ET's Info-Stew

Since last year Jenny and I have been discussing when we'll be getting another dog. Lassen was a huge loss for us and his passing left a huge hole. Today we've picked up the newest member of our family: Champ Thomas. He is a 12-week-old Toy Fox Terrier Miniture Pincher mix. He's only 3.5 pounds, and he's expected to reach 7-9 pounds. So he is a small dog.

The story of how we got him is a little amusing. Jenny and I wanted to wait until our travel was done toward the end of August. While I was on travel Jenny visited the pet store, found Champ, and fell in love with him. She even went as far as to put a $100 deposit on him, though she didn't tell me. She sent me pictures and told me his history. When I got home from travel she said she wanted me to go see him the next day, and that's when she said she already put down the deposit. When I met him I fell in love with him right away. He seemed to like me too, even though I accidentally dropped him when he tried to jump from my arms in the holding pens. So we ended up getting him. At first we decided to call him Jack. But then when Liz came over with Bailey, we decided to change it to Champ, like the Broncos player.

He was bred by a breeder and given to a mall pet store to be sold. The rest of his litter had already been sold and he was the only one left because he had pneumonia his first couple weeks at the store. We have his breeding history, some medical records and his shot records (he only has a rabies shot left).

He is a spunky dog, always on the move. We are clearly going to have a chewing problem during his puppyhood, so we'll need to keep him busy with lots of chew toys. I love his high level of activity, because it means I can play with him a little rough.

We intend to raise him differently than we did Lassen. Since we have a house and I work from home, potty training him should be much easier. We're also going to start obedience puppy training right away. Lastly, we'd like to crate train him, which can be used to keep him tame and under control when the situation calls for it. I'd like to get him on a natural food diet, not just dog food. I felt bad for Lassen always having to eat his dry dog food.

Here are a few pictures from his first day home.