Thursday, December 2, 2010

Baxter Baby

I haven't updated on our dog lately.  The Mr. would tell you it is a good thing he is cute; otherwise, he would be a pound puppy or a pounded puppy.

Bax does push the limits of our love once in awhile.  He has eaten a remote, two ink pens, and the earbuds to my ipod.  He's destroyed his stuffed animal lamb, his chew toy "Pork" the porcupine, his puppy bed, and has torn into his big dog bed, too.  He eats the stuffing.  He eats kleenex.  He carries leaves, trash, and wood chips in his mouth.  The real topper?  He has torn a foot long snag in our fairly new family room carpet.  *sigh* Oh yeah, and he gnaws on chair legs, too. 

All that and he is a quick little thing.  He can jump up and rip a kleenex or napkin out of your hand in the blink of an eye. He nips fingers.  Yeah, he is a pain.

But....
He is adorable.  He is also gradually calming down.  He jumps up in my lap and snuggles.  (Just in time with these cold temperatures!)  A month ago he wouldn't sit down for longer than a minute or two, and now he will spend a half hour or so snoozing in my lap. 

Baxter has also become a pro at getting the paper.  He waits eagerly for the paper lady to arrive in the morning.  As soon as he hears the car, he yips.  We open the door, he runs down the steps, and returns lugging the paper.  He runs straight into the family room and drops it, waiting for his treat.  The Sunday paper is bigger than he is, but he still insists on hauling it in.  My favorite is when he is mistaken and the paper isn't there.  He runs down the steps and then screeches to a halt.  He looks so dejected when he returns to the house with nothing. 

For all his naughty habits, Baxter has learned to sleep in until we get up.  He is housebroken so well that if he gets sick in the middle of the night, he will bark to be taken out instead of having an accident inside.

The dog is solid muscle.  He walks about three miles a day.  Our vet said it is too bad he isn't a purebred so he could be a showdog.  She is pretty impressed by the strong little thing.

Mr. B is 11 months old now.  If he keeps calming down, we are going to have a great little house dog.  But that is only if he survives that long.

Yeah, I'm shopping for wood laminate floors for the family room.  And we're hoping Santa brings Baxter some new chew toys.  Anything in cast iron could probably survive. 

And for all his complaining, who is Mr. B's favorite lap?  The Mr.'s.  Bax isn't stupid.  He has to stay on the Mr.'s good side, so he doesn't end up at an animal shelter.  I know that the Mr. is a soft touch.  Baxter knows it too, so those boys stick together these days. 

Baxter might be my dog, but he is as charmed by the Mr. as I am.  Bax and I know who takes good care of us!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK....I'll get this out of the way right away......I'll sit on the Mr's lap ANY DAY!!!
There I said it :o) Also you can ALWAYS have the Mr. bring Baxter out to VA when you want to "dump" him!!! Love you COusin!!

Alicen said...

Try a KONG dog toy. They're the only thing my Golden Retriever hasn't been able to chew through. They're made in different sizes and rubber strengths so you can match the toy to the dog. And if he chews through one - go get the next toughness and the next size up... and wish him luck! They're expensive though, $25 for a dog toy...

Debbie said...

They calm dow after the age of 2 and you forget what you had to endure getting there. It's all worth it! He's a keeper! :-)

Anonymous said...

B reminds me of a book series for children about two little dogs, Bella and Rosie, that look just like Baxter. The writer of the books owns B & R and has taken their pictures to use in the books. Cute. Cute. (www.pvep.com)

Lesley A. Owens said...

Baxter sounds just as adorable and exhausting as my cat. But I suppose we wouldn't love them as much if they weren't such trouble makers--right? Right?! :/

Chronicles of Dolliedaydream said...

Mrs E I hope you and family are all well. I haven't commented for such a long time and have missed my visits. Baxter is looking so gorwn up and still very cute! I've been giggling reading about him are you sure he isn't related to Alfie? Alfie is almost 8 months now and he is a little monkey. I came home to a broken glass of half drunk hot chocolate the other day. I had mistakenly left the glass out and he had jumped up on the coffee table, drunk what was left, destroyed the glass, then carried two HUGE pieces of broken glass up to the bedroom 'to play with'!! xxx

Beth said...

You haven't turned me off to getting a puppy or dog when we get our next home. What pets supply in the long run is worth any carpet, etc. :)

Mary said...

We had a dog that chewed on furniture so we gave him to one of my sisters. She said he was the best dog ever. Hope he grows out of the chewing soon!

Shannon said...

he is pretty stinkin' cute...never thought I would get quite so attached as I have to Harry, but they have a way...

joyce said...

Alicen is right, a Kong dog toy is the only thing my dog hasn't chewed up either. You can also get these hard bones that look like plsatic but I think they're acttally nylon, they last a really long time and when you do finally throw them out, its cause they're so chewed up, but my dog hasn't been able to break pieces off.
Monty is about 18 months, and he's starting to settle down. It does make you wonder why when your kids are finally gone, you go and punish yourself by getting a puppy though!!