Friday, December 23, 2005

Merry Christmas

After a little debate, Santa decided that Benjamin & Henry have been good boys this year and left some presents under the tree for them and their sister, Cupid the cat.  They are anxiously waiting for Christmas morning so they can open all their presents.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Monday, December 5, 2005

Playing in the yard

The weather was gorgeous on Sunday and Benjamin and Henry spent much of their morning romping around the yard and rolling in the grass.  They had brought a few of their favorite toys into the yard and we played a nice game of chase and tug with one their favorite toys the ducky.

They also had some fun chewing and scratching on some frisbees that we got at a K9 Frisbee show a few months back.  Neither one will fetch the frisbee. They find it very hard to pick up and carry.  However, they do like to chew on it.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Henry & his buddy the Ducky

It is still quite warm here in Florida so when we go on walks in the afternoons, the boys are warm and panting by the time we get home.  Well, one of Henry’s favorite places to lay after a long warm walk is on the cool tile floor.  Well, yesterday after a nice walk, Henry decided he needed a bed friend to cozy up to after his walk.  So, when he got home, he went to his toy basket, grabbed his ducky buddy and hugged up to it on the cool tile floor.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Holiday Decorating

On Sunday, we decided to put up the tree for Christmas.  Trimming the tree is an all day process and needless to say Benjamin & Henry didn’t have much fun.  But the boys took it all in stride knowing that they need to have a tree in order for Santa to leave them presents.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

A few things for which we are thankful

Benjamin is thankful for his “Puffy”.  He has had this furry, little disc since he was a puppy and he likes to have it near him at all times.  He takes it to bed with him every night and some days I have to convince him to leave the “Puffy” at home when we go on walks.

Henry is thankful for his new swimming pool and yard.  There is nothing he likes to do more than to play fetch in the pool and to sun himself in the yard.

Benjamin and Henry are both thankful to have a brother to share all of their adventures.  They have been “brothers” since Benjamin was 13 weeks old and Henry was 12 weeks old.  They have had countless wrestling matches, been on thousands of walks together and have tag teamed too many dogs to count at the dog park.  They go together like peas and carrots!

Cupid, Benjamin & Henry’s sister, is thankful for her new freedom to go outside in the screened-in area and in the yard while carefully supervised.  She loves to chase all the bugs and to munch on some grass while in the yard.  She has a hard time showing it, but she is thankful to have two brothers too.

Finally, I am thankful for my family, friends and my fantastic furkids.  They bring so much joy to my life and can always put a smile on my face.  In addition, I am also thankful for all of the wonderful memories I have of the late Lou C.

Last but not least, I am also very thankful for all the OwnedByPugs.com visitors.  It is fun and exciting to share your pug stories with others that are passionate about pugs.  Thanks for reading!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 21, 2005

Doggie Fest

This weekend we attended a local Doggie Fest.  The event was a lot of fun and there were lots of contests to enter.  Henry entered the “Best Smile” and “Most Unusual Looking” competitions and Benjamin entered the “Curliest Tail” and “Best Wag” competitions.

The boys had fun at the event and Benjamin took home 2nd place in the “Curliest Tail” competition.  Imagine a pug only coming in second place in a curliest tail competition!  First place went to an Akita that had a unique kink in his tail.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Special Diet

This diet has worked very well for our pugs over the years, however, I recommend you check with your vet before switching your dog’s food.  We worked very closely with our vet to determine what to feed our pugs and since every situation is different I strong encourage you to work with your vet if you want to create a special diet for your pug.

Well, as you can see by the above photo there is a lot of work that goes into the preparation of the boys’’ meals.  Their special diet began when Benjamin developed Pancreatitis.  He was a very sick little boy and had to be in the hospital for 4 days.  Pancreatitis is difficult to diagnose and really to this day we aren’t completely convinced that the diagnosis was correct.  It occurred at a time when we were unable to get in touch with our regular vet and had to rely on a family member’s referral.  It was not a vet we were completely comfortable with but we really did not have a choice but to go on her advice.  After the whole ordeal was over and Baby Benny was safe at home with brother Henry again we were able to see our regular veterinarian and she told us that it may have been Pancretitis but we could not be sure because it was so far after the onset and the first vet had not done a lot of truly necessary lab work to give an accurate diagnosis.  However, our favorite vet did recommend that we switch to a special diet for both boys.  Our favorite vet, (we’’ll call her “Dr. H”) is more of a holistic type of vet and very into using foods and dietary supplements to solve many of today’’s medical problems before trying medications that may be unnecessary and cause unwanted side effects.  (I don’’t know why but I am embarrassed to say that I do this for the dogs but not for myself.)  Anyway, Dr. H gave us a list of homemade foods that we could try to keep the boys healthy.  She recommended a low fat diet.  This was especially important for Benjamin because if the diagnosis of Pancreatitis was correct, then a diet high in fat would cause serious relapses which may include death.  We knew there was really no other choice.  Of course, Henry would also benefit from the high quality meals.  However, it is a lot of work and somewhat expensive.  Personally, I justify the cost in what it saves in vet bills and the sheer fact that you cannot put a price tag on good health.  Anyway, here is the “secret recipe”:

1½ cups of browned ground turkey (97% fat free)
1 heaping tablespoon of canned pumpkin
1 heaping tablespoon of plain fat free yogurt
1 heaping tablespoon of cooked plain oatmeal

The boys eat 3 meals per day.  They have been on this diet for about 2½-3 years (they will be 4 years old in late March and early April).  Benjamin weighs in at 20 pounds and Henry is a hearty 23 pounds.  They do get the occasional table scrape but it is most often a very healthy choice (i.e carrot stick, bite of banana, Cheerio) unless it is time to clip their nails in which case, all the stops come out and the baggie of Chinese noodles are used for wiggle control. We have often been asked how we keep the boys in such great shape and that is when we discuss their special diet.  They also go for at least 2 walks per day for at least ½ mile each walk.  It is a big job keeping the gluttons in good condition but that is the job of a dedicated pug mommy.  So, this job is done with a smile!