Roxie

Roxie is my Standard Manchester Terrier. She'll be two years old in June. I'd always grown up with big dogs (mostly Labs) and I always thought I would have lots of Dobermans ever since I got Boris, so the concept of having a small dog wasn't something I was really interested in... until I found out about the Manchester Terrier (MT). After doing some research into the breed to make sure this was what we wanted and then finding a great breeder, we brought Roxie home in August of 2004. We had gone to see the puppies several times before actually taking one home. They were all really nice puppies, but I think Roxie and the hubby fell in love with each other at first sight, so our fates were sealed as soon as she was cuddling in his arms. As it turns out, Roxie is the perfect puppy for us.

I knew MTs were smart and feisty and cuddly, among other things, but it's a whole different experience when you actually have one of your own. Roxie is very quick to learn new things and very easy to teach. It's actually a bit scary sometimes how quickly she picks up on new things. And feisty? Oh, yeah! She has her own mind and isn't afraid of showing it. There's a reason why Terriers are often described as being "tenacious." She's tenacious with a capital T, and sometimes maddeningly so! She's always into things and always on the verge of getting into trouble. But that kind of goes with the territory with a smart and inquisitive breed like the MT. As much of a livewire as she can be, she's also very sweet and affectionate and enjoys being cuddled and being nestled near her people and Boris. She also likes to sleep under the covers. And she doesn't need your help to get under the covers... she can do it herself!

Roxie earned her Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificate last year at the age of 10 months. I'm hoping to eventually get some advanced obedience and agility titles on Roxie, too. It's been hard to find a continuous obedience class in the area that's geared toward competition-level obedience, so obedience training has been going more slowly than I had hoped. We've been fortunate to have access to some good agility classes though, so we're going to train during the summer and see if we're ready to enter an agility trial this fall. At this point, I'm not sure whether we'll be ready for competition, but having a training goal is definitely a good thing to focus on. I might also see if she's interested in Rally, Tracking, and Earthdog. Roxie is a lot of fun to work with and very willing to work, so I think she can do just about anything we want to pursue. She really is a lot of dog in a little, feisty package.

When she's not busy with obedience and agility and learning new tricks, Roxie enjoys pushing Boris around, scrounging for lost food nuggets under the kitchen island, barking at everything, stealing your spot when you get up off of the couch, and laying in the sun. She's also the family's resident princess. I like getting her all the girly little dog stuff... stuff that Boris would not and should not be subject to! Roxie enjoys being fussed on. For as much of a terror she can be, she's also a girly-girl. She's the perfect lapdog... when she feels like it. Really, she's everything we were hoping for when we looked at those puppies way back when. And she's blossomed into a whole lot more than we ever could have imagined. She's been an absolutely perfect addition to this pack.

"...And though she be but little, she is fierce..." - from A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare