Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Do you use nicknames?

In our family, it seems that everyone has a nickname.  Not just our pets, but family members as well.  It seems we are just nickname people.  I’m curious to know if your pug has any special nicknames.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Nicknames

When the boys were just pups, we would give them cute little “pet” names.  Of course, Benjamin became Baby Benny.  He was called that a lot.  He is still called that quite often.  I will get into some of the other nicknames, but I must digress for a moment because it did cause some trouble when we were trying to teach them their names. 

When we were in puppy class, the teacher told us to only use their actual names.  For training purposes, they must be Benjamin & Henry.  The idea was so that you could easily get their attention and they could have name recognition.  To teach them their own name, we would say their name and when they made eye contact with us, they would receive a treat to reinforce that they recognized their name.  Well, the teacher said that Benjamin probably wouldn’t be called “Baby Benny” for his whole life.  Hmmm….he was a great dog trainer but little did he know that Baby Benny would never really “grow up.” 

In any event, I would like to share with you some of the nicknames that we have for the pugs.  For Benjamin, he is also Benjamino, Been Jammin’, Bean, Beanpole and Baby Bean.  I’ve also come up with a little poem that I recite to Ben when he is looking particularly cute or if I see that he is about to cause trouble.  It goes like this:  Green Bean, Jelly Bean.  Where’s my Baby Benny Bean?  Benjamin knows that this is not his “proper name” but knows if he hears something about Baby Bean, it’s about him.  He is a sweety.

Next up, I’ll share some of the nicknames we have for Henry, Luna and even Cupid the cat.

Friday, August 25, 2006

The Infamous Basket

A while back, I wrote about how Benny started sleeping the cat’s favorite basket.  To help accommodate both of them, I added a second basket to my desk so there would be one for each of them.  That sounds like it would be an ideal solution, but each of them only likes the one basket.  Now these baskets are practically identical, but they each prefer the older basket and neither one of them will have anything to do with the newer basket.  So like any good siblings, Benjamin and Cupid the cat are forced to share the same basket.

The other day, when neither Benjamin nor the cat were around, Henry decided to test out the basket and see what all the fuss is about.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Calendar Photo Contest - 1 Week Left

There is only one week left in the Owned By Pugs 2007 Calendar Contest.  If you haven’t submitted your photos yet, you still have time to get them in, but don’t delay, the contest closes to new entries on August 31, 2006.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

The Grounds Crew

Each week, after we finish cutting the grass, Benjamin, Henry and Luna can’t wait to get out and run in the yard.  There is something about fresh cut grass that just gets them fired up.  It is great exercise for them and they run until they are absolutely exhausted.  The pic above was taken after they played chase for a good 15-20 minutes.

In the yard, we have a bench so that we can relax while they are busy romping.  The bench is strategically used by everyone as a pick and they love to run circles around the bench.  In the photo above, Henry is peering out from under the bench trying to figure out which way Benjamin and Luna are going to run to get him.

Watching the gang run in the yard is definitely a great way to unwind and relax after cutting the grass.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Swimming

Henry loves to swim, Benjamin hates to swim and Luna could take it or leave it.  How about your pug.

Monday, August 21, 2006

All Aboard!

We went swimming this weekend and of course Henry joined us.  He played fetch for awhile and after he tired a bit, he was ready to get in his boat.  It is quite funny to watch.  When he is ready to go in the “Pug Tug” he waits until the boat gets close to the edge and then he jumps right in.  After that he makes himself comfortable.  He could float in his boat for hours!