It's a dog's life

I never had much interaction or much interest in dogs. Our daughters had a cat growing up but cats are independent. The whole walking the dog thing didn't appeal much to me.
And then my good girl found a mixed pit at a shelter about a year ago and I found out why they call dogs man's best friend.
She loves to lay on her back and get belly rubs and lick your face and often wants to play. She has a ball slightly smaller than a basketball with ridges she can sink your teeth into and she wants you to try to pull it away from her which is almost impossible.
And she is smart and knows what she is supposed to do. She never climbs on our bed, for example, and she didnt take long to get housebroken. Once we started letting her sleep in a doggy bed at the foot of our bed, she used to wake up and come to my good girl's side and one of us would get up and take her out. But a couple of times, she just said go back to bed and Simone did. Now she stays in her bed until we get up.
But she will try to get away with things she knows she is not supposed to do if she thinks she can. She often has a rash on her lower belly and the vet hasn't been able to figure out the cause. Meanwhile, she likes to lick it, which we don't think is a good idea, but if we're not looking, she will. And we just say "hey" and she immediately stops. Or if she starts barking at a dog on the other side of the fence. When we open the door and say get in here, she immediately runs to the door but she seems to figure she will do it until we we tell her to stop.
And all bets are off when she sees a squirrel. She will pull on her leash trying to chase it. Of course, the squirrel just climbs a tree and all she can do it get up on her hind legs and look up at the tree. She can't figure out she will never catch one.
There are times my good girl and I disagree on dog parenting. Some days she doesn't each much and my good girl gets concerned. Maybe she is tired of the dog food or whatever. But I say no dog is going to starve when food is available even if she would prefer treats.   
Anyway, I was dubious about the idea of getting a dog, but have to admit she is fun to have around.

FD