We’ve owned many Chihuahuas in our time, but we’ve never owned one like Toby Lee Fowler. They’ve all been intelligent little dogs, but he is perhaps the smartest of all. He is certainly the most willful and manipulative dog we’ve ever had, and he definitely has his own agenda.

The dog guide that tells you how to train your puppy has proved useless with Toby Lee. Obviously, he thinks the book should be banned. He certainly ignores everything in it.

It’s very like the baby book they used to give you when you were ready to bring the new baby home from the hospital filled with hope and expectations. And then your baby cries and cries, and nothing in the baby book works.

Well, Toby’s issue is with obedience. He pretends to be deaf when he is called. He won’t even turn your way, but continues to stroll about the yard looking at grass and sniffing the plants. He might glance at you as if to say, “what’s your problem?,” but clearly it has nothing to do with him.

And it’s not as though he doesn’t understand what you’re saying. He does. If it’s something he wants to do, then he’s Johnny on the spot.

But if it’s something unimportant to him, he ignores you.

Most of our previous Chihuahuas were very picky eaters. He is also an exception to that rule. We once had a Chihuahua, Tinkerbell, who went on a three-day hunger strike, refusing to eat her dog food. We finally had to feed her egg yolk, honey and canned milk, because she’d gotten so weak she couldn’t walk. She simply wouldn’t eat dry dog food, so we had to feed her canned dog food. And she never ate a whole lot of that. But she was affectionate and cooperative in every other way.

Choco was a sweetheart. She would eat just to please us, but never seemed really hungry. Sometimes the children would offer her tidbits from their plates. She wouldn’t eat them, but would take them away and hide them, just to be polite.

Cheetah was a lovey dove. She would eat puppy chow, but for a long time she’d only eat a few tidbits every now and. She enjoyed playing with her dry food and would toss it into the air and try to catch it.

But Toby Lee Fowler would probably eat a rock if you had one on your plate. He is a shameless beggar and will carry on as though he has been starved. If you relent and give him anything, it’s all over. Occasionally he’ll be given a pork chop bone — not by me — and he’ll carry it around and put it in his bed and gnaw it and keep it safe. If an attempt is made to take it away, he’ll run with it and a chase will take place. He’s pretty fast and maneuvers like nothing you’ve ever seen. When he runs really fast, his ears go straight back and he’s just a blur.

He always has a plan. When he’s ready to go to bed at night, he will attempt to make you cut off TV and go upstairs. He’ll run from the TV to you and then to the foot of the stairs. He’ll bark, and if you ignore that, he’ll attempt to talk, facing you and moving his mouth around to try to form words. He’ll keep this up until he gets his way. He has more stamina than I and will wear me down.

I no longer have the energy to stay on top of a Chihuahua. Apparently there’s been a role reversal. But he is an engaging little scamp and is loving and loyal. All in all, we’re happy with the little devil. He’s certainly one of the most entertaining little dogs we’ve ever owned. He may not be perfect, but he’s ours and we love him.