure, because she was mad at me.  I'd been in the computer room for quite a while and she can't come in there because of Pesto sooo she peed in the kitchen instead of going out the doggy door.

She loves to play ball and will keep bringing the ball back to you even if your arm is falling off and her tongue is dragging the ground. 

She sleeps in her crate because I just don't want dog hair in my bed, plus the fact that I don't like anything touching me when I'm really tired and want to sleep, but she is used to that.  She's used to spending a good part of her day in a crate coming from a house with 4 show dogs, so here she actually has more freedom then she used to get. 

Last night she decided that maybe the couch in the family room would be a good place to stay the night.  I turned off the light and called her and she just sat there looking at me, so I went over to get her and she rolled over on her back. I gently pulled her off the couch and headed towards the stairs.  I turned to see her jumping back onto the couch.  But guess what?  I won........

When she eats, she gobbles it down so fast that she lets out a belch when she is finished.

I watched Braxton and Gunner Saturday night while Leslie and Paul went to dinner.  They loved Chris and she had a great time playing ball with them.  Braxton at one point said "Chris sure likes her cousin Braxton".

So do I like having a dog?  Well the jury is still out on that.....we'll see.