Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Tuckered Out

For the first time since we adopted her, the boys actually tired Luna out.  Everyone was romping in the yard for quite some time before things started to slow down.  Luna thought it would be nice to lay on the bench and rest up.  The boys, on the other hand, got a second burst of energy and were still running around the yard.  Luna watched them intently and thought about joining in, but decided she needed her rest instead.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Ankle Biter

Every since he was a puppy, Benjamin has had the horrible habit of biting on Henry’s legs while they are playing.  I don’t think he bites hard because Henry has never yipped or tried to stop him.  In fact, most of the time Henry just lays there while his brother is nibbling on his legs.  It is just one of those habits that we have not had any success in breaking.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Car Safety

The boys and Luna love to ride in the car.  It doesn’t seem to matter where we are going, they are up for going anywhere in the car.  When we first got the boys, we used to carry a crate in the back of our SUV.  While in the car, the boys would ride in the crate and they were nice and safe.

The crate worked well, but it began to be quite a nuisance.  It was too big and bulky to take in and out of the car every time the boys went on a trip with us, so we just left it in the car.  Sometimes, while out shopping it really got in the way when we would buy anything that came in a large box.  And perhaps the most annoying thing about the crate was that it rattled horribly.  With every little bump in the road the crate would squeak, jingle and rattle.

So we set off to find an alternative to the crate.  We tried a couple of different things, but finally settled on doggie seatbelts.  The kind we use are similar to small leashes with one end having a clip that gets inserted into your cars existing seatbelt fastener and the other end having a clip that gets hooked to your pug’s harness or collar.  The belt part is adjustable so you can make it as long or as short as you would like.

We have been using the seatbelts for over a year and they work wonderfully.  Benjamin, Henry and Luna all ride in the back seat and each one of them has their own seatbelt.  The belts give them enough room to move around the back seat, but are short enough to prevent them from coming up to the front of the car.  Plus, the seatbelts give me a little piece of mind because I know that they are all safely restrained in the car.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Practical Jokesters

The other day, I found a snake on our screened-in lanai.  Now granted, it was a baby snake, so it was not very big, but it was enough to really startle this city girl.  The worst part about it was that I wasn’t able to get the snake out of the lanai.  Cupid, the cat, was the first to spot the snake.  So she proceeded to poke and torment it.  I was so worried about getting the cat away from the snake that by the time I had the cat safe inside the snake was no where to be found.  Needless to say, I looked high and low for that thing, but I could not find it.  For my sanity, I am presuming that the snake let itself back out the same way that it came in, but you can never be too sure.

So yesterday, I pass by the sliding glass doors that have sheer curtains on them and I see a snake like shadow.  My skin starts to crawl and I just know my snake friend is back for a visit.  Determined to catch the little guy this time, I slide the curtains back and what do you know, one of my good little pugs has gotten their rope toy out of the toy box and has forgotten to put it away.  Needless to say, I was very relieved, but I still wonder which one of the pugs was playing tricks on me.

Monday, May 8, 2006

Crate Training

When we adopted Luna she was not crate trained.  This was a bit of a hurdle for us because the boys are crate trained and we have not had success in “un-crate training” them.

After many of the boys’ puppy habits were broken, we tried giving them more freedom in the house.  We were very curious to see how the boys would react to their new found freedom so we set up a video camera.  Needless to say it was a complete disaster.  The boys were nervous wrecks.  They paced, they whined, they barked, they barked at each other - it was chaos.  It seems that they just prefer to be in their crate when we are not at home.  It is where they feel safe.

So knowing that the boys need to be in their crate while we are away, I knew that one of the first orders of business for Luna was crate training.  To gauge her progress and see how much she protested we again setup the video camera.  To help ease her into crate training we were only gone for a small amount of time.  The first time we put her in the crate we didn’t even go anywhere, we just stood in the driveway for about 5 minutes.  After we came home each time, we let them out and then reviewed the tapes to see how the little one did while we were away.

Needless to say the first couple times were disastrous.  Luna never settled, she whined, scratched and barked the whole time.  She even started to get the boys worked up and they joined in and started whining as well.

But we kept with it and by the end of the week we had made significant progress.  The boys started to act like their usual selves and went to sleep shortly after being put in the crate.  By them ignoring Luna and her cries, this helped her to settle.  She still protested a bit in the beginning but after only a few short minutes she was laying down and going to sleep.

Now it is safe to say that Luna is fully crate trained.  Not only does she eagerly go into the crate when we leave the house, but she also goes to the crate on her own when we are home.  The little one is not much of a morning person, so on weekdays when we get up for work, the first place she runs is to her crate.  There she can get an extra hour or so of uninterrupted sleep.

Friday, May 5, 2006

Improvising

With family in town last week, all the chairs on the lanai were taken.  This meant that Benjamin, Henry and Luna weren’t able to use their regular seats.  Henry, however, made the best of the situation.  He hopped into his outdoor toy basket and made himself comfortable.  He’s always thinking!

Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Return of the Pug Tug

Henry loves the water and when he is not swimming he likes to float in his Pug Tug.  While relaxing last week, we got the Pug Tug back out and Henry was as anxious as ever to go for a ride.  We weren’t too sure what Luna would think of the boat, but she was brave and decided to set sail with her brother.  The interesting part was that Luna would only ride in the boat if Henry was with her.  If Henry was not in the boat she wanted nothing to do with it.  Henry being in the boat really made her feel safe.